Grover Norquist takes on the tyranny of federal taxation

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Jan 26, 1998 | by John Berlau

Insight: You seem to be more optimistic than other conservatives about the future of the movement. Why is that?

GN: I'm optimistic, I think" because I spend an awful lot of time et the movement level on a lot of different issues. If I worked only one issue, such as right to work -- and we haven't passed right to work since the eighties -- I could get frustrated. But since we work on, both at the federal and the state level, so many different issues, we revel in the successes. If you just look at school choice in Washington, we lost. But we passed it in Minnesota and Arizona, and we're close in Pennsylvania So I see successes at the state level and small successes at the federal level that can be replicated in other fields.

The other thing is I got out of college in 1978. There were two threats to American liberty: the Soviet Union and Washington. One of those is finished.... We now have the opportunity to turn our attention from fighting the Soviet Union and redeploying our assets to reducing the size and scope of the federal government, which is the other threat to our liberties. Frankly, Washington has done more damage than Moscow ever had a chance to -- because Moscow never got over here.

RELATED ARTICLE: Personal Bio

Born: Oct. 19, 1956, in Sharon, Pa.; raised in Weston, Mass.

Education: Bachelor's degree, economics, 1978; M.B.A, 1981; Harvard University.

Career: Executive director, National Taxpayers' Union and College Republicans, 1981. Economist and chief speechwriter, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1983-84. Founded Americans for Tax Reform in 1985 and series as president. Norquist is also a Washington lobbyist.

Favorite Movie: Moscow on the Hudson. "A celebration of immigration. It's the most patriotic movie ever made!"

Favorite Book: Paul Johnson's Modern Times.

Hobbies nod Pastimes: "I read murder mysteries, um, [long pause] for fun. During the eighties, l was very active with the Afghan resistance, and in Mozambique and Angola. Did a lot of political training for the Krieble Institute in Europe. I've been to all the Eastern European countries. I've just been to Japan for the founding of Japanese for Tax Reform."