Anti-Tax Crusader Grover Norquist
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-12-03/anti-tax-crusader-grover-norquist
Tax policy has never been easy -- for politicians to agree on or for Americans who are not accounting experts to understand. Now we have the so-called fiscal cliff looming over the nation, and the Obama administration and Republican leaders are at a stalemate on how to avert it. Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist has played an outsized role in the debate. Most Republican members of the current Congress have signed Norquist's anti-tax pledge. But with November elections over and the fiscal cliff just weeks away, some pledge-signers have begun to waver. Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform joins Diane to talk about one of life's two certainties: taxes.
Guests
Grover Norquist
president of Americans for Tax Reform.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen
Democrat of Maryland and ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
Rep. Ted Yoho
Republican congressman-elect of Florida.
Video: Inside The Studio
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, talked about the so-called fiscal cliff and his no-tax pledge. Norquist said President Barack Obama's proposal to avoid the fiscal cliff is "unserious," and he proposed broadcasting the negotiations on C-SPAN. "I think he's trying to take us off the cliff and blame other people," Norquist said about Obama. About the public negotiation, Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen replied, "It would be good if Speaker [John] Boehner actually put his plan on paper like the president has so the public can see what it is." Norquist also responded to a listener's question about why he continues to refer to policies enforced under President Ronald Reagan's administration, even though more than 30 years have since passed since Reagan was president.
Comments
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Amen to the last couple of callers. As a voter I resent Norquists assumption he speaks for me.
Always thought Diane had class, but the way she cut off Congressman Van Hollen mid-sentence was very disrespectful to the congressman and her audience. If the break can't wait, why not hold the answer till after?
MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT
BuzzFlash isn't the first site to note that approximately 53,952,000 Democratic votes were cast for congressional representatives, while only about 53,403,000 votes were cast for House Republicans. Yet, the Boehner/Cantor Tea Party tilt remains in the House of Representatives.
As PolicyMic explains:
Republican gerrymandering of electoral districts isn’t as sexy to kick up a fuss about, nor does it make for as good memes, but it’s safe to say that elaborate redistricting helped the party to win their current House majority. And to win by redistricting, looks an awful lot like cheating. Professor Geoffrey Stone emphasized that:
“Although the Republicans won 55% of the House seats, they received less than half of the votes for members of the House of Representatives. Indeed, more than half-a-million more Americans voted for Democratic House candidates than for Republicans House candidates. There was no split-decision. The Democrats won both the presidential election and the House election. But the Republicans won 55% of the seats in the House.
I just don't understand why extension of the Bush Era tax cuts is not seen as entitlements for the wealthy.
The wealthy are dependent on infrastructure, education for their employees, roads to transport their goods, safe banking, and the real economy for their dividends. Why are they so reluctant to pay for the services they use.
The stock market and the financial sector are not the real economy. It seems increasingly to be a parasite on the real economy. The real economy is people with real jobs buying real goods and services - food, housing, clothing, etc.
Mr. Norquist is trotting out the old saw about reducing taxes on the rich being the answer to jobs. Reagan called it "trickle down economics". It hasn't worked before; why should it work now. Reagan borrowed his way out of his financial difficulties.
What has Mr. Norquist done to create jobs? If so - how many of them are salaried to help the middle class?
I am finished listening to this arrogant man who has been given so much false power. He makes me sick.
WHY does Mr. Norquist receive so much attention and credibility? He has not been elected to any national or state office and he is mistaken or lying about spending under President Obama. Congress members should not promise anything except to their country and their constituents; Mr. Norquist has not been given any electoral mandate to collect signatures for anything. However, I am pleased that he has learned some manners since his last visit.
I have paid social security for many decades. When Medicare was first enacted, my father swore it was the beginning of socialized medicine; it later kept him alive for 4 years of dialysis. These are entitlements because they are *rights*! *Restore* the taxes for the top earners and cut some of the defense spending. We have the highest defense budget in the world; there must be some fat in it. Let Mr. Boehner stop whining and encourage his colleagues to do their jobs.
Can Mr. Nordquist provide CONCRETE details (written details) for the American Public to see this.. Can we see the details from BOTH PARTIES.
FORGET THIS JUNK, Diana get this guy to give us PAPER DETAILS !!!!!
The Ryan plan!?? I thought Grover wanted to talk about something serious....
That's his plan????? The RYAN PLAN!!!?????? OMG!! That guy is a pathalogical LIAR!!!!!
"orbach wrote:
Always thought Diane had class, but the way she cut off Congressman Van Hollen mid-sentence was very disrespectful to the congressman and her audience. If the break can't wait, why not hold the answer till after?"
The Congressman insisted on speaking immediately. Diane said "Very quickly please," and handled it with her usual class. I doubt you could have been classier with only fifteen seconds (BTW the break could not wait. It comes to the second at the same time every day, and local station hosts across America depend on it).
can you tell me what good it does to give the so called job creators tax breaks, when the only jobs that they can create are the lowest paying jobs? When they are making more money than they have in over 10 years, they strive to drive the workers wages into the ground, demonize the worker as lazy, stupid and evil , and demand they deserve more and more for the top 1% ? Why reward them? they dont create jobs anyway. Consumers create demand, and demand creates jobs. No demand, no jobs. But no jobs, or low wage jobs, keeps demand down low so why should the 1 or 2% even bother with hiring people.
And, as we have recently seen with Hostess , the company went under when the workers stopped work. So it appears that the CEO's and executives who make the most, are really not nearly as important to the company and its growth as the workers are. If they were, Hostess would still be here. Its not.
mr. Norquist has just emphatically stated that Republican legislators did not sign a pledge to him, but rather to the American people. Therefore, as an American citizen unhappily represented by a Republican, I release my Senator to vote for the will of the American people --which is higher taxes on the wealthy and marginal cuts in spending to protect the safety net of ALL Americans.
How can average citizens begin a campaign to release our Republican legislators from the pledge?
It is known that Grover's organization has the 'go light' and 'go heavy' tactics developed in Jim Crow Central. He can call out the heavies, and they will be mounted, and will look like 'good old boys' just having a boysterous time. Even Cox Cable uses the same tactics when they show up at your door if you have had a tragedy and gotten behind. Movies and Novels have been written about these Simon Legree tactics. They are maintained, nurtured, and modeled up in a high place in Northwest Virginia.
Lower taxes, less regulation.
Lower taxes, less regulation.
Lower taxes, less regulation.....
None of that worked from 2000-2008, did it? Please give us something substantial, not just talking points.
This is maddening about "looking at what government is spending" because a government budget is NOT a household or business budget. Krystal Ball made some great points about this recently - http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/11/29/krystal-clear-come-on-yall/ The government budget does not need to be balanced and has not been for most of 236 years!!!!
The government budget's main purpose is to ensure the welfare of the people, ALL the people, and by extension the private sector which employs most of the people. As long as public debt and deficits are properly managed and not an existential threat to the whole system (and other than from the fear factor they are far from that now) then they are not a great concern. This is because we mainly owe them to ourselves and we owe them in dollars (which we can create at will if need be).
Taxes and borrowing are not used to finance the government, they are used to create demand for the currency (taxes) and to keep interest rates where the Fed needs it to be. Supply side economics has been debunked in the last 10 years. It looks like most of the public can see through Grover Norquist now except for the extreme ideologs. Thank goodness.
Simple question: How is the government supposed to pay for War, Super Storms such as Sandy and Katrina without raising taxes ?
How has the pledge allowed for budgeting for such catastrophies - through our own determination (War) or Mother Nature.
Please tell him Bush is blamed because his admin CAUSED this mess! He is going to be blamed a lot longer than the last 4 years!
Thank GOD Pizza places will have to put calories up. He doesn't want to help us get healthcare AND he doesn't want food labeled????? This is as logical as the GOP wanting no abortion AND no safety net! GOD PLEASE SAVE US FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!
what is the dollar amount of the HSA?
He needs to give us DETAILS.
Does this guy realize that the Health care in our country is a major expense to our GDP?
Diane...
I really want to know who Norquist thinks he is. He is not elected. He holds no office whatsoever. He is only "significant" because of his PAC. This is the problem in our nation today. PACs, Corporations, special interests etc. - including out of control extremists like Norquist wield far too much power over, control of our government and governance.
The *only* pledge any elected official needs to worry about is their oath of office. Until we get to the point where that is the case again, zealots like Norquist will continue to rape our nation.
Dear Diane,
Mr Norquist stated in an interview that he came up with the idea for the Tax Pledge when he was 12 years old in 7th grade. My question for Mr Norquist is: Would you put a 7th grader in charge of the economic policy of this country?
I would assert that your Tax Pledge is a political point of view and not an economic philosophy. The constitution says that our representatives must be at least 25 to be in the house of representatives, how about coming up with an economic pledge that is a little more grown up.
If more Americans and Republican pledge takers realized that Grover's pledge came from a 12 year old, I think they would soundly reject it.
Thank you.
Wendy Dickson
Bozeman, MT
Who knew about the "fiscal cliff" prior to the election? Who was preparing a plan to deal with this eventuality? Should Romney and Obama both have prepared a plan, should he be elected? Did Obama's election promises of tax increases include a proposal for the fc?
this ronald reagan nostalgia for tax cuts is amazing. why don't the republicans seem to remember that reagan only cut taxes when he came in. the fact is after that he raised taxes incrementally every year after that. voodoo economics does not work.
How many times didPres. Ragen raise taxes and why where those ok?
I cannot listen to one more minute of this! The show is over.
Norquist is adamant about clarifying the pledge he crafted is to and for the American people. However, it is to and for the 1 or 2 percent of the American people for whom he created the pledge and not the majority of the Americans who overwhelmingly agree that higher taxes are necessary. He is in denial when he continues to manipulate his "facts" to try to support his twisted ideas about what the American people want.
Mr. Norquest (and others) are fond of referencing our colonial history concerning the puiblic's objections to taxation. He (and others) need to revisit the period, and move beyond the Boston Tea Party. The primary reason that the Constitution of the United States was written and adopted was to allow the federal government to generate revenue through taxation. In other words, one of the first things we did as a nation was raise taxes.
Grover sounds like so partisan it is sickening. He doesn't sound like a man who is really concerned with well being of the american people. The Election is over the american people have chosen what path they want with a majority. He keeps saying the pledge it to the american people. This is a pledge a majority didn't ask for or want!
I agree with Dennis and others who have stated the same. I barely listened to this show after I heard who the guest was, because I had heard the previous show this year with him as your guest. Well, Ms. Rehm, why? You are not quick enough or hard enough to get this man to answer any questions that would tie him to the truth, which is, that our elected representatives who sign his pledge are traitorous in their pursuit on 'no new or old taxes.'
Thank you for having Norquist on your show. It was a strong reminder for why I don't vote Republican. Even though some are now showing signs of a common sense approach to the US financial problems they still don't see the context of how we got here.
Also, it's a pretty Arrogant attitude to say that pledge is to the American people without any approval from each one. He doesn't represent me for sure, and his followers shouldn't be considered representative of all.