Grover Norquist's scheme for a one - party state

[sidpleasant]

Very scary article in this week's Boston Phoenix profiling right wing strategist Grover Norquist:

http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/multipage/documents/03684479.asp

Norquist isn't just another creepy right winger (his entire life seems to be so committed to poitics that he doesn't have any sort of intimate relationship), he's quite open about his plans to literally destroy the Democratic party:

" Norquist has had far less trouble uniting conservatives and corporations around his master plan for taking down the Democratic Party. By design, each of the prongs in that strategy is a win-win. Tort reform, for example, attracts millions in campaign lucre from corporate leaders while undermining trial lawyers, a major Democratic support base. School choice divides largely Democratic inner-city communities desperate for better education and undermines the authority of teachers’ unions. Social Security privatization could one day provide a windfall to Wall Street brokers, who increasingly favor Republicans with campaign donations, while eliminating one of the most successful Democratic government programs in history. Tax cuts for rich investors give a Republican voting bloc even more money to send to campaigns. There is nothing accidental about this. "You want to make your team bigger and their team shorter," Norquist explains. "And the trial lawyers fund their team, labor unions fund their team, city tax collectors fund their team."

Closer to home, Norquist has been working to purge the corporate-lobbying community of Democratic supporters, a plan he calls the K Street Project. He has circulated a list of Democratic lobbyists, while getting out the word that lobby shops that employ them can expect less cooperation from the GOP-controlled Congress. Vic Fazio, a former Democratic member of Congress who now lobbies at Clark and Weinstock, says some of K Street’s corporate clients have tried to resist these pressures with only mixed success. "They feel at times that they have to go along," says Fazio, whose clients include AT&T, Microsoft, and the pharmaceutical industry, noting that some Democrats "feel this makes them unmarketable."

The GOP doesn't just want to win elections, they want to destroy the Democratic party so they can rule unopposed in perpetuity. Is there anyone on our side who comparably ferocious about fighting back against the GOP? Should there be?

[blm]

1. And THIS is why so many troll here and claim there is not much difference

between Bush and Kerry. Those faux-leftists want enough gullible Democrats to feel devalued and demoralized that they vote third party or don't bother to vote at all.

These operatives know EXACTLY what they are doing. It has worked for them for decades, especially in 68 and 72 when they had the Dems battling each other in the streets.

Then, of course, look what 2000 brought us. No difference?

[cyclezealot]

6. We are not faux liberal Democrats.

Misleading...Kerry's vote for Cafta, Fast Track,the War is just unacceptable..Not to say we won't vote for him and certainly not make the kind of noises that will hurt Kerry..It is just we view Kerry's toying with those elements that Norquist panders to, to be worrisome.
That is not being divisive... I think you are the one who just wants to dismiss pretty important elements in Kerry's persona that worries thinking Democrats.
We do not oppose Kerry to give him a hard time, but to help encourage him to not betray the American public again.
Yes, I encourage Nader to run a non-serious campaign, because it will hurt Bush politically more so than Kerry's attacks- because I know the majority of Americans, many even Repugs agree that international business is not patriotic to the United States.
Should Nader campaign too hard, then many of us will become in agreement with you labelers of we skeptical thinkers, who don't so easily go along with the crowd- when it comes to critical issues.

[blm]

10. I am speaking of those who say the difference is cosmetic

or miniscule.

And there are plenty of us serious minded Democrats who are for open and fair trade, as Kerry is. A President Kerry would push through environmental and labor protections in trade bills, just as he submitted as Senator.

I didn't like Kucinich's stance when he was prolife or against flag burning, but I supported him for years anyway while other "good Democrats" scorned him as too conservative. But I believed his heart was liberal. I was right.

The same with Kerry. I trust his heart and soul is that of a liberal.
And I say that AS a critical thinker who is NOT a crowd follower and never has been.

Truly critical thinkers would have assessed every aspect of Kerry's work and efforts over the last 35 years and noted that he has investigated and exposed more government corruption than any lawmaker in modern history. There should be some comfort for those who are inclined to be skeptical.

[northzax]

2. good.

let them make sure that the lobbying shops and orgs are GOP-only. hope they have fun with a democratic white house.

[Pillowbiter]

3. All I can say is

do you have you firearm to defend your freedom in the upcoming civil war yet?

PB

[SaveElmer]

4. It's having the opposite effect

It is these kinds of tactics which is solidifying the Democratic Party in opposition to the Pukes.

[lutherj]

5. This is the guy who said he "wants to shrink government to

the size where it can be drowned in the bathtub."

What exactly is this metaphor, anyway? When you think of someone drowning something in the bathtub, what image comes to mind? To me it's the deranged fundamentalist woman in Texas drowning her 5 children. These guys are all psychos.

[sidpleasant]

7. For such a smart guy Norquist says some amazingly stupid nonsense

From the article:

The common vision: an America in which the rich will be taxed at the same rates as the poor, where capital is freed from government constraints, where government services are turned over to the free market, where the minimum wage is repealed, unions are made irrelevant, and law-abiding citizens can pack handguns in every state and town. "My ideal citizen is the self-employed, home-schooling, IRA-owning guy with a concealed-carry permit," says Norquist. "Because that person doesn’t need the goddamn government for anything."

I like that last sentence. Norquist doesn't seem to understand that the government he hates so much maintains the road in front of this "ideal citizen's" home (is the GOP proposing that every street in America become a private toll road?), regulates the securities markets so that "ideal citizen's" IRA doesn't get vaporized by fraud, operates the justice system (is the GOP proposing that all crime - vandalism, say - should be controlled by vigilantes using deadly force?), controls air traffic so that Norquist's frequent flights don't crash into each other, regulates the safety of drugs and food (is the GOP proposing to elimiate food inspection and drug testing?), and many many other day to day functions most of us never notice.

[tom_paine]

9. Grover is not smart, he is Weasel Cunning

Many people with an excess of this trait are thought to be smart.

But an average or even sub-average mind, mated to consciencelessness, short-sightedness, greed, and cruelty, gives that appearence.

It ain't so, though.

[Fovea]

12. Grover worships the cash nexus.

And wants to be rid of all parts of society that are not controlled by money. I wonder if he has ever considered how little money it would take to get him suicided? He has associates with poor boundaries and scary mental landscapes.

In his perfect macho fantasy world, he thinks his conceal carry permit would be some good against a CIA trained ex-operative or ex-Army sniper. Nothing personal, it's the money, you understand. And no one who flies that much is carrying a gun around consistently enough.

I think Grover is pathetic. And the cabal around him is already feeling the heat-- sure, he can fight like a rabid skunk, but the blood is in the water. Grover is currently under suspicion by many in the Right for his dealings with certain Islamic groups. Listening to this little weasel talk, I expect that he will thrash about a lot going down, but he has taken on team Bush with his lukewarm, smarmy support, and people who do that decline in actuarial value precipitously.

I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire, and I doubt the fire department would show up either. I certainly would not stand very close to him.

Lastly, Grover's perfect American is a fiction, like a hallucinatory morphing of John Rockefeller/John Wayne. Real human beings live in societies where people depend on each other in ways that do not always have a monitary value.

He is Hobbsian in his vison of society. What would happen if he had a heart attack without his wallet? He needs to take another spin through Sartor Resartus and maybe give it some thought.

How would he pay for the ambulance to care for him?
Will the KB&R police be as committed to his safety when they get their overtime cut?

Grover is a Lysenko. He has a theory that he is putting forth. It is a laissez faire idiocy that routinely performs self Reductio ad Absurdum. It is attractive to people who are against society, because they believe they will thrive best in chaos. That is where they are taking us, and they are nervous about Bush becasue they think he is putting them in too much danger from a backlash they do not yet believe they can withstand.

[tom_paine]

8. And if he succeeds, the American Experiment is over

I predict it will NOT go gently into that good night.

Try Free America, Grover you gutless sh*tpile!

Just try us...

:grr: :grr: :grr: :mad: :grr:

[Manix]

11. FASCISM

[ithacan]

13. here's a MAJOR part of the problem:

Visibly rattled by the blunt force of Norquist’s rejection, Miller tries to engage him in an argument.

People like Miller who are SO f***ing naive that they believe they can just be reasonable.

They do not understand that this is a war, that the right wingers WANT a one party state with an officially enforced ideology, that they want to repress the open exchange of ideas.

Because they know that at the level of policies and ideas they would lose big time.

So they have to FORCE their ideology on the country. Just like authoritarian and totalitarian dictatorships the world over.

It's not just a coincidence that these guys were obsessed with the Soviet Union. They learned a lot from Lenin and Stalin.

[Hotler]

14. Is there anyone on our side????

Don't know, I think the burden to fight back against the neo-cons falls on our shoulders. Grover is an ass. If it comes down to a fight in the streets, it will be against this bunch. Yes, I have my gun and a permit.

[librechik]

15. I loathe Grover Norquist with the heat of a thousand suns

this unamerican derangement is an abomination to democracy.