Reflecting the potential peril facing Republican lawmakers that break Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Georgia, is already facing a possible primary challenge after indicating last week that he might be willing to break the pledge.
While the pledge offered by Norquist's Americans For Tax Reform calls for opposition to any and all tax increases, Chambliss said the U.S. needs to do whatever it takes to address its debt and deficit, even if that means findings ways to raise revenue.
"I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge." Chambliss said in an interview with WMAZ, the CBS-affiliate in Macon, Georgia, last Wednesday.
Following his remarks, however, conservative blogger Erick Erickson has indicated that he is considering running against Chambliss in the Republican primary in 2014.
Erickson, the founder of RedState.com, told WMAZ that prominent conservative groups and individuals have asked him to give serious thought to running and said he owes it to them to consider it.
"The election is not until 2014 and a decision does not need to be rushed," Erickson told WMAZ in an email. "What I do know is that Saxby Chambliss has spent twenty years in Washington and in that time has been complicit in growing Washington."
"It's time for him to come home. Whether it is me or someone else, I hope someone rises to the occasion to challenge him," he added.
Chambliss acknowledged last week that breaking the pledge could lead Norquist to oppose his re-election bid in 2014.
"But I don't worry about that because I care too much about my country. I care a lot more about it than I do Grover Norquist," Chambliss said. "I'm willing to do the right thing and let the political consequences take care of themselves."
The remarks from Chambliss came as lawmakers in Washington continue to wrangle over how to address the looming fiscal cliff.
Without action by Congress, approximately $600 billion in automatic tax increases and government spending cuts are currently due to go into effect at the end of the year.
Republican leaders have signaled a willingness to raise revenues by closing tax loopholes but have thus far remained staunchly opposed to raising tax rates.
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