Norquist,
now that the smoke has cleared, has emerged from his crevice between
Republican candidates and corporate interests to again attempt to safely
reestablish the continuance of his ongoing swindle.
Norquist's relationship to government is a parasitic one, based on two simple methods: 1) coercion; 2) deceit.
Norquist coerces Republican candidates into taking a pledge that they will "never" raise taxes. How is he able to effect such coercion? He receives large donations from corporate interests who wish to have their taxes kept low. He uses this funding to collect massive mailing and contact lists for each politician.
If a politician does not sign the pledge, he then threatens to blanket their district with a barrage of negative publicity, using these lists to create maximum coverage. Most politicians fold under this blatant corporate coercion.
Their interests are maintained--and Grover takes his cut. He calls this "entrepreneurship".
Norquist, when challenged, says that he is merely acting for the interests of the people. A scheme which paralyzes Government from the collection of necessary revenue, in order to serve the interest of corporate funders and Norquist is hardly in the interests of the people--as we saw in the recent debt ceiling debacle, and in the continuing fear of Republicans to increase taxes in the face of the threat of Norquist's well-funded electoral fusillade.
Norquist is unbearably smug--a kind of indirection which draws scorn away from his more shameful acts.
Like his well detailed fleecing of Indian tribes, in concert with the now reformed Jack Abramoff. Ari Berman of "The Nation" notes that "just a few years ago he was a central player in the Jack Abramoff scandal, using his connections to launder nearly $1 million from Abramoff’s Indian tribe clients to conservative activist Ralph Reed and Christian anti-gambling groups who were fighting a proposed state lottery in Alabama, according to an extensive report by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. 'Call Ralph re Grover doing pass through,” Abramoff wrote in an e-mail reminder to himself in 1999.'
His current scheme rests on the essential deceit that the paralyzing coercion of elected officials by corporate funded electoral shock and awe is what the nation and its people want and need.
This is a paper thin fallacy that has driven the nation into an economic crisis.
No matter how much Norquist's maintains his snake oil salesman's smugness, it cannot and should not distract us from his greater and more serious offensiveness against the nation.
Norquist's relationship to government is a parasitic one, based on two simple methods: 1) coercion; 2) deceit.
Norquist coerces Republican candidates into taking a pledge that they will "never" raise taxes. How is he able to effect such coercion? He receives large donations from corporate interests who wish to have their taxes kept low. He uses this funding to collect massive mailing and contact lists for each politician.
If a politician does not sign the pledge, he then threatens to blanket their district with a barrage of negative publicity, using these lists to create maximum coverage. Most politicians fold under this blatant corporate coercion.
Their interests are maintained--and Grover takes his cut. He calls this "entrepreneurship".
Norquist, when challenged, says that he is merely acting for the interests of the people. A scheme which paralyzes Government from the collection of necessary revenue, in order to serve the interest of corporate funders and Norquist is hardly in the interests of the people--as we saw in the recent debt ceiling debacle, and in the continuing fear of Republicans to increase taxes in the face of the threat of Norquist's well-funded electoral fusillade.
Norquist is unbearably smug--a kind of indirection which draws scorn away from his more shameful acts.
Like his well detailed fleecing of Indian tribes, in concert with the now reformed Jack Abramoff. Ari Berman of "The Nation" notes that "just a few years ago he was a central player in the Jack Abramoff scandal, using his connections to launder nearly $1 million from Abramoff’s Indian tribe clients to conservative activist Ralph Reed and Christian anti-gambling groups who were fighting a proposed state lottery in Alabama, according to an extensive report by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. 'Call Ralph re Grover doing pass through,” Abramoff wrote in an e-mail reminder to himself in 1999.'
His current scheme rests on the essential deceit that the paralyzing coercion of elected officials by corporate funded electoral shock and awe is what the nation and its people want and need.
This is a paper thin fallacy that has driven the nation into an economic crisis.
No matter how much Norquist's maintains his snake oil salesman's smugness, it cannot and should not distract us from his greater and more serious offensiveness against the nation.
