Grover Norquist: Kansas Tax Cuts Won't Defeat Brownback

Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is fighting to stay in office this November, with even some members of his own party saying they will vote for Democratic challenger Paul Davis.

Part of Brownback's problem is that he worked successfully to defeat establishment Republicans in the state legislature and is facing political payback.

But he also is under fire for lowering taxes. Many of his critics say that has crippled Kansas' recovery from the recession.

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, disagrees, telling "Meet the Press" on Sunday he thinks Brownback will win because "he's done the right thing for the economy."

Norquist pointed out that there are 30 states with GOP governors who have cut taxes more than $30 billion over the past four years. The 20 states with Democratic governors have raised taxes $40 billion.

Those losing, Norquist said, are Democrats such as Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and even one Republican, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett.

Kansas has not seen a loss of population because of Brownback's leadership, as critics claim, he said, since the state has been losing population for 40 years.

"What we had was a bipartisan establishment position, which was: Keep raising taxes in Kansas," Norquist said. "We've now elected a Reagan Republican majority in the House and the Senate, this is not all about the governor."

Host Chuck Todd pointed out that Moody's has lowered Kansas' credit rating because of its sluggish recovery. Todd said "a lot of people think it's because of these tax cuts."

Earlier in the discussion, Todd had shown a Commerce Department graph that revealed tax cuts and hikes through history have had no correlation to the economy.

Norquist said Kansas has seen 57,000 jobs created in the private sector and has been spending more money on education.

"There's a reason why Missouri passed a tax cut to be more like Kansas, why Kansas' model is being looked at in Oklahoma and Louisiana," Norquist said. "It's halfway passed in North Carolina."

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