Replies to post #193599 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[pro_se]

Is there proof he has one?

[F6]

A Message from The Greatest Generation

([linked in] http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=81001297 and preceding and following)

[BOREALIS]

How Grover Norquist can extend his winning streak and prove his irrelevance

Tue Nov 20, 2012 at 08:32 AM PST
by Jed Lewison

It appears as though Grover's pledge has a loophole

Grover Norquist and his anti-tax pledge appear to have a problem:
Not only are leading Republicans paying lip service [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/19/1163121/-Why-are-Republicans-calling-for-more-tax-revenue-but-not-higher-tax-rates ] to the need for more tax revenue, but after this month's election, neither chamber of Congress will have a majority of members who support it. [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/13/1161122/-Norquist-tax-pledge-supporters-lose-majority-in-House-shrink-in-Senate?detail=hide ]

But Grover says he's not breaking a sweat:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/us/politics/grover-norquist-author-of-antitax-pledge-faces-big-test.html?pagewanted=2&pagewanted=all&_r=0

Mr. Norquist contends that every few years, several noisy Republicans say their support is squishy. Yet every time, he says proudly, the outcome is the same.

“It’s been 22 years since a Republican voted for a tax increase in this town,” he said in a recent interview. “This is not my first rodeo.”

This might not be Grover Norquist's first rodeo, but this is certainly a rodeo in which he's completely irrelevant. In fact, he's so irrelevant that not only could taxes could go up, they could go up with the cooperation of a majority of Republicans—and not a single one of them would need to violate his pledge.

The reason for that is simple: If Congress does nothing, taxes go up at the end of the year. Unless Senate Democrats suddenly cave and agree to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and President Obama agrees to sign such an extension or a last-minute tax reform package miraculously materializes, starting on Jan. 1, 2013, Bush's tax cuts on income above $250,000 will vanish.

That means the real question for House Republicans is what they will do with the middle-class tax cuts they've been keeping hostage for years now. If they do nothing, tax rates go up for everybody on Jan. 1, 2013. If they pass the Senate's legislation extending middle-class tax cuts, then the only taxes that will be going up will be on income over $250,000.

The point is that taxes are going up under current law. Republicans don't have to vote for tax hikes because the tax hikes are baked into current law. If Republicans pass the Senate legislation, it will effectively settle the issue of Bush tax cuts for the wealthy because those tax cuts will finally be decoupled from the middle-class tax cuts. The hostage crisis will be over. But they won't actually be voting to raise taxes, which means they won't be violating Grover Norquist's pledge. And if that happens, we can all stop talking about Grover Norquist's power. Because if Republicans can let taxes go up without breaking his pledge, the best word to describe Norquist will be this: irrelevant.

Originally posted to The Jed Report on Tue Nov 20, 2012 at 08:32 AM PST.
Also republished by Daily Kos.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/20/1163420/-How-Grover-Norquist-can-extend-his-winning-streak-and-prove-his-irrelevance

[F6]

5 Best Deleted Petitions from the White House Website



Nov 15, 2012 11:32 AM by Ilya Gerner

The Obama administration claims to be in favor of transparency and civic participation, but lately, it's been deleting citizens' petitions from the "We the People" website, undoubtedly a prequel to the mass purges of political dissidents soon to befall the United States. And to think, all these people were petitioning for was a right to punch Grover Norquist "once, and only once, square in the dick." Was that too much to ask?

1. Everyone to punch Grover Norquist in the dick

"Peacefully grant the people of the United States of America to have Grover Norquist be brought forth in chains and put in a public pillory. Once Grover Norquist has been secured, anyone who wishes will be allowed to punch him once, and only once, square in the dick."

2. Peacefully Grant the State of Herp-a-Derp to Withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW Government

"…herp-a-derp-derp, but please keep sending my Social Security check. I earned that, yo."

3. Make Duncan Trussell the Emperor Of Planet Earth

"We petition the Obama administration to construct an iron throne made of meteorites and incinerated pope penises upon which the new emperor of planet earth Duncan Trussell can reign supreme. Attached to the throne should be a surgical straw connected to an endless quantity of fresh fetal stem cells upon which our Lord may suckle as the people of the world petition him for mercy or offer him their children and livestock."

4. Make Batman the Secretary of Defense

"I would like the crime fighter known as Batman to be the Secretary of Defense."

5. Make Hank the Cat an Honorary Senator

This is why democracy doesn't work.

Copyright © 2012 Comedy Partners

http://www.indecisionforever.com/blog/2012/11/15/5-best-deleted-petitions-from-the-white-house-website [with comments]