Grover Norquist says raising taxes on the middle class isn't a tax increase

If you're talking about stereotypes throughout history, liberals and Democrats have always been labeled with words like "soft" and "weak" and Republicans have always been the party that was "strong" especially on issues of war and the economy. Over the last few years however, those labels have started to change. President Obama has ended the war in Iraq, drawn down in Afghanistan, killed Osama Bin Laden and was part of the effort that killed Gaddafi. In the meantime, the Republicans have been held back by a decision they've made. That decision that has held them back is named Grover Norquist.

Grover Norquist, the head of Americans for Tax Reform, created the Taxpayer Protection Pledge which was signed by 95% of Republicans in congress and all but one, Jon Huntsman, of the 2012 Republican presidential candidates. With Republicans locked into the pledge and scared of the backlash if they back off from it, conservatives don't look as strong as the "strong" stereotype might make you think. Apparently not all tax increases are bad though. Recently, Grover Norquist told a group of Republicans that a tax increase on the middle class wasn't really a tax increase. The national Journal's Bill House sent a tweet reporting on the issue.

@HouseinSession- Norquist advises a room of House Republicans Thursday that a failure to extend the payroll tax cut should not be viewed as raising taxes.

President Obama is trying to extend the payroll tax cut that would put around $1,000 in the pockets of middle class Americans while paying for it with a small tax increase on people making more than a million dollars a year. Republicans are showing once again that they are the slave of Norquist and that tax increases are only bad if it's happening to wealthy Americans.