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Grover Norquist: It Is ‘Sort Of Funny’ That Democrats Blame Me For Super Committee Failure

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Who is Grover Norquist? The anti-tax personality has seemingly blown up into a Republican superstar/Democratic bogeyman out of nowhere, as some members of the committee blame his organization, Americans for Tax Reform, and the pledge many Republicans signed not to raise taxes for the committee’s failure. Norquist appeared on The Situation Room today in response to the super-committee’s failure and his alleged role in the affair, which he couldn’t help but call “sort of funny.”

RELATED: Glenn Beck To Alan Simpson: Grover Norquist Is Financed By Sesame Street

Host Wolf Blitzer immediately held Norquist responsible, half in jest, noting that Democrats “blame you for this” and asking whether the fact that he is considered extremely influential bothers him or not. Norquist replied that the Democrats want to raise taxes, but instead of being forthright with that, “Reid and Obama and the other Democrat want to blame me, which is sort of funny.” He clarified the the pledge that many blame for keeping Republicans from negotiating was “to the American people” and not to him, and while “we share it with people,” it was not something that made members of Congress directly accountable to him personally.

“A lot of them were saying privately ‘we cant raise taxes, we’re nervous that Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform will come after us,’” Blitzer noted, though Norquist insisted, again, “they don’t have to worry about me coming after them. They’d have to answer to their constituents, to the people in their state.” Asked if American for Tax Reform would target any Republican that steps out of line, Norquist replied, “I wouldn’t have to.”

RELATED: Wait, What? Grover Norquist Thinks Sen. Scott Brown Looks Great In A Bathing Suit?

As for the tax increases to the wealthiest that Democrats proposed, Norquist argued they were actually “trickle-down taxes” that hurt the lower classes, and particular ones like a “tax to pay for the Spanish-American War” and the cigarette tax as particularly problematic. The latter he noted particularly was a “tax on lower-income Americans.” He concluded optimistically that the super committee “didn’t fail” because the spending would be cut through a future sequester.

The interview via CNN below:

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  • Moosenuts99

    Glad SOMEONE finds it funny.

    I find it PATHETIC

  • keninkansas

    Grover who?

  • Anonymous

    The funnier thing about DIM LIBS is that they DEMAND higher taxes without apologizing for (or explaining) the BILLIONS already wasted. DIM LIBS want more tax revenues AND the ability to waste that new money on their ‘Solyndra-like’ ‘pals.’

  • Anonymous

    The GOP can’t seem to decide what it wants.  When Democrats want to enact a stimulus to help jump-start the economy, the GOP says the federal government shouldn’t be increasing the deficit.  But when Democrats agree to take action to lower the deficit, the GOP refuses to increase taxes (even though most economists say this is necessary), because they’ve all pledged to Norquist never to raise taxes.

    The GOP really has to figure out whether it prioritizes deficit reduction or Norquist’s approval.  It can’t keep promising that it can effectively do both at the same time, because it cannot.

  • Jonathan Cantor

    Theres billions wasted in defense spending can we cut that? Solyndra was like 1% of what the military misaligned. 

    http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/chart-of-the-day-solyndra-loan-guarantee-vs-pentagon-8216boondoggles/8914

  • Anonymous

    Close the loop holes so Democrats like Tim Geitner will have to pay their taxes.  Don’t raise mine to cover theirs.

  • Anonymous

    If I’m not mistaken, it’s Republicans saying they want to tax the middle class instead of the rich. 

  • Anonymous

    How much do you think Geithner makes? lol, you want to tax him? Get a few hundred bucks, then spread it around between 300 million people? Here’s your 160th of a cent, enjoy. Good thing you know alot about taxes! lol

  • Anonymous

    Yet another reason CNN doesn’t have any viewers.  I didn’t watch, and if there is a clip associated with this article, I didn’t watch that either.  But no where in this article does Wolfie even think to blame the lack of leadership or ideas coming from the oval – if an R was sitting in the oval, Wolf would blame the R not the D.

    CNN lives on the left and pretrends it lives in the center.

    Throw the bums out of office in 2012, including the manchild sitting in the Oval who doesn’t have a clue how to lead anyone anywhere.

  • Anonymous

    I could care less about Grover, I belame the dumbass members of Congress who signed a pledge.

  • KenItAllBeSoSimple

    The Solyndra loans began under George W. Bush. Sorry to burst your Democratic operative narrative with the truth.

  • Anonymous

    halliburton!
    koch!
    norquist!
    you libs have some shitty battle-cries. no wonder you all fail at life…

  • Anonymous

    Yeah. It’s a freaking laugh riot.

  • The Republican Party

    Tax the poor, feed the rich!

  • keninkansas

    No, they didn’t.

  • keninkansas

    Democrat Party….

    Blame the Republicans for everything!

  • Chrisg1974

    If you check the numbesr – Republicans pay less taxes than Democrats even though there average annual pay is 40% more.  Theres something wrong with that.

  • Anonymous

    Perry is right. Put America to work drilling for oil and there will be no need to raise taxes or cut anything we can’t do without. We would have the money to rebuilt the infrastructure as well.

  • Anonymous

    He’s the one with his hand up the butt of your heroes on the Right.

  • Anonymous

    Here’s a memo to Grover Norquist: It’s not funny at all that Democrats blame you, as you are not alone. Pledges to not raise taxes on the super-rich is just one of the issues. There is Bob Vander Plaats, whose pledge advocates several issues, including the Defense of Marriage Act, personal fidelity to the signee’s spouse(Oops for Gingrich), appointment of “faithful constitutionalists” as judges, and reformation of anti-marriage elements in divorce, tax and welfare laws. Then there’s  Edward H. Crane the founder and current leader of the Cato Institute which abhors neo-conservatives, wants to privatizing Social Security, abolishing the minimum wage, abolishing affirmative action. Then there’s David Keene and the American Conservative Union, which is the oldest operating conservative lobbying organization in the country who runs the event known as CPAC and spends money on lobbying and political campaigns. No Grover, there is a “Huge Right-winged Conspiracy” doing everything they can to make the economy suck to hurt president Obama! No Grover! You are just one of many whose only plan is to kill Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and all the other Social programs in America. Why is there a greater allegiance towards and for people like Bob Vander Plaats and lobbyist like Grover Norquist, than the American public or economy? Vander Plaat and Norquist are the puppet-masters of the TEA-GOP-Republican fringe! I would prefer a candidate will Kahunas to be the candidate, rather than anyone’s puppet!

  • labman57

    Pledges inherently are contrary to the spirit of compromise — a primary goal of the “super-committee”.  Anyone who had previously signed an anti-tax pledge should have been ineligible to serve on this committee, for their mere presence would serve as a deterrence to a successful outcome.

  • Norbit

    The FAILURE-in-Chief wants to keep vilifying the rich and GOP, because, well, he’s the FAILURE-in-Chief, and has nothing to run on except LIES and FAILURE!

  • CrashMoser

    This dude is slimy. There is nothing that comes out of his mouth but spin.

  • Big Daddy “Cain”

    Only republicans could be fearful of a Muppet character who wears glasses..

  • Anonymous

    Norquist, the Kochs, or The Time Bandits.  As long as the left has it’s childish need for a storybook villain to pin their failures on, everything will be cool.

  • Hyperbolic Chalkboard

    I somewhat agree…Dems shouldnt blame Norquist when they said “Dont blame us!”

  • Anonymous

    Yeah, the Right has never turned a dem president into a boogie man.  They never impugned the patriotism, or questioned birthplace or called them the anti-christ.

    Good point Turk!  Not completely stupid at all.

  • Anonymous

    Like those thousands of projected jobs that will not materialize because the One punted on the pipeline decision again.

    He is a joke of a President and the media is the laughing stock of the world with their continued spiking stories about his indecisiveness and ignorance. 

  • Anonymous

    There’s some dopes on the right, to be sure.

    But the right doesn’t need a “puppet master” pulling the strings type of theory to explain away bad things.

    There’s a little more nuance to politics than the good vs evil comic book that the left relies on.  Fox, Koch, Norquist, Limbaugh, corporate fat cats, the 1%, Sylvester Stallone’s badass brother Frank, or whatever it is these days….Yawn.  

  • keninkansas

    Moosenuts, catfish, radsenior, snowspot, johnc and uncleduke seem to be pretty fearful of the Grover guy. Are they Republicans?

  • Mencius

    Turk, are you kidding? Glenn Beck, devout libertarian, actually did an entire show on George Soros called “The Puppet Master.” I’m pretty sure Beck is with you guys. 

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCThLQeeMWA

  • Mencius

    Van Jones!
    Soros!
    Bill Ayers!
    Rev. Wright!
    Black Panthers!
    Solyndra!
    Fast & Furious! 
    Rahm!
    Unions!
    Chavez!
    Gays!
    Death panels!
    Muslims!
    Acorn!
    Mexicans!
    Academics!
    Fluoride!

    We may have some shitty battle cries but you guys are bonafide idiots. 

  • Anonymous

    And this list is just this week’s Fox & Friends talking points.

  • Anonymous

    It’s completely fair to blame Grover.

    It’s always better to after the pimp than his prostitutes.

  • Anonymous

    Oh, please.

    Fox News wouldn’t even exist unless it had boogie men. From Van Jones to George Soros to ACORN to Common to the New Black Panthers to atheists to the War on Christmas, it’s a 24-hour fake outrage machine for simpletons. Just look at ANY post by Norbit or Michelle or Tina and you see who the real children are. Liberals have their failings, but for chrissakes — they couldn’t hold a candle to that whiny bunch.

  • Big Daddy “Cain”

    I don’t believe any of them has signed an oath of allegiance with Grover, so they shouldn’t worry.  But why our elected officials who’ve signed a pact with Grover and now feel compelled to honor that and not the oath they took to protect and defend the constitution, I have no idea.  

  • http://capitolcommentary.com Harrison

    The Bush admin turned them down.

  • Anonymous

    Have Republican members of congress also signed a pledge to The Time Bandits? I wouldn’t doubt it they’re really into pledges.

  • http://twitter.com/Socoral Tom Green

    Let them debate it with other elected officials.  Grover Norquist is a bum who is grown way beyond his own his britches and knows his is unelectable in any official capacity.  Republicans just show their own lack of a spine when they all signed his “pledge”.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    Actually you make a good point, winger. Nordquist gets nowhere in corrupting Congress without a shitload of dough coming in on his say-so from Wall Street and Big Corp America. Making him into Lex Luthor is not well thought out; maybe it’s because he’s so ubiquitous he’s come to symbolize D frustration in dealing with Rs in Congress.

    But his ideas are all wrong and he does know have power; he’s even become a key to the success of the vulture capitalist racket in faking out 3rd World countries into signing for Dept Deaths. He goes to central Africa and such and they’ve seen him on TV and think he’s actually in charge of something; of course, he knows that, and since he’s making money off the misleading appearance and the ignorance, he’s not going to even try to dissuade them from their delusional misunderstandings.

    Quite the racket old Grover has going; like front man for an aluminum siding con. It’s all LEGAL, but the analogy still holds otherwise.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    Glad you raised that. Folks here should understand Secretary Chu went before Congress on that and tore out new assholes and took names. He was wonderful. Plus the court record he created is going to stop this zombie winger meme dead at the first court level, if they even try.

    Wouldn’t you have thought the Rs could have come up with somewhere better at the Oversight Chair than Darryl Issa? The Ds just toy with that guy, and he gets all confused and can never follow up on anything. Tom Davis was way better; at least he KNEW how good Henry Waxman is at this stuff, given he’s been doing it his entire career. Issa is worse at it than the worse dilletante.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    Oh yes they did.

  • Anonymous
  • Rex the Wonder God

    Oh no they didn’t.

    This is the new Solyandra strategy, is it? To deny provable history? Smooth lads; good PLAN.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    meme meme meme – sorry, scuse me, pardon me, driving by – meme meme meme

  • Rex the Wonder God

    Sheesh you are tiresome Tina. You need to go back to meme school.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    And now it turns out the stupid pipeline meme about 20,000 jobs was b.s., and it’s more like 2,300.

    Plus the locals never wanted the damn thing where it was set to go in the first place.

    We’re lucky to have a president who knows all this. And yes, we’re a laughing stock – but YOU are what they’re laughing at, Tina.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    meme fight meme fight meme fight – nice work there

  • Rex the Wonder God

    No, Ds only blame Rs for what they actually do wrong, and it ends up just LOOKING like everything.

    It is close, though … to everything, that is.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    … but I repeat myself … but I repeat myself … but I repeat myself … – Nobits, 21 November 2011.

  • us995

    any body seen Barrack ObAMA on this hes playing golf like usaual

  • Big Taters

    Yes, this only makes sense to blame Grover because there are no individuals or organizations on the left keeping every single voting act of liberals under surveillance and reporting to their supporters. And they would never ask those supporters to vote according to the actions of those liberals they report on.

    Of course it’s his fault, he’s SO UNIQUE!!!

    Seriously, it’s getting hard to breath when you realize the level of lazy thinking that seems to be pervasive in our country.

    Wow its simple out here. 

  • us995

    would’d you like an beurocrat to go to  congress before he wasted millions

  • Anonymous

    Van Jones! – kicked out of obama’s admin
    Soros! – nazi sympathizer
    Bill Ayers! – disavowed by barry
    Rev. Wright! – disavowed by barry
    Black Panthers! – bahahaha
    Solyndra! – bankrupt
    Fast & Furious! – killed a border patrol agent
    Rahm! – in the shower!
    Unions! – are full of life’s little failures
    Chavez! – kissing obama and sean penn on the lips
    Gays! – birth defects
    Death panels! – you wish
    Muslims! – want to kill you
    Acorn! – ghetto failures bahahaha
    Mexicans! – what happened to the blacks?
    Academics! – great grades, too bad you dont have a job…
    Fluoride! – wut?

    scoreboard bitch

  • Anonymous

    oh look rex learned a new word…

  • Anonymous

    The right relies on puppet masters to get through their day.  Rush, FOX, Beck and the list goes on and on.  They’re controlled by fear.  

  • Anonymous

    The retort to their facetious answer to Buffet is to cut back on police and fire protection services in Norquist’s neighborhood and direct him to where he can pay if interested in such services

  • Anonymous

    GOP = Greedy One Percent

  • Davida Shensky

    Both parties are to blame.  Behind closed doors there’s no difference between the parties.  They all get kickbacks in one way or another.  Obama was and is unable to take control and make decisions.  The Republican have no real candidate to put up against Obama either.  Everyone of them have skeletons in their closet that are hidden and yet they throw stones at one another.

  • Anonymous

    Grover’s gig is constant with Washington politics:  He found a way to make himself rich preying off people’s fear and prejudices.

  • Jonathan Cantor

    I “would” like  ”a” “bureaucrat” before he wasted millions, and the same for a military official if he wasted billions. 
    Think we will see that F-35 any time soon?

  • hatessnark

    plus according to them George Soros controls everything!! 

  • hatessnark

    and Norquist grew up in the richest town in Massachusetts where his ideas were probably part of the school curriculum.

  • hatessnark

    why should the liberals apologize for or explain George W. Bush’s complete destruction of the US economyu.

  • Anonymous

    On some you dismiss the hysteria (ex. NBP), on others you demonstrate the ignorance that produces the hysteria (ex. Soros).  And yet doing so gets you so juiced up on adrenaline that you conclude with a little trash talking.  You’re like a basketball player who chucks a free throw over the backboard and says, “In your face!”

  • PABRADE

    I NEVER KNEW THAT ONE MAN COULD HAVE SO MUCH POWER OVER REP WHEN HE IS NOT EVEN AN ELECTED OFFICIAL. WHO IS PAYING HIM? AND I WOULD THINK SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE THIS PLEDGE IS ILLEGAL AND UNETHICAL JUST LIKE SENATE AND CONGRESS INSIDE TRADING.
    JUST THINK ABOUT KNOWING WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT ON THE STOCK MARKET, THINK THIS LAST PLOY TO NOT COME TO AN AGREEMENT ON CUTTING THE BUDGET PUT ANY MOMEY IN THE POCKETS OF OUR WONDERFUL (NOT) CONGRESS AND SENATE?

  • Anonymous

    drink bleach pussy

  • FreeMike

    “…and all my responses are relevant and germane to the topics of the thread.”  Seriously, Norbit, Do you read the actual article or just start typing your Obama hate?

  • Anonymous

    classy.

  • Anonymous

    Let’s start with Geithner actually following through and paying his taxes first. Epic fail Geithner.

  • Mencius

    Childish insults are all you’ve got. It must be frustrating not to be able to argue using actual, provable facts. 

  • Anonymous

    you got owned by your own post bitch…

  • Anonymous

    Norbit is are Robo blogger.

  • Anonymous

    This reply certifiably makes you a babeling uninformed idiot.

  • Anonymous

    Applied for under Bush Admin, denied under Bush Admin, approved under Obama Admin. Sorry to burst your Democratic talking point bubble.

  • Anonymous

    Poll after polls show VOTERS are fed up with high taxes and wasteful federal spending.  Somehow the messenger gets blamed, not the message? 

    Funny is not the right word, but silly and crazy come to mind.   

  • Anonymous

    Glover: It Is ‘Sort Of Funny’ That Democrats Blame Me For Super Committee Failure

    It would be like him and his huge ego to think he clogged the fiscal tiolet.  However if your the pimp and the Republican congress is your stable you deserve a little credit. 

  • Anonymous

    “This reply certifiably makes you a babeling uninformed idiot.”

    at least i know how to spell “babbling”…

  • Mencius

    Is your response what you consider “getting owned”? If so, that’s pretty sad. I made fun of the Right for having ridiculous bogeyman and you responded by proving that you believe in those bogeyman. All you did was prove me right. I thought you were just copping to the fact that you are an idiot but now I see that you’re too stupid to even realize your own cognitive dissonance. 

    I know you can’t respond with something actually well thought out, but I can’t wait to see your response saying something like “eat a dick, dickwad.” It should be really funny and original, if you think sacks of shit are funny and original. 

  • Mencius

    Haha, you think “meme” is a fancy word. 

  • Anonymous

    i don’t dumbass, but rex sure does…

  • Anonymous

    keep spinning bitch…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IC7HRBJRXKA7IKTTZS5W3UIECQ Agent of Truth

    Grover…there is nothing funny.  It is true that you and the tea bagger movment are a joke but there is nothing funny here as you and every republican who signed your rediculous pledge are guilty of treason and dereliction of duty.  Every Republican who signed your stupid pledge is now in violation to the oath they took when they were sworn into office.  That just shows how weak and spineless Republicans are and that that are not faithful to the oath they took when sworn into office.  Voters….wake up before you send human garbage like this to Congress.  They are supposed to be faithful to we the people and the US constitution.  Not some idiot’s pledge.  Signing any pledge means you are not faithful to the US Constitution or we the people.  It is just another master that these spineless GOP cockroaches are now beholden to in order to protect their phoney jobs.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IC7HRBJRXKA7IKTTZS5W3UIECQ Agent of Truth

    Norbit is a typical GOP syccophant whose mind is in an alternative universe instead of reality.  But that is typical of the GOP electorate.  What makes no sense is why you idiots continue to vote Republican even when your GOP politicians are stabbing you in the back while in plain sight.  It is as if you enjoy being fleeced.  Obama has done as much as a President has the power to do but the GOP politicians in congress have chosen to be obstructive and derelict in their duties and destroy the nations economy to make sure Obama is a one term president.  You people who but these GOP traitors like Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Joe Walsh, Grover Norquist and so many more will vote for any pathetic waste of skin who wants to bleed you dry and fleece you as long as they give you your twisted skewed social ideologies that do not even cross pathways with reality.  You are probably even impressionable enough to believe that GOP politicians and GOP voters are somehow…..conservative.   Well, you’re not conservative so get over it.  The GOP has clearly demonstrated the fact they exist for nothing more than to do the bidding of their wealthy handlers and keepers in corporate American and the the GOP electorate is simply the GOP’s convenient idiots.  That is reality.  

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IC7HRBJRXKA7IKTTZS5W3UIECQ Agent of Truth

    Na…..Grover is not the only one to blame here.  You need to also blame the tea bagger movement and all of the weak spineless GOP cockroaches who signed Grover’s pledge so they could at the very least, protect their phoney jobs.  These GOP traitors have another master and its is not we the people or the US constitution.

  • Anonymous

    Nice lie- loans to companies started under Bush, but Bush mad NO loans to Solyndra.

    I commend you on your facility to lie.

  • Anonymous

    Nice lie- got more?

  • Anonymous

    It sounds like you have a problem with paying your ‘FAIR SHARE’.

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