And find himself spending his dotage in the least-inspected, most-inadequately staffed nursing home in the lowest-tax state in the nation, not counting oil states (in other words, his own personal utopia). Of course that will be nothing compared to the amazing "rewards" he might discover in the next life.

Gee a Republican who can't admit they were wrong, or sugggest what they're going to do personally to repair things. Ya hardly ever see that.

Or Cynical Bullshit?

Or Mental Illness?

Or Satanic Gamesmanship?

Or? (Fill in the blank) ______________________________

It should be illegal to use the publicly-owned airwaves to broadcast such stupidity.

Norquist is some kind of fool.

Everyone knows the REAL reason the economy is failing right now is because Clinton let bin Laden get away back in '96.

Idiot.

You gotta stop using word like "mendacity" and start these liars liars. Calling it an obliette does not make a shit hole smell any better.

If Norquistling (geddit?)is that influencial in the Republican't Party, and IF the Democrats can stop letting their collective A.D.D. distract them from actually tackling the structural economic issues, THEN the Republican'ts will be spending as long in ineffective opposition as the UK's Conservatives did after thier 1997 drubbing(12 years and counting).

My only worry about that prospect is that it allows lobbyists and special interests plenty of time to cosy up to the Democrats, as the only game in town, and pull off the same wholesale theft that they did for the last eight years.

Norquist's views are one of the big reasons we're in this mess. I'm not sure he knows it, or not. I'm guessing he does know it, but doesn't care. all he cares about is scoring whatever points he can.

Were there any justice in this world, he would be branded as a traitor to America, because he's a traitor as surely as if he had handed nuclear secrets to the Chinese. His work over 20 years has convinced imbecilic GOP representatives that taxes are bad, period. That all government spending is bad, unless it's for the Military. All of which is so stupid there are no words for it. In fact, it's beyond stupid now. It's criminal.

Especially here in California, Norquist has singlehandedly destroyed our state, through our GOP members in the State Legislature. Yes, Grover, we here in California know exactly who to blame for what's happened to us.

Grover is a traitor. His work has destroyed America. Nice going Grover. When we break out the torches and pitchforks, I'm sure we'll get to you very, very soon.

You should take a look at congressionaleffectfund.com to see clear and convincing evidence that the government wrecks the stock market. Timing the market by going to cash when Congress is in session and fully investing in index funds when Congress is in recess is proven to beat the market handily.

Grover's confused if he really believes there's a distinction between Republican tax and waste vs Democratic tax and waste. But it is an undeniable fact that the government is bad no matter which party is in the majority, and when government takes a break, we can all breathe easier--and get rich.

As Paul Krugman replied when I asked him how one combats such prideful ignorance (or willful mendacity, take your pick) as that displayed on a daily basis by Norquist, "to some extent you can't fight it, people will believe what they want to believe."

Krugman is right of course but he leaves something important out of his answer — important because we got it wrong last time and we need to learn to do better.

The Norquists of the world have been a recurring affliction on the democratic body politic since the Greeks invented democracy. They're part of the human condition. They happen. And in that sense, yes, there's really nothing you can do about them.

But what isn't inevitable is how much power and influence they're permitted to have. A healthy democracy is one which has no fear of its authoritarian demagogues because they have no influence over the people. But a society without robust defenses against demagoguery will suffer, perhaps greatly, at the hands of people who are essentially sociopathic.

The question to ask about Norquist is not, "How do we rid ourselves of this clown?" but rather, "What deficiency in education or poverty of spirit leads so many people to take this crap seriously?"

There's no reason why anyone should be paying attention to this guy. A generation or two ago, almost nobody would have.

If Grover Norquist says it, it must be so. Ask Rush. Ask the other to-me-unknown right-wing talk show hosts. Hell, yes, that's right. Grover Norquist said so.

It was Clinton's fault. It was the liberal media. It doesn't matter how thin the paper-mâché nor how unlikely the architecture. It's a matter of belief. The faithful accept their programming without question.

the ideology of unrestrained capitalism has remained unchanged, in spite of numerous disasters and untold misery, for 150 years or more and the ONLY TIME it was UNABLE to use it's great power to con most people into supporting it was the 40 years from 1930 to 1970 when the memory of it's most catastrophic failure of all was still fresh.

I always thought that was a villain in a Batman cartoon. Remember, that is the reverse Robin Hood character.

has this guy ever had any of his assumptions directly challenged? I read an interview Rolling Stone did with him a couple years back and when the question of the religous right and gays came up, Mr. "Drown Government in the bath tub" completley side stepped it. It seems to me this guy surrounds himself with yes men and has never had his own philosophy directly challenged in front of him. Ditto the military funding question. Would a government that you could drown in a bathtub still be appointing itself the worlds policemen? Be interesting to see him try and worm his way around that one.

From a letters thread on an earlier article ("You, Sir, Are An Idiot", 1-30-2009) :

I want to see all taxes cut to zero

All of them. Do away with the government. No police, no fire, no streets, no FDA, nothing. Just a Mad Max Mathusian apocalyptic madhouse sewer in flames.

Because I am 10x the survivor of all the fat white middle class right wing dipshits. I will eat them live. I will eat Grover Norquist and wear his skin like a pelt.

-- Smithers release the hounds