President George H.W. Bush: 'Who The Hell Is Grover Norquist, Anyway?'

President George H.W. Bush: 'Who The Hell Is Grover Norquist, Anyway?'
The Huffington Post | By Patrick Svitek
07/13/2012

The president whose legacy is partly defined by three words -- "no new taxes" -- seems to care little about the ubiquitous pledge that touts the same phrase.

In an interview with Parade magazine to be published Sunday, former President George H.W. Bush pans the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, the Grover Norquist-backed anti-tax oath that politicians sign to promise they will never vote for a tax increase.

In the 112th Congress, 238 representatives and 41 senators -- all but three of them Republicans -- have taken the pledge.

"The rigidity of those pledges is something I don’t like," Bush said. "The circumstances change and you can’t be wedded to some formula by Grover Norquist. It’s -- who the hell is Grover Norquist, anyway?"

His wife, former First Lady Barbara Bush, did not mince her words either when it came to the anti-tax crusader.

"I think he ought to go back to Alaska," she said, referring to previous comments she made about Sarah Palin in a 2010 interview. "Don't quote me!"

President Bush's remarks echo a similar sentiment shared by House Speaker John Boehner last year. The Ohio Republican told reporters that it is "not often I'm asked about some random person in America" when pressed whether Norquist was a positive or negative force for the House GOP conference.

Norquist told "The Daily Show" in February that he came up with the idea for the pledge when he was 12 years old, about the same time that Bush served in the House of Representatives.