Disappointing many, but surprising few, the so-called Congressional “super committee” tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reductions announced it had failed to reach an agreement on Monday. Now, a wide range of spending cuts impacting everything from domestic to military programs will be implemented, which economists say will further hinder recovery. President Obama vowed to veto any legislation that attempts to undo the cuts. Both parties are snipping over who is to blame, though one private citizen’s name keeps getting mentioned – Grover Norquist. As the president of Americans for Tax Reform, Norquist has a reputation as a strict anti-tax enforcer. Most elected Republicans in America have signed his “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” making some call Norquist the most powerful man in Washington. Senator John Kerry has gone so far as to call Norquist the committee’s “thirteenth member.”
Norquist joins The Takeaway to talk about the “super committee” and the way forward in addressing the country’s long-term fiscal imbalance. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway’s Washington correspondent, reports on what the Beltway is saying about the committee’s failure.