When Grover Norquist barks Republicans jump. Mike Haridopolos unveiled a letter Norquist sent him against the property taxes decrease and sales tax increase. Norquist

"If this plan is passed along the legislature, any legislator who votes to place this measure on the ballot would be violating the Taxpayer Protection Pledge," Norquist’s letter continues.

Former Alabama Governor Bob Riley (R) attempted to raise taxes to pay for education. Norquist's organization the Americans for Tax Reform helped kill Riley's tax plan and placed the Governor on their enemies list. Norquist can rally conservative economic and Christian activists to kill a Republican politician's career.

Why Norquist is still taken seriously is a mystery. He campared the estate tax to the Holocaust. Norquist used pro-gambling Indian tribe money for a donation to the anti-gambling Alabama Christian Coalition. Norquist's friend Jack Abramoff told an Indian tribe to donate to the ATR. Norquist failed to inform the tribe or the Christian Coalition about the money exchange. All this was to help their longtime friend Ralph Reed.

Abramoff used ATR as a conduit in 1999 and 2000, for example, to send some $1.15 million from the Mississippi Choctaws to the Alabama Christian Coalition and to an allied anti-gambling group in the state. The funds were for a campaign spearheaded by Ralph Reed, the former Christian Coalition leader-turned-business-consultant, that helped to defeat a proposed gambling venture in Alabama that posed a financial threat to the Mississippi Choctaws' casino enterprises.

Abramoff, Norquist and Reed viewed Indian tribes as their personal ATM machine.

Some Abramoff e-mails released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee also indicate that Norquist took a cut of the Choctaw funds for ATR. In a February 7, 2000, e-mail, for instance, Abramoff cautioned Reed that he might be receiving a little less than expected because "I need to give Grover something (for helping), so the first transfer will be a little lighter." Then on February 22, Abramoff sent an e-mail memo to himself voicing surprise that "Grover kept another 25K!" Norquist told Time that he twice received permission from the Mississippi tribe to keep $25,000.

The fact that Haridopolos would seek out Norquist's approval is disturbing. Norquist backed Bush's disasterious first budget package. Norquist openly brags, "I think I've gotten more radical as I've gotten older."

I personally think the property tax/sale tax swap is a bad idea. It is amusing that conservatives are coming out against Marco Rubio's plan. Rubio is better at getting (bad) publicity than getting things done. In politics, that is all that matters.