Top Republicans Abandoning Norquist

Fiscal worries are making some GOP lawmakers ready to accept tax hikes

Anti-tax evangelist Grover Norquist, one of Washington's most influential figures, is facing an apparent erosion of his power as leading Republicans begin opting out of pledges to his cause.

Norquist has amassed considerable clout over the last couple of decades by managing to get hundreds of Republicans in elective office to sign a controversial pledge vowing never to vote for a tax increase.