norquist has clout. he's called the most powerful unelected man in america today. >> he signed a pledge, it's without congress. >> that pledge is for that congress. >> i'm not obligated on the pledge. >> republicans are jumping ship and supporting unspecified r revenue hikes to help cut the deficit. and big business resigned to higher taxes. here is lloyd blankfein. >> we had to lift up the marginal rate. >> norquist's response? >> some of these people have had impure thoughts. no one pulled the trigger and voted for a tax increase. >> to be sure, norquist is still raking in big bucks. according to open secrets.org, he shelled out almost $14 million to defeat democratic opponents in this past election cycle. >> we've run ads to let people know who has taken the pledge and who hasn't. we'll do phones into letting people know who is taking the pledge. >> norquist's big backers are republican operatives, cross roads gps, the super pac led by kingpin karl rove and the center to protect patient rights. closel

plutocrats secretly clustered around norquist's comrade, karl rove. this past election, norquist's group, americans for tax reform, spent nearly $16 million to support his favored candidates -- that's according to the center for responsive politics. where did that money come from, and what did it buy? back in the 1990s it was the tobacco industry backing norquist's fight against cigarette taxes. now, it's the pharmaceutical companies, among others. not long ago, this same grover norquist was using his organization to launder money for the notorious lobbyist jack abramoff. how about that for tax reform! check it out yourself in the documentary "capitol crimes" on our website billmoyers.com. you'll see the story of how the man who has the republican party under his thumb came to washington to start a revolution and wound up running a racket. now he's the proxy for the powerful interest groups that finance him. so, not only does the norquist pledge symbolize a "political system short on legitimacy," as christopher caldwell wrote, it isn't even about prin

constitution and not to grover norquist. what did grover norquist do? he took their quotes, called them up, he had conversations with them and he read them line by line their quote and essentially threatened them with primaries. he's the problem. if grover norquist wants to run government he needs to run office. >> you have people like saxby chambliss to indicate they were backing away from their pledge. grover norquist gets on the phone to them in the last several days and report of phone calls are that suddenly chambliss is going back a little bit maybe on what he had to say. so, i mean, do you think that his influence has waned? >> this is exactly what i'm saying is that, and chambliss is who i was thinking about. he threatens people. i do think his influence is reining. i think there's a crack in grover's armor and that's why he tried to shore it up last week by calling up people and intimidating them. it's time we hold him to task. he should not be allowed to hold the republican party hostage like he has. it's very irresponsible. do i think there's

as norquist read allowed a transcript of chambliss' earlier remarks item by item, norquist recalled latersenator repeatedly assured him on each one of those points that he did not mean to imply they had major differences when it came to gop principles on taxes. he said he wished he hadn't invoked my name and wished that he had been clearer, norquist recalled from the monday conversation. i don't know how you explain that. we will have to hear from saxby chambliss. the fact he had to call this guy and let this nobody read a list of complaints and have to apologize for each one is outrageous. >> grover is not really the big issue. it's the tea party itself and the fact that the republican party, we saw it in the primaries, we see it in the congressional races, too, that they're basically being held hostage by the far right ends of the party. the reason why boehner has trouble cutting a deal is not because boehner can't cut a deal. i think in five minutes' time he and obama would come up -- >> excuse me, excuse me, you're wrong. you're wrong. all that grover has to say, all he has to say is,

pays norquist. out to bat for their subsidies. >> jennifer: are you telling me grover norquist is picking winners and losers in the tax code? >> he has priorities. they seem to adhere with some of his own donors. >> jennifer: i'm shocked. norquist doesn't have to reveal his donors. how did find out? >> a nonprofit doesn't have to disclose their grants in but they have to disclose their grants out. i kind of combed through the recently-released disclosure for 2011 and found some of the groups giving money to him. also some companies voluntarily disclose so that's been very helpful. >> jennifer: okay. let me switch topics. i want to show everybody a commercial that ran during the campaign. watch this. i thought we had it. anyway, it is a commercial that is an ad that was paid for by a group called 60 plus association which was financed, in part, by a saudi-led oil lobby group. i think we have it now. let's try it one more time. >> 23 million are out of work. 46 million are on food stamps. we're $16 tr

norquist refers to him, obama -- president obama has done something mr.t has never done in his life and that's get people to vote for him. so i would also remind mr. norquist who conveniently forgets that president clinton raised taxes on the wealthy and created 22 million jobs. president bush cut taxes on the wealthy and created 1 million jobs. so his economic expertise is a little behind here. but the truth of the matter is, everybody voted in this election, the president said he would raise taxes on people earning over $250,000. that's what he's going to do. that's what's going to happen. he has the authority of an election behind him. running for office is a difficult thing to do, and the people that win the elections have a lot more moral authority in a democracy than people who talk about elections. >> ryan, that does seem to be the point. people like grover norquist may not like it and republicans may not like it, but that wasn't what this election said american people want. the majority of them. >> i think it's certainly true you have a large numb

grover norquist dropped his tax opposition. boehner himself said many in his caucus were worried about primaries. >> grover norquist ds not have the power. essentially, he started to backpedadal on the meaning of the edge. it is absole nonsense. those conservaves do not owe their allegiance to grovover norquist. >> did he create something that he can no longer control? the power of the original tax plededge seems to ill resonate with many of these members. >> there are plenty of people who picked up that banner. i t think there is a commitnt to that pledge that goes fa beyond grover norquist. >> those conservative members of congress have a mandate just the way president obama does. so does speaker boehner. whenr. obabama comes down pennsylvania anue and does something he hasas never been inclined to do, put together aa coalition in the middle of whatever moderate democrats and republblicans he confined, get off his high horse about spending, and make those compromisises that he needs to make, he is not going to win. that in i

grover norquist is here again. i promise you, it will be more lively than last time. >>> and the next chapter in the fairy tale. >> obviously we want a family so we have to start thinking about that. >> that was then, this is now. the royal couple, their baby news and her battle with a rare illness. plus, why it matters to the royal family. this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> good evening. you've heard me talk on this show time and again about gun violence in america, gabby giffords, trayvon martin, aurora, colorado, now the shocking incident on saturday. kansas city chiefs linebacker javon belcher shot and killed the mother of his baby daughter, then drove to the team's practice facility and shot himself in front of his head coach and the team's general manager. on sunday, that shooting prompted this extraordinary moment from bob costas during halftime of nbc sunday night football game when he quoted sportswriter jason whitlock. >> in the coming days, javon belcher's actions and their possible connection to footba

and from grover norquist, the anti-tax superman, what rhetorical heights did grover norquist have to go to to be heard above the sound of rush limbaugh and the club for growth, and their reaction to this increase? what flourish was grover able to come up with to make his opposition stand out, to make his opposition be the most important opposition? are you sitting down? no, no, no, you have to sit down. grover norquist has come out in support of john boehner's tax increase on incomes over a million dollars. and he has done it by claiming it is not a tax increase. this legislation, popularly known as plan b, permanently prevents a tax increase on families making less than a million per year, considering this tax bill contains no tax increases of any kind. in fact, it permanently prevents them, americans for tax reform will not consider a vote for this measure a violation of the taxpayer protection pledge. and so grover norquist has officially surrendered. but even with grover norquist supporting him, john boehner is sounding like a man who has not yet sold his tax increase to his repu

norquist, van hollen, cramer, and bartiromo. they are back right after this. . ♪ aids will not take our future. ♪ our weapons are testing... education, care and support. ♪ and aids... ♪ aids is going to lose. aids is going to lose. ♪ gives you a low $18.50 monthly plan premium... and select generic hypertension drugs available for only a penny... so you can focus on what really matters. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. so why exactly should that be of any interest to you? well, in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. like the transatlantic cable that connected continents. and the panama canal that made our world a smaller place. we supported the marshall plan that helped europe regain its strength. and pioneered the atm, so you can get cash when you want it. it's been our privilege to back ideas like these, and the leaders behind them. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've b

and it's like those presidential debates, grover norquist.hen you're mentioned by name, we have to give you a chance to respond. you heard senator mccaskill. but how about the headlines this week? you have been front and center in the debate. here are some of the headlines. "the new york times" really stands out. is grover finally over? and then, this is really about the pledge that you introduced that is a pledge between these office holding republicans and the people who have elected them. it's not a pledge to you, as you often point out. the bottom line is, are you over? is this tax fight over? >> well, actually, that was last week's news. the president and mr. geithner have really changed the direction here. because there were a few people, including the senator you just had on, who were seduced into thinking, well, maybe i'll have a small, tiny tax increase and have real reform and move forward. >> you're talking about corker? >> and there were others who said -- and, look, corker wants tiny tax increases and very serious reforms. but yo

that person is grover norquist, the head of americans for tax reforms.s got a pledge that mostly republicans members of congress signed to say they won't raise taxes under any circumstances. i spoke to nor i didn't see after friday's developments and asked him about taxes and his almost religious belief that tax increases, any tax increase, is bad for the economy. >> we've seen that whenever you've raised the capital gains tax, the top marginal tax rates, but also tax increases distract from what the country needs to do. we need to deal with our runaway government spending. the government is spending too much money. tax increases are not part of cutting the budget. tax increases are what politicians do instead of reform the government. as long as tax increases are on the table, the politicians never even think about reforming government. >> and i understand. you have been on this fight for a long time and you've been devoted to the whole idea of not seeing taxes increase anywhere. but what we're down to right now is largely a political battle over the in

a lot of people don't like grover norquist you've defended him.ou come from the same place in a lot of things. here's where i take issue. he said increasing taxes avoids the conversation on having the spending discussion. i said i don't think that's causal. i think we can agree we're not having a robust-enough conversation on how to deal with spending in this country and how to make government more efficient. is it a fact by raising taxes we're just not going to have that discussion? >> yeah, i believe so. i believe every time you raise taxes it reduces the pressure to cut spending and i agree with grover on that i want to take issue on one thing you said to grover that i think is a little unfair. the vote we had last week, the job boehner plan b, which actually there was no vote -- >> you know, you've been saying, these guys are just following the instructions of grover nor quest. look, i actually think republicans made a mistake personally in not approving plan b. but you know, the people voted against it are the ones who said they were going to

grover norquist among them. i think we're learning that grover norquist's power on capitol hill has dwindled to almost nothing. there are others such as freedomworks that initially said they were on board, then they changed their mind, as did the heritage foundation. i think as the day unfolded the opposition from the right became so overwhelming that what grover norquist was saying or not saying became ultimately irrelevant. and i think in the future you'll see him isolated and alienated even more. >> here is majority leader eric cantor right after the decision was made that was going to be no vote tonight. here it is. >> is there going to be a vote today? >> no. >> no vote today? >> no. >> will there be a vote tomorrow? >> no. >> are you ditching plan b? >> are there be a vote today? >> no. >> michael tomasky, the leader of the house, majority leader, speechless. what do you make of that? >> it was interesting. the question you asked cummings and garamendi in the previous segment, how hard eric cantor really w

crisis: with anti-tax crusader grover norquist. >> we'd love to see some real spending restraint. it's been four years and all we've had is five trillion in debt and more spending. >> woodruff: margaret warner looks at north korea's successful rocket launch, celebrated in pyongyang and denounced in seoul and the west. >> ifill: we examine how the budget debate is playing out on social media in tonight's edition of the daily download. >> woodruff: hari sreenivasan talks with journalist paul salopek, before he sets off on a seven-year, 39-nation trek across the globe. >> it's not an athletic event, it's not an endurance feat, it's all about communicating in the 21st century. slowing people down. ♪ >> ifill: and we remember composer and sitar virtuoso ravi shankar, who introduced the western world to traditional indian music. that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and

ha has kept norquist relevant all this time? his war chest, money coming from the powerful special interest groups that are lobbying to keep taxes low. joining us from san francisco is lee fong, contributing writer for the nation magazine who has been following the money trail. hi, lee. nice to see you. >> good morning. >> splin plain to me. i think we have the information of him as an independent actor. he is really embedded in the web. talk to me about what this is? >> i looked at grover norquist's foundation. over 66% of its more than two-thirds of husband budget came from just two billionaire-backed nonprofits. if you peel back the layers, the people giving money and propping up norquist are folks like steve schwartzman and investors that have a lot to gain from not cutting taxes. they pay a shockingly low rate. they don't want to pay a penny more. when he says he is going to retaliate against some of the folks that are deviating from the pledge, he means his donor network will go after these folks with attack ads and money

grover norquist president of americans for tax reform. it's good to see you again.o be with you, maria. >> since 1986, republicans have been sighing your taxpayer protection pledge. as we get closer to the fiscal cliff scenario, will some of the people who signed on to no new taxes have to concede and agree to revenue increases in the form of higher tax rates? >> well, obviously, the president is trying to drive in that direction. the republicans have some leverage as well. two years ago, obama said he didn't want to hurt the economy, so he didn't want to raise rates on anyone. evidently that his job is secure, he's less interested in everybody else's job, so he is interested in raising top rates, capital gains taxes, subchatter "s" corporation taxes. although that's going to be awfully rough on the economy if he pulls the trigger on that. there are also a series of fights where republicans have more leverage than they do early january. that is the debt ceiling and there the republicans have announced ahead of time the boehner rule remains in place. obama wants a tr

. >> thank. >> woodruff: online we profile two lawmakers who oppose norquist's pledge.lus, you can watch other interviews from our series. >> ifill: and to north korea, where a successful rocket launch echoed in world capitals today. we begin with a report narrated by john sparks of "independent television news." today brought something special on the evening news. >news. >> (translated): it's the proud result of the workers' party's policy on science and technology. >> reporter: the last time they trade this back in april north korea's multistage rocket disintegrated a few minutes after takeoff. but this time it seems they got it right. the only pictures we've got come from the control room's big screen t.v. but we can see the rocket leave the launch pad and climint the upper atmosphere. we're told they put a satellite, the shining star 3, into orbit. this country may not be able to feed its own people but its engineers can fire things into space. "it's made with our own technology and our own strength" says the director of the command center. the country's boyish look

the current distractions is grover norquist. i have known grover norquist for a long time. i think he's a fine person. he hold know elective office. and in fact, he wasn't elected president. he is the president of united states who is responsibility for figuring how to solve our problems who is not offered a single serious cost consulting measure. tell me what you think barack obama is going to go to the house and senate democrats and say i need a yes vote on this. instead of dealing with the fact that the president of the united states is once again totally failing to provide leadership, the president has gotten us worried about whether grover norquist defines the republican party. as we know, if we are not worthy of the news media's respect and love we are a party that disappear. listen to the tone of the language when you watch the morning joe or, you know, "fox & friends." are often the whole thing and i want to make two points and the norquist. he did something important. he came up with the idea a no tax increase pledge as a way of drawing a line in the sand. let me b

they're the worst ideas. >> again, if norquist would back off, not to give norquist advice or help butjohn mccain. you said since john mccain and lindsey graham are like a human circular centipede -- they're like a senator-pede, part of the same organism. >> they keep feeding and defecating the same talking points into each other's mouths constantly. >> stephanie: lindsey graham of course repeated exactly what john mccain said. as you say they eat the same [ bleep ] in an endless loop. like a senator-pede. >> the siamese senators. and it's become so boring on sunday mornings. you know. now it is either mccain, graham or which other boring senator is going to be on there? >> stephanie: at any rate, i was saying -- what is your prediction on the susan rice thing? i've heard people saying he's not going to nominate her now. it is a shame. it really is. >> no, i think that at this point, if he were to nominate her, it would be a direct confrontation. it could be a way to call them out. and to say -- and to force them to say okay, what do you really have? i think -- i don't know. i think he

consider also grover norquist. grover norquist is the guy who founded the pressure group club for growth. he's the one with the pledge about the republicans never raising taxes no matter what. he has been telling republicans this week that it is okay, it is okay by him if republicans support john boehner's latest proposal in his negotiations with president obama. this plan b thing. "the l.a. times." grover norquist signs off on boehner's plan b tax proposal. that was yesterday morning. then yesterday afternoon grover norquist came out and said he does not want to be misconstrued as being in favor of john boehner's plan b tax proposal. huh? so jim demint, leader of the conservatives in the senate, on his way out the door from the senate to go run a pressure work that's saying don't do what john boehner wants. and on his way out the door to go run that group jim demint says don't listen to pressure groups. then you've got dick armey's group saying what john boehner's doing is good news and also, they're against it. t

all the talk about grover norquist this, grover norquist that and the pledge of grover norquist, he isen he says this is a compact between a representative and his constituents. there is not a single republican who campaigned on the theme that if elected i'll raise your taxes $800 billion. every single -- >> and make it about spending. >> and every single republican who ran for congress vowed to his constituents to hold the line on taxes and to fight to reduce spending. this just isn't honoring that. >> let's speak of grover e runs america for tax reform, doesn't believe in tax increases but the media, he's not elected, why would anyone listen to them? watch this. >> speaking of the fiscal cliff there's been all the focus on one dangerous man who stands in the way that to avert it, grover norquist. he is hereto elected nor has he ever run for office so why is washington so scared of him? >> it's also politically smart to cut the knees out from under grover norquist. this guy, who is he? >> one dangerous man, cut the knees out from under him? because he gave candidates an opportunity to

>> well, grover norquist is an interesting guy.ured the minds and the attention of the entire republican party. but i would like folks to look at him a little bit differently. if you look at grover norquist's budget because he has a large foundation that enforces his pledge. two-thirds of his money, 66% of his budget comes from only two billionaire-backed non-profits groups founded by folks like the koch brothers, the bekdel corporation and karl rove. they're worth billions of dollars who would not like to see their tax rates go up. it should not be any surprise that they're giving money to norquist as their enforcer. >> cenk: a lot of those are in private equities and defense and, etc. shockingly they care about the tax codes and not cutting defense. lee fang, from the nation, thank you so much for joining us. great reporting. >> cenk: thanks for having me. when we come back, we have a new participate in the 1%. but he's one of us. he won the lottery. a great story. we'll show you. >> we have new clues developing about the second

david, you heard congresswoman bass refer to grover norquist. i want to play what he said regarding this ominous threat as described to republicans who may not fall in line. let's play it. >> tea party 2 is going to dwarf ta tea party 1 if obama pushes us off the cliff. >> this was in reference to the president. he's threatening we will see a new, stronger tea party if we go off the cliff. >> yes. grover norquist also predicted an overwhelming victory by mitt romney and was proven wrong then, too. i think he and other republicans are playing a very dangerous game with their own political futures by failing to see the connection between this situation and the situation we were in around 1995 when there was a government shutdown. republicans thought they could drive this to the bitter end, and what happened? the american voters actually blamed them, the republicans, for what happened. i think it's a pattern in american politics when things happen that are, in effect, harmful government shutdowns, if you will, or breakdowns of process, the blame us