REPRINTED FROM ALLTHINGSPOLITICALTODAY.COM

During this election year, as in many others, Grover Norquist and his no-tax pledge has become a topic of conversation in the mainstream media and political circles. He is blamed for forcing political candidates, particularly Republicans, into a restrictive pledge not to raise taxes under any circumstances. So who is Grover Norquist and what is this pledge all about?

Let’s start by talking about Norquist and his organization, Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist is a double graduate of one of the bastions of liberalism in America, Harvard University, where he earned a B.A. and an M.B.A. Unlike many of his classmates, Norquist took a libertarian and conservative route at a young age. In 1968 as a teenager, he helped in the Nixon campaign, getting out the vote.

Immediately upon graduation, Norquist became an anti-tax activist with the National Taxpayers Union and the national College Republicans. In 1983, he joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as an economist and chief speechwriter. READ MORE