Disarmament Part II: Taxes

Mention Grover Norquist and you're likely to start a heated debated with me.  As with many of the Republican Party's current tactics their current stance on taxes makes them look petulant at best, and completely ineffectual at worse.  Fortunately, this is a problem exhibited by both parties, albeit for very different reasons.


Norquist is most known for starting Americans for Tax Reform in 1985 which so far doesn't seem to have done a whole lot to really help push forward a reasonable tax reform agenda.  Their primarily goal since 1985 has been to reduce government revenues as a percentage of GDP.  This isn't such a terrible sounding goal, but it has become a rallying point for conservatives to justify not making any meaningful compromises when it comes to taxes.  So much so that there is now a "pledge" that's been signed on to by many Republicans that would seem like it was written and signed in blood judging by how faithful they are to it.  Finally there's a reasonable Republican like House Ways & Means Chairman Dave Camp (R, Mich) with a comprehensive tax plan and it gets little traction since we're in an "election year".  Simplifying the tax system can be done by eliminating tax brackets, getting rid of tax breaks and incentives, and lowering overall tax rates.  Conservatives refuse to do anything perceived as a "tax increase" while Democrats refuse to consider anything that could be perceived as "lowering taxes for the rich".  In reality simplifying the tax code would allow more wiggle room for lowering overall rates for all tax brackets, and, with the elimination of tax breaks/loopholes", would still force many wealthy individuals to pay more of their actual tax rate rate rather than their currently lower much lower effective tax rate.  Now I ask how does this not achieve some of both party's goals and why can't a compromise be reached?