Grover Norquist hails victory after supercommittee deal fails

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

One of the most powerful figures in Washington, Republican lobbyist Grover Norquist, headed off on holiday on Tuesday, leaving behind a trail of economic and political chaos while happily looking ahead to the next, even bigger battle: the 2012 elections.

Norquist, who has over the last two decades helped turn the Republicans into the party of no taxation, is blamed by the Democrats for single-handedly scuppering the Congressional supercommittee on the national deficit on Monday. Its collapse threw markets in the US and Europe into fresh turmoil, and reduced even further the standing of Congress among voters.

But Norquist was unconcerned. He was in a celebratory mood as, luggage and family packed into the car, he set off from Washington to Florida for the Thanksgiving break. With one victory behind him, he is already thinking about the 2012 White House and Congressional elections.

He expects the Republicans to take the White House but if they do not, there is a Plan B. He is confident they will take control of the Senate and, with both the House and Senate in Republican hands, he predicted Obama's second term would be a dead duck.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/22/grover-norquist-congress-supercomittee-deficit

[DCKit]

1. Grover wants to drown us all in the bathtub. That's his fantasy. nt

[Homer12]

21. Irony: He will drown in a bathtub.

n/t

[DCKit]

36. I'd be happy with a really injurious slip-and-fall. nt

[gateley]

2. Proud to be an American. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. He would, wouldn't he? Except he and the GOPers actually lost.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/22/the_great_rope_a_dope_trick/

Revolting little git. 10 gallons of douche in a 5-pound bag.

[Katashi_itto]

14. Agree, they lost big time. Course they will spin it like they didnt.

[SpiralHawk]

4. "Drown America, Drown. Heh heh. Smirk/" - Groveler Nerdquist (R)

[Motown_Johnny]

5. Good Luck Grover. Running on the same economic policies that collapsed the economy in '08

isn't much of a plan for winning the Senate.


IMO that is why the (R)s were so desperate to extend the Bush tax cuts now. They don't want to run on it next year.


Even if the improbable did happen and they won the Senate, doing noting for 4 years isn't much of a plan either, not with the problems we have facing us right now.


These guys set themselves up for a lose-lose situation.

[Andy823]

6. So lets see

Little lord Grover just managed to make sure there are huge cuts coming to the military, and so many of the big republican donors who make billions on their military contracts are going to be "happy" with little lord Grover? I don't think so. If he wants to take credit for what happened, let him, but I really don't think he, the republicans and the 1% actually won anything.

[NRaleighLiberal]

7. No one - absolutely no one - should have this much power. n/t

[Tom Ripley]

8. That shitheel never got over his shitheel of a father eating his ice cream

[sofa king]

9. Heh. What a rube.

What old Grover just did was rip millions out of Republican campaign funds (from defense contractors who will put that money into lobbying instead of campaign contributions), alienate a formerly solid sector of their already shrinking voter base (the contractor employees who just got hosed down), guaranteed President Obama's reelection, and ensured that Republicans will lose control of the House in this election and face the real prospect of a Democratic supermajority in the Senate in 2015.

Grover doesn't like the idea of raising taxes on the rich. Seventy percent of American voters like it a whole lot. So Grover won his myopic little battle, but in so doing, he won the war for us.

Thank you, Grover Norquist! But the Indian curse you earned... that will follow you beyond your pissed-on grave, you son of a bitch.

[Maineman]

10. How does he get that power??

Does he hand out lots of money? Does he control media? Where does the power come from? Is he the brains behind the Koch brothers' machinations?

[Tom Ripley]

17. Blackmail

[sofa king]

19. He's a criminal, and acts like one.

He's close pals with two other famous Republican criminals, Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove, if you wish for some character references.

His group, Americans for Tax Reform, runs this shifty extortion racket that's really fun to watch, since it actually focuses primarily on Republicans and is about to do them enormous damage.

Norquist was professionally schooled in conservative activism. Conservative activism is nothing like real activism, instead it relies on leveraging the power of people too stupid to know better to advance interests they do not actually share.

Norquist's group intentionally draws in great masses of militant right-wing authoritarians, the same personality type that filled the ranks of Hitler's brownshirts, Mussolini's Fascists, and President Bush's 23% basement of approval (as Grover's buddy Karl Rove well knew). They're politically active, turn out to vote more often than most, and can be snookered into believing any lie that needs to be told.

Those recruits are indoctrinated with the anti-tax talking points, and taught to view anyone who doesn't support tax cuts (for rich people like Grover, of course) as the enemy. They're encouraged to disproportionately represent themselves by regularly calling and writing their representatives, and by crapping all over the Internet with chain emails and barely sentient comments on news articles and message boards. But most importantly, they donate a shitload of money to the cause--or at least, they can be alleged to be the donors if the money is actually coming from another source....

Then Grover's goons wander around Capitol Hill with their anti-tax pledge, demanding legislators sign it, or Grover will release the dogs of war.

If the legislator doesn't sign--and stick to--the pledge, Grover's group pours tons of money into a primary candidate's campaign in the next election, costing the legislator tons of money by being forced to run two campaigns in an election year and threatening the legislator's job. The "activists" turn up the smear machine, the phone rings off the hook, the fax machine runs out of toner, and oops!, the psychos also come out of the woodwork, too.

Rumors in DC also suggested that similar extortion tactics also provided a good chunk of their funding. What is known for sure is that Americans for Tax Reform served as a money conduit for Jack Abramoff's own schemes, so whatever they're doing behind the curtain, it's sure to be dirty as hell. Oh, and Grover's tight with Arab terrorists, too, and no I am not bullshitting at all.

Democratic legislators can afford to laugh at these fools and shoo them away. The base of voters Norquist controls and influences will never vote for a Democrat, anyway, ever. So Norquist mainly preys upon Republicans, which means he actually does us some service... in much the same way that poisonous snakes slithering loose in the home can help keep the vermin population down.

Some Republicans, however, either want to or have to fight back. Rep. Frank Wolf is a good example. He's a Republican backed by shitloads of money from the corporate and government powers in his suburban DC district, which has kept him in office for decades. But his constituents are highly educated and not easy to deceive, went heavily in the direction of President Obama in the last general election, and like everyone else, support the expiration of tax cuts for the rich in overwhelming numbers. If he signs the pledge, he's doomed.

So last month Wolf entered a scathing multi-thousand word rebuttal of Norquist and his group into the Congressional Record. It says everything I said above and so much more that it will turn your shit white.

Have a look:

http://wolf.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=34§iontree=6,34&itemid=1805

Edit: If that doesn't work, http://wolf.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=34§iontree=6,34&itemid=1805">try this.

Edit 2: Dammit! Or this: http://tinyurl.com/3kzfwzd

[dgauss]

27. Excellent summary. The word that always comes to mind when I think of Norquist is "slimy."

[Telly Savalas]

29. Until you see a Democratic candidate run an ad with a phrase like

"my opponent cares more about being loyal to a lobbyist for special interests than he does representing you" then the Democratic Party is enabling him.

That asshole fancies himself as a kingmaker. Democratic candidates need to point out that this is supposed to be a fucking democracy and there are no kings to be made. So if the Republican candidate wants to pledge loyalty to Mr. Norquist, that's all fine and good, but we need candidates that represent the interest of the other 300 million or so people who live in this country.

[fascisthunter]

11. fascist sick minded traitor

[global1]

12. They Can't Have It Both Ways......

Grover claiming victory and the Repugs blaming Obama for the failure of the Super Committee.

[Telly Savalas]

31. Sure they can. Logic was evicted from U.S. political discourse a decade ago.

They can spout whatever irrational crap they want. If you try to point out a flaw in their argument, they claim you hate America and point their ray-gun of irrational bullshit at you.

Say what you will, but this approach has given them quite a bit of success in elections for years.

[Katashi_itto]

13. I don't think he was breast fed as a kid.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

15. bring him back from holiday

we have unfinished business!

[no_hypocrisy]

16. I want to produce an Obama spot equating a vote for Romney is a vote for Norquist.

[russspeakeasy]

18. Grover is on his way to oblivion..Once the curtain was pulled

back on 60 Minutes, it was the beginning of the end for him...

[Homer12]

20. His power is waining and he knows it.

This is the eclipse of the anit-government run by democrats movement.

[efilon]

22. How can this not be seen as bribery? n/t

[sarcasmo]

23. He is the poster boy for our current form of dysfunctional government.

[Little Tich]

24. Grover Norquist is a very dangerous man.

Even though he's unelected, his influence on Republican policies is great. The Supercommittee trainwreck is his fault. It was no victory for anybody.

[la la]

37. ..i see him as a dangerous cult leader...

..leading Americans over the cliff because of his gop-er 'pledge followers'

[barb162]

25. Grover is a truly screwed up jerk. Seems he has no problem with

deficit spending, just taxes. It's as if he sees no connection between anything. I think he just about has every Republican signing that stupid pledge of his. Even Alan Simpson was talking against him the last few days.

[Doctor_J]

26. He's getting a trillion dollars in spending cuts. Sounds like a win to me

sadly, the president is on Grover's side on this one, instead of working americans

[Turbineguy]

28. Grover Norquist

can eat shit and die.

[certainot]

30. he rides the limbaugh bandwagon, like gingrich- neither would be shit w/out RWTR monopoly

he couldn't do shit without team limbaugh and 1000 invisible radio stations- the enforcement tool and the only medium that can do the repetition needed to turn lies into reality.

that is the voice of the 1%, ignored by the left, and it kicks internet ass. and many and maybe most of the major universities in the US endorse it by broadcasting sports on those stations.

[earcandle]

32. He and the Republicans are breaking the Social Contract America has with its people to raise revenue

to pay for our government goods and services.  How is it that
this is not punishable by treason?  How is it these people are
not being shot in a firing squad for taking down the American
economic system?  What the fuck is going on here?  No rule of
law means no government exists any longer.  Why are we paying
this government for anything if they cannot keep their oath of
office and Eric Holder has no will and no power to keep us
viable.  

[earcandle]

33. This is not a pissing contest kids. This is serious business. Grover is hurting our country more

than the Rosenbergs ever did.  When will he be executed on TV
for all of us to bear witness, as we seize the property and
cash of all congress critters that have refused to do their
job to collect revenue and place liens if necessary.  We have
the means to be prosperous and these members have committed
fraud by making loans with interest attached.  No ONE HAS A
RIGHT TO SAY THEY DON'T WANT TO PAY TAX or do want to pay tax.
 Remember, only two things we have no choice about is death
and taxes.  This is pure mismanagement and fraud.  

What are we going to do about it? 

[earcandle]

34. Let us not make the KIDS at OCCUPY try to figure this out. THIS IS OUR JOB.

Do not adopt the rather thee than me attitude.  It is just a
matter of time, if you have, to at some point be a have not. 
This is the time to fight.  

[DallasNE]

35. Norquist's First Hero Was Hoover

That explains a lot. His first political campaign was for Nixon. That explains even more. And somehow he thinks he can cobble together enough Hoover and Nixon warshipers to control the Whitehouse, the House and the Senate. He even thinks the chips are all falling in place for that to happen. Frankly, he is going to be the biggest loser in 2012.