Norquist: Coburn 'lied his way' into office

Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, just emailed a response to Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn's claim that his group is a narrow "special interest" that doesn't represent American conservatives. And it's memorable.

Norquist accuses Coburn of backing out of a 2004 signed pledge to eschew tax hikes without buck-for-buck budget cuts. Coburn told David Gregory on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he doesn't favor tax rate hikes but could agree to a "net" increase in revenues, if done carefully.

Here's Norquist's response (boldface is mine):

The pledge that Tom Coburn signed was to the citizens of Oklahoma. He made that promise in campaigning for Senate in Oklahoma. Coburn said on national TV today that he lied his way into office and will vote to raise taxes if he damn well feels like it, never mind what he promised the citizens of Oklahoma. Sen. Coburn knows perfectly well that the pledge is not to any organization but to the citizens of his state. He lied to them, not to Americans for Tax Reform. Before this recent television comment, Coburn told me personally in a phone call that he would not vote for a tax increase and repeated his commitment in writing in a public letter to me.

Glenn Thrush is senior staff writer at Politico Magazine.