Tag Archives: Americans for Tax Reform

Grover Norquist

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Grover Norquist - Caricature

Grover Norquist - Caricature (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)

Who is Grover Norquist? He is the founder and CEO of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), formerly Fairness for Families foundation, at www.atr.org Americans for Tax Reform only has 14 or so employees, yet this organization through its no tax increase pledge effectively governs the GOP in Washington and in many state capitals also. In California, many of the problems that faced Arnold S. and now face Jerry Brown in governing the state and raising sufficient revenue can be traced back to Grover Norquist and ATR. Grover Norquist has never been vetted nor elected to any office. Who does he represent and where does his funding come from?

Rolling Stone reported on Grover Norquist in their November 24, 2011 issue written by Tim Dickinson. CBS featured Grover on 60 Minutes on November 20, 2011. In his book Capitol Punishment, Jack Abramoff, a friend of Grover’s, stated that Grover is a genius, a “brilliant political strategist,” who labeled all his opponents “Bolsheviks.” Now the term that the Right uses is Marxist. The term Bolshevik has lost its sting, and Marxist is easier to spell.

Grover Norquist has operated in the shadows for far too long. If the corporate media will not expose his operations to the light of day and the informed scrutiny of the American public, then someone else must. I do not have the resources to do the job. I hope and trust that the independent media is up to the task.

Please see The Big Lie | I am not a Marxist

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I am weary

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Grover Norquist

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I am weary of the Republican negative advertising on TV and the Republican refusal in Congress to alleviate the effects of the Great Recession due largely to their policies. I am weary of the lies that we must hear for the next thirteen months until the November, 2012, election. I am weary, but I will NOT surrender. It is a part of the Republican strategy that we, their opponents, will tire of the struggle and surrender. I will NOT surrender.

The cry is heard in the land, “Throw the bums out.” Well, we tried that in November, 2010, and look at the results we now must live with. Throwing the bums out does no good if we replace them with another set of bums. We must replace the bums we turn out of office with elected officials who are willing to take the pledge. No, I am not referring to Grover Norquist’s no tax increases pledge. I am referring to this pledge, “I am not now and never have been a bum.” Candidates willing to take this pledge are the ones we are looking for.

I am confident that Barack will be re-elected. I also think that the race for 2016 will begin shortly after November, 2012. If we are avoid a continuation of the present stalemate in Congress for another two or four years, we must elect members of Congress who will work with Barack to end the Great Recession before it morphs into the Great Depression 2. The present strategy and tactics of the GOP are endangering our ability to avoid disaster.

Please see Great Depression 2 | Let them eat cake | Social Darwinism | Be bold Barack | I am not a Marxist | Leviathan | Kabuki Democracy | Aversion therapy

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3 legs

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A stool with adjustable height.

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A 3-legged or milking stool consists of a flat seating surface and three short, equal-length legs spaced equally around the seating surface at 120 degree intervals. It provides a stable support using the minimum amount of material. Shortly after I began my woodworking hobby of building furniture from kits, my 10-year old son and I assembled a milking stool which we now use as a planter support. Whenever I look at it, I am reminded of the following analogy to that of the US economy.

When it worked well for most of us, the US economy resembled a milking stool; one leg represented labor, one business and one government. All three working together made for a safe and growing economy. Starting in the 1980s or earlier, unions and labor came under sustained assault. The labor leg of the stool was whittled away by downsizing, outsourcing, globalization and privatization. The business leg of the stool grew in size and importance. Now the government leg of the stool is under assault as business seeks to free itself from any regulation.

Business claims that it can balance itself on a one legged stool without any assistance from the other two legs. And then the great recession of 2008 occurred and business fell off the stool and landed flat on its face. “Help,” shouted business. “We need help from government and concessions from labor.” Well business is back in business balancing on its one legged stool until the next time. Now business denies that it even needed help. Regulation to help prevent another recession or worse is labeled socialism or worse.

The economy will wobble and crash occasionally as business tries to balance itself on one giant support while the government and labor legs atrophy and finally disappear if we let business have its way. It was Grover Norquist who famously said, “I  simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” Norquist has not gone away. I have read that he is active in setting daily and weekly GOP talking points. So when you hear a member of the Party of No talking to the news, you are really listening to what Grover Norquist suggested they repeat.

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