August 2, 2005

Grover Blogging

Yes, that's Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform chatting with some Tennessee political bloggers at Nashville's Bongo Java coffeehouse late Tuesday afternoon. Norquist is on the right side of the picture, at the end of the table. To his left around the table are, in order, Nathan Moore, Rob Huddleston, Matt White, Bob Krumm and Jay Bush. I was behind the camera.

UPDATE: Jay Bush's report on the gathering is here.

Norquist met with the bloggers and discussed politics for about an hour after earlier events and a meeting with local reporters. He was in town for a Tennessee Taxpayers Protection Pledge event, and as a guest of U.S. Senate candidate Ed Bryant.

Here is the Bryant campaign released a press release about that...

Grover Norquist Emphasizes Bryant’s Solid Record on Cutting Taxes August 2, 2005 Norquist: Ford Record, Position on Taxes "Alarming"

Ben Cunningham: "Ed Bryant’s record of cutting taxes combined with his demonstrated sensibility in controlling federal spending provided a roadmap back to balanced federal budgets."

MT. JULIET, TN - Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and a national leader of the conservative movement, joined Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Ed Bryant, a former federal prosecutor and four-term Congressman, at Our Place Family Restaurant to highlight Bryant’s solid record of support for tax cuts which benefit Tennessee’s families and employers.

Bryant, the first U.S. Senate candidate in Tennessee to sign ATR’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge, recommitted himself the pledge’s commitment to "oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates."

Bryant stated, "When I entered the race to replace Senator Bill Frist, I didn’t hesitate to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. It is a commitment I have made to Tennesseans each time I’ve run for office, and it’s a commitment I’ve kept." He added, "Americans for Tax Reform has been a national leader for holding elected officials accountable, but it’s important to me that I sign this pledge publicly before Tennessee’s taxpayers, like the owners of this family business. And as important as it is for candidates to have this commitment on file, it’s more important that our next U.S. Senator have a solid record of delivering tax relief."

Grover Norquist asserted that "Tennesseans deserve a U.S. Senator who will fight in Washington for tax relief, and Ed Bryant’s record demonstrates that kind of leadership. By signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Ed has again declared that he will work for the interests of hard-working taxpayers."

A leading citizen advocate for taxpayer interests, Ben Cunningham added, "Ed Bryant’s record of cutting taxes combined with his demonstrated sensibility in controlling federal spending provides a roadmap back to balanced federal budgets. We need his experience and his conservative outlook protecting our taxpayer interests in Washington. Ed Bryant understands that the taxpayer, not the government bureaucracy, should come first."

Norquist pointed out that Bryant’s likely Democrat opponent, Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., had not signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and "hasn’t given any indication that he would advance tax relief for Tennesseans given his opposition to the making Bush’s tax relief permanent. Even more alarming, candidate Ford is already openly talking about raising taxes if he were elected to the Senate."

Bryant concluded, "Congressman Ford may like to pull single votes out of context to distract from his record, but taken as a whole, there is no disguising why Ford is known in Washington as the most liberal member of Tennessee’s congressional delegation."

During his congressional service, Ed Bryant fought to enact tax relief to strengthen families and promote economic growth including votes for President Bush’s tax cuts and to make them permanent, to create a $1000 per child family tax credit, to eliminate the “death tax,” to eliminate the marriage penalty, to create education tax credits, to reverse President Clinton’s tax on Social Security, to reduce the capital gains tax, and to create a $10,000 adoption tax credit. Bryant has also supported the federal Taxpayer Bill of Rights, efforts to clamp down on tax fraud, and the increased deductibility of health insurance costs. For Tennesseans, Bryant wrote the law allowing Tennesseans working at Fort Campbell to enjoy Tennessee’s state income tax free status and was a consistent advocate of allowing Tennesseans to deduct their state and local sales taxes from federal income taxes.

The latest statewide poll (July 11-12) shows Ed Bryant (selected by 34% of Republican primary voters) leading all other candidates by significant margins and having gained a 2-to-1 lead over the 2002 gubernatorial nominee Van Hilleary (16%) with the other Republican candidates polling in the single digits (6% and 2%). This is consistent with a March 22-24 poll commissioned by Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. which “shows former U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant leading Republican contenders with 35 percent” (Chattanooga Times Free Press 4/8/05) with Bryant defeating Ford in a general election match-up.

Ed Bryant represented Tennessee’s 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years (1995-2003), including more than four years of service on the House Judiciary Committee where he played a key role as a manager in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Bryant served six years in the U.S. Army in the early 1970s, including two years at West Point as a professor of constitutional law. After his military service, Ed and his family returned to his home in Jackson, Tennessee where he practiced law until President George H.W. Bush appointed him U.S. Attorney for West Tennessee in 1991. Resigning in protest over political interference in his prosecution of a Memphis Congressman, Ed Bryant was elected to Congress two years later as part of the revolutionary Republican class of 1994 which enacted historic tax cuts, reformed welfare, and ultimately balanced the federal budget for the first time in a generation.

© 2005 Ed Bryant for Senate | 115 Penn Warren Suite 300-309, Brentwood, TN 37027
Paid for by Ed Bryant for U.S. Senate
Email: info@edbryantforsenate.com