Norquist: Tax cuts still key to GOP

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist says he doubts Republicans will ditch their no-new-taxes pledge if they win the U.S. presidential election next year.

Norquist, head of the lobbying organization Americans for Tax Reform, told NBC's "Meet the Press" the American public wanted lower taxes and would not tolerate any fudging on the issue.

"The American people don't like people who lie their way into office," said Norquist. "They do like people who keep their commitments."

Norquist said taxation and its link to government debt are the No. 1 issue in the election and it is clear President Obama is on the wrong side as he struggles to get the economy back on track.

"I don't think a Republican would be likely to win the presidential election in the general if it wasn't clear that he wanted to go in a different direction than Obama," said Norquist. "If you want to raise taxes to pay for Obama's bigger government, then you vote for the Democrats."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted things might not be so cut-and-dried for the GOP once the pain of Draconian budget cuts land on the shoulders of the middle class.

"What has come to the fore is income inequality, and helping the middle class," Schumer told NBC. "That puts the wind at our backs, and I would predict that President Obama is going to win. … And it's very, very likely that we're going to keep the Senate, because the whole battleground has changed, away from just cutting the government, and towards helping the middle class and dealing with income inequality."