Grover doesn't play the friends with benefits game buddy! If you want it, put a ring on it!

Maybe this will teach future candidates for all offices that the only pledge they need to concern themselves with is their oath of office.

So just don't do it. It's not that hard. Nancy Reagan taught us how.

So they're saying they won't abandon them when the going gets tough?

Can we drown Norquist in the bathtub now?

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) raised eyebrows last week when he referred to Norquist as "some random person" even as he defended the House GOP's steadfast opposition to tax increases.




What a meeting with some random person might look like.

i can't be the only person who thinks it's pretty disturbing that these folks are taking "pledges" beyond their congressional oaths....?

Exception Collection: So they're saying they won't abandon them when the going gets tough?

Now that I've RTFA, I see what they mean - and yeah, that seems fair to me actually. If they signed it years ago (when conditions were different), that should be a 2 to 4 year pledge. Saying "I won't raise taxes" and being expected to hold to that after they drop over the next ten years (or however long) seems disingenuous at best - at *best* they should be held to not raise taxes past the rate they were at when the pledge was signed.

The thing about Norquist and his plan is that it's quite possibly the most completely nihilistic policy out there in contemporary politics that actually has real legislators signed on. It just calls for taxes to be cut, and proposes nothing to replace the revenue. And on top of that it wants the cuts to be as drastic as possible, and has no explanation for how spending is to be cut to compensate. Even Cain's batshiat crazy "9-9-9" thing attempts to make up for lost revenue from income taxes in other ways. Norquist's plan is all about simply destroying the government, and leaving nothing in its place.

doublesecretprobation: i can't be the only person who thinks it's pretty disturbing that these folks are taking "pledges" beyond their congressional oaths....?

I guess you could argue that they believe the two oaths to be consistent. However, with the US having historically low revenue, historically high debt, you would to be farking retarded to take tax increases of the table.

It would be like driving a school bus of kids on the highway and pledging to protect them and also pledging never to apply the brakes because you think it shouldn't be necessary if you steer properly and decelerate ahead of time and downshift when necessary.

sorry, but you signed a deal with the devil. you don't get to back out on that sort of thing - you fulfill the terms of your bargain and suck it up when the consequences come calling.

Norquist does have a coherent plan, it is just one that stinks.

People like Norquist know that voters are not going to voluntarily get rid of Social Security and other policies that benefit middle class people but not wealthy people. So the plan is to drive the government into a crisis through deficit spending and then claim that there is no choice. It is basically a way to accomplish something undemocratically that can't be accomplished through elections.

Link (new window)

Weaver95: sorry, but you signed a deal with the devil. you don't get to back out on that sort of thing - you fulfill the terms of your bargain and suck it up when the consequences come calling.

That's the ticket! Now that they regret being intractible, let's not let up, but really force the issue. I bet that, with a little effort, we could really humiliate them and take all their candy! For a chance like that, the American people and their "jobs" concern can wait.

Weaver95: sorry, but you signed a deal with the devil. you don't get to back out on that sort of thing - you fulfill the terms of your bargain and suck it up when the consequences come calling.

What? That's the dumbest thing I've heard all day. Granted, the day is young.

If you realize you've made a mistake, you correct it, you don't keep doing the wrong thing because you signed some muppet's pledge 10 years ago.

I heard Grover Norquist is married to a Muslim and has ties to Al-Qaeda and wants to impose Sharia Law in America.

"Does this Kool-Aid taste funny to you?"

Lionel Mandrake: Weaver95: sorry, but you signed a deal with the devil. you don't get to back out on that sort of thing - you fulfill the terms of your bargain and suck it up when the consequences come calling.

What? That's the dumbest thing I've heard all day. Granted, the day is young.

If you realize you've made a mistake, you correct it, you don't keep doing the wrong thing because you signed some muppet's pledge 10 years ago.

the GOP has said that admitting a mistake is to admit weakness. they're NEVER wrong. going back on their pledge would be admitting they're wrong and thus weak. so according to their own internal logic (such as it is) they can't back out. they signed a deal with the devil and have to see it through. they have no choice.

Republicans sure do love empty gestures...

Weaver95: the GOP has said that admitting a mistake is to admit weakness. they're NEVER wrong. going back on their pledge would be admitting they're wrong and thus weak. so according to their own internal logic (such as it is) they can't back out. they signed a deal with the devil and have to see it through. they have no choice.

They can. And according to the article, they are.

Lionel Mandrake: Weaver95: the GOP has said that admitting a mistake is to admit weakness. they're NEVER wrong. going back on their pledge would be admitting they're wrong and thus weak. so according to their own internal logic (such as it is) they can't back out. they signed a deal with the devil and have to see it through. they have no choice.

They can. And according to the article, they are.

no, they can't. they've spent DECADES telling their followers that to admit a mistake is weakness. well, they just admitted a mistake. And weakness is not tolerated by the GOP. weakness is to be purged.

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) signed the pledge in 1998, when he first ran for Congress, and said he didn't even know he was still on the list until earlier this year. "I thought it was for the next Congress," Simpson said. "If it sticks with you forever, why do they ask you to re-sign it every two years?"

Good question. It'll still be used against them at election time though. Saying "that was a long time ago" may not resonate with voters but I hope they do what's best for the country rather than their careers.

I don't remember anyone electing this asshole Norquist for any office. Signing any kind of "pledge" for some unelected, ultra-partisan douchebag is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of anyway. Which is why it's not surprising that so many Republicans signed it.

Weaver95: no, they can't. they've spent DECADES telling their followers that to admit a mistake is weakness. well, they just admitted a mistake. And weakness is not tolerated by the GOP. weakness is to be purged.

Their politicians, dude. They'll find a way (an excuse) to get out. "I was mislead...he lied to me" whatever. If they want to renege, they will.

Weaver95: Lionel Mandrake: Weaver95: the GOP has said that admitting a mistake is to admit weakness. they're NEVER wrong. going back on their pledge would be admitting they're wrong and thus weak. so according to their own internal logic (such as it is) they can't back out. they signed a deal with the devil and have to see it through. they have no choice.

They can. And according to the article, they are.

no, they can't. they've spent DECADES telling their followers that to admit a mistake is weakness. well, they just admitted a mistake. And weakness is not tolerated by the GOP. weakness is to be purged.

Reminds me of an old Twilight Zone episode. Norquist is Obsolete! Obsolete!

Lionel Mandrake: Weaver95: no, they can't. they've spent DECADES telling their followers that to admit a mistake is weakness. well, they just admitted a mistake. And weakness is not tolerated by the GOP. weakness is to be purged.

Their politicians, dude. They'll find a way (an excuse) to get out. "I was mislead...he lied to me" whatever. If they want to renege, they will.

And when they do, their followers will eat them alive. Because that's what they've trained their people to do to weakness - purge it, smash it, destroy it.

Lionel Mandrake: Weaver95: the GOP has said that admitting a mistake is to admit weakness. they're NEVER wrong. going back on their pledge would be admitting they're wrong and thus weak. so according to their own internal logic (such as it is) they can't back out. they signed a deal with the devil and have to see it through. they have no choice.

They can. And according to the article, they are.

"they" will be primaried.

Weaver95: And when they do, their followers will eat them alive. Because that's what they've trained their people to do to weakness - purge it, smash it, destroy it.

PC LOAD LETTER: "they" will be primaried.

I'm OK with this ;)

They may do nothing until they've been reelected, then hope people forget/calm down by the next election.

Angry Drunk Bureaucrat: Weaver95: Lionel Mandrake: Weaver95: no, they can't. they've spent DECADES telling their followers that to admit a mistake is weakness. well, they just admitted a mistake. And weakness is not tolerated by the GOP. weakness is to be purged.

Their politicians, dude. They'll find a way (an excuse) to get out. "I was mislead...he lied to me" whatever. If they want to renege, they will.

And when they do, their followers will eat them alive. Because that's what they've trained their people to do to weakness - purge it, smash it, destroy it.

The GOP is turning into Daleks?

'turning into'....?

"The Republican Party has totally abdicated its job in our democracy, which is to act as the guardian of fiscal discipline and responsibility. They're on an anti-tax jihad -- one that benefits the prosperous classes."

-- Former Reagan budget director David Stockman, in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Link (new window)

Lionel Mandrake: Weaver95: the GOP has said that admitting a mistake is to admit weakness. they're NEVER wrong. going back on their pledge would be admitting they're wrong and thus weak. so according to their own internal logic (such as it is) they can't back out. they signed a deal with the devil and have to see it through. they have no choice.

They can. And according to the article, they are.

Looks like there's gonna be a lot of horse heads in beds and what not.

Angry Drunk Bureaucrat: The GOP is turning into Daleks?

Don't be silly. The Dalek's understand the need for a progressive tax system and aren't hypocritical when it comes to their stance on small government and extermination.