By Len Lazarick | Maryland Reporter
Grover Norquist
ANNAPOLIS — Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, is the man Democrats blame for partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C., stemming from the no-new-taxes pledge he has gotten most Republican lawmakers to sign.
He brought his conservative message to Queen Anne’s County Republicans at their annual Reagan Day Dinner last week and praised the party for emphasizing electing officials at the local level as a way to counter Maryland’s Democratic leanings.
“Focusing on local elections is the right idea,” Norquist said, citing the example of Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, which “is a different place than it was two years ago.”
“You can change Maryland,” Norquist told the dinner guests. “You can make real changes in the demographics of the state.”
David Ferguson, executive director of the Maryland Republican Party, said the state already has gone “red” at the local level. Ferguson said there are now 158 local GOP elected officials, compared to 157 elected Democrats in county governments. Here is an Excel spreadsheet of the list prepared by the party.
