It’s apparently cool for the cool kids to think that Grover Norquist is a dweeb.
Yes, the guy who has been warning all of us about the untenable nature of the federal tax-and-spend system, the guy who came up with the novel idea that the Republican Party should actually stand for something- and be held accountable for campaign promises- is in trouble now.
Prior to the election, the reason why politicians like Barack Obama and Lindsey Graham trimmed their sails to the political winds in the first place and extended the Bush era tax cuts was because a guy like Grover Norquist stood in the way. He worked tirelessly to get politicians to say what they mean and mean what they say on taxes.
He was a man with a message, educating Americans about how tax policy corrupted public policy in general. He told them that there was no pain-free way of growing government and government spending. That, in fact, raising taxes always comes at the expense of lower growth in the private sector.
And politicians were loath to cross him because he was right. Lower taxes means general health for the economy. Higher taxes, as even Obama has acknowledged in both words and deeds, comes at the expense of the general welfare.
But then a funny thing happened.
Obama got three million more votes than the last GOP candidate who was soft on taxes. And the result is that somehow another miracle has been performed by the One.
By virtue of those votes, the laws of economics have changed.
Yes, those who were opposed to tax increases as ruinous to our economy- including Obama- now say they aren’t ruinous at all.
Tax increases can be pain free to everyone, except those people who already pay the most in taxes. And who cares about them?
So, now that the second worst presidential candidate in the history of the world has again defeated the worst presidential candidate in the history of the world, the media- who seems to get their talking points from the folks who write for Susan Rice- are telling us that only some tax increases are bad.
Other tax increases are so good, they say, that you can swap out $500 billion in “bad” tax increases and substitute $1.6 trillion in “good” tax increases. And rainbows will stretch forever and ever over the land, squirrels and butterflies will frolic- and still we will have no more jobs than we did before.
But I told you about the butterflies, right?
"It's politically smart to cut the knees out from underneath Grover Norquist," explained uber-liberal Cokie Roberts on ABC's This Week as the tax increase on the rich danced in her head. "The emperor has no clothes, and to say that is, I think, very useful."
Useful for whom?
Because it’s not useful for the American people to have a guy with guts and principles like Norquist made the scapegoat for a president who hasn’t been able to pass a budget since he had to negotiate one.
Despite the election, higher taxes and runaway federal spending are still bad for the economy. And they always will be whether the King of Kings lays on the hands or no.
So, the question I have for Cokie is this: Which emperor are we talking about?
Are you talking about the one that thinks that the main topic of conversation during the worst economic recovery of the post-war period ought to be your uterus?
Because while Washington is stocked with naked emperors from Pennsylvania Ave to Capitol Hill and from the Anacostia River to K Street, the most naked emperor of them all is Barack Obama.
Here’s why: After failed stimulus measures, failed fiscal measures, failed regulatory measures the only idea that Obama has to get our economy moving again is to raise taxes.
Really. Raise taxes. Ha!
Yeah. Like THAT’S gonna work.
All this time the problem has been that the government didn’t have enough of our money? Gosh, give that man a Nobel Pri…err…never mind.
Grover Norquist on the other hand is wearing a full suit of clothes, not withstanding the strip poker game going between the White House and Capitol Hill.
Norquist is telling the truth when he points out that the Democrats aren’t interested in real reform, entitlement reform or otherwise. They just want to grow government and need more money to do it
Norquist is right in getting politicians to sign pledges and make promises that they can’t break without a murmur.
Right now, we need more Grover Norquists, with more pledges, on more issues; more men willing to hold our elected leaders to a higher standard than the underpaid, over-sexed staffers on news desks and Capitol Hill do.
Because that’s what’s it took to get politicians to keep the promises they campaigned on.
So yeah Cokie. I agree: Your emperor is naked. And he’s staring at your uterus.
So you might want to cover up.
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