Grover Norquist: Obama "John Kerry With A Tan"

LA Times:

John McCain has been trying hard of late to link Barack Obama with Jimmy Carter in the public consciousness, hoping that the "ineffectual" label that many voters affix to the former president will prove transferable.

Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist touts Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota as prime vice presidential prospects for presumptive Republican presdiential nominee John McCainBut Grover Norquist -- the conservative activist who specializes in promoting an anti-tax agenda and, more generally, revels in the role of agent provocateur -- is offering a different comparison.

Norquist dropped by The Times' Washington bureau today and, as part of his negative critique of Obama's liberal stances on economic issues and other matters, he termed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee "John Kerry with a tan."

Read the whole story: LA Times

Comments

[SGreen]

Norquist's coinage is too obvious disguise. The implication is lager. Not only Limbaugh, O'reilly, and Hannity, to name a few prominent, but also Wolfe Blitzer, Larry King, Charlie Gibson and many others do the same under very imperceptible disguises (in the latter group, if not always, occasionally).
Are all journalists (of certain variety) "inherently and essentially"dumb in the intellectual community of thinkers? Yes, some are dumber like Norquist.
Here is a theory, or at least a pattern: if you realize that you are a dumbest in Grad school, you either end up as a high school teacher or a politician. If you rate yourself a little better among the dumbest, you aim to become a journalist (news or political or even entertainment). There is one caveat here: If you are a failed politician with good communicative skills, you expect to be recruited in the media (P. Buchanan, A. Keys, M. Huckabee are recent examples) ; if they are a successful journalist of some sort, they could be a candidate to be hired in a semi political position (e.g. Tony Snow). Sometimes, they use thire media platform to launch your political career. Politicians and journalist seem to exchange roles more than professional groups.
Some will reject this theory as too generalized and stereotypical. But journalists either already are dumb or self-persuaded to abandon their intellectuality to appeal the mass. They further train to be intellectually deficient to eventually become a politician or journalist.

[Southrnbelle]

IDIOT!

[totaldisbelief]

Didn't Grover help bring us 8 years of Bush and company?
So why would anyone value his opinion?
If the Antichrist has friends maybe Grover is on that list.

[provgrays]

He "drops by the Times" to utter a racist comment and the paper of record dutifully prints it.

[kay]

In an e-mail obtained by the committee, Abramoff told Reed that "I need to give Grover something for helping, so the first transfer will be a bit lighter."

Relying on an e-mail by Abramoff, the Senate report said "Norquist kept" $25,000 from each of two transfers from the Choctaw to Reed. The report provided evidence about four transfers for about $1.2 million in all.

[kay]

Friday, October 13, 2006; 1:32 AM

Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "appear to have perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued yesterday.

The report includes previously unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff funneled money from his clients to the groups. In exchange, the groups, among other things, produced ostensibly independent newspaper op-ed columns or news releases that favored the clients' positions.

The groups named in the report are Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform; the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, which was co-founded by Norquist and Gale Norton before she became secretary of the interior; Citizens Against Government Waste; the National Center for Public Policy Research, a spinoff of the Heritage Foundation; and Toward Tradition, a Seattle-based religious group founded by Rabbi Daniel Lapin.

[Abycat]

John Kerry with a tan? Hmmmm let's see, Grover. One of your faves is Bobby Jidal. Is he Pat Robertson with a tan? Maybe, Grover, you're Willie Horton without the tan?

[BigSid]

THINGS LIKE THIS HURT OBAMA MORE THAN McCAIN

Look, the more Obama's supporters and the pundits cry over stuff like Norquist's comments, the more it hurts Obama in the long run.

If the deal is that nothing (meaning all comments ranging from overtly racist to tongue in cheek) can be said about Obama, then the deal is that we have a weakling running for President.

If someone has to take the fall for every little bit of criticism that Obama gets, then he's gonna lose, and lose badly.

People are tirin of this lay off the prima donna mentality. We want a person of strength in the White House, not a sacred cow.

[mari2JJ]

I am very particular about anyone I let get me riled up. Norquist is not one I worry about at all' He has been self-destructivve, He is self-destructive, and he always will be self destructive. Lately, all the guys and gals etc just slither off of my thought processsing. Norquist is such a political hick. errrrr hack. And like Pat Buchanan says, McCain got himself into this muddle and losing the general will get him right out. He is so out of it, he may even lose his day job. He has historically missed so many votes we here in Arizoa call him our absent voter professor, Not there when we need him. Sooo, his voting record is not all that impressive. And that was even before his campaign.

[SanityClaus]

Actually, we're observing one of Alinsky's rules for radicals:

5. Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.

I'm sure many here are outraged, but I just eat this stuff for breakfast because it confirms the tone-deafness and out-to-lunchness of the Rethuglicans.

[castlerider]

I think Obama's taking a host of name calling and chicken sh*t mudslinging from the desperate rethugs just fine... There's no "prima dona" BS except for idiots like Norquist or Rove, who are so far up their Ivory Towers they think they can lay the playing field as if they're relevant.. HA! Obama's been showing a resilience that is obviously upsetting the poor childish morons.... Poor baby. Want a hankie?

Bigsid's is nothing more then just more "Wide Stance" logic. It works best in bathroom stalls.

[waynesmyer]

Grover Norquist is really Jack Abramoff, without the fedora? When Abramoff and Kidan stole Gus Boulis's Sun-Cruz Casino ships, Norquest got over $100,000 of the stolen funds! Why? Did Norquist have a role in the theft?: In the murder of Boulis? What happened to the Boulis murder case? Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Grover do!

[Scarllatti]

I believe you are NOT thinking straight. Unless you have a sense of "collective guilt", I do not see why you should think this will "hurt" Obama when folks (white, black, pink) call out stupid fools like Grover on their racist and insensitive remarks. If you have ever suffered discrimination or held the shorter end of the stick in the affairs of this nation, you will understand this sensitivity. I guess YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND
There is nothing "sacred cowish" about being denigrated on race.

[jcwtts1]

first of all, this wasn't criticism, it was racialized speech... different from racism of course, but still not good. What does Obama's skin color have to do with his policy? Say he is like Kerry if you want, hell, say he's like carter but what the hell does the color of his skin (his tan WTF?) have to do with it. The problem is that comments like this will kill the GOP. Every time the GOP does racialized stuff they lose centrist urban and suburban republicans. In part Claire McCaskil and Jim Webb won their senate seats because of the Harold Ford, racialized not racist, ad. BigSid, explain to me why the color of his skin is important to the policy discussion and I'll agree with you. If you can't how about you agree with me and we cut this crap out.

J

[thundermummy]

This isn't Obama complaining, just an article pointing out repub strategy. Complaining prima donna-ism is "I notice in these debates I get asked questions first".

[mergina]

And you are a frightened little child with a beard.

[GenXLiberal]

Norquist is a mongloid with a beard.

[GingerB]

He's Abramofff excrement with a beard.

[ccpostman]

His a racist with a red neck.

[naijaman]

Anyone who names their kid "Grover" deserves an azz-whoopin'.

[Trollstakeyourmeds]

Isn't that a character on Sesame Street?

[neocon666]

With a name like that, I'm sure he was a human punching-bag while growing up; he's just taking it out on the world now.

[StarkRavingNakedEmperor]

Just like President Carter?...­John Kerry with a tan?...IHe­y! I think I could learn to love this Obama cat! One difference though--Obama is guaranteed to bring his cerebral sledgehammer to any Repug swiftboating party!

[cindyw]

I agree. Carter and Kerry -- what's not to like? Nothing to add, but I love the "cerebral sledgehammer" reference. I can't wait to see Obama swing it.

[Seattlelite]

I say it's just a matter of time before out of frustration one of these republicans goes Don Imes on Obama.

[StarkRavingNakedEmperor]

They already have in trying a high-tech lynching of O with Rev Wright's comments,the photo of him in the honorary Kenyan garb, the flag pin canard, the fist Dap "terrorist sign" flap, the claims that they have a video of Michelle making racist comments that they have never produced, have all fallen flat. No worries! O can handle himself--they always seem to end up with the worst of it!

[jrterrier]

they don't need to. obama already did it for them.

[SanityClaus]

Bad doggie! No treat for you!

[thundermummy]

What's with the bitter Clintonista's trolling today while Hill herself is joining the O train? First BigSid, now jrterrier.

[UhhhDude]

John Kerry with a tan? Grover Norquist is a Muslim with pale skin.

And I'll leave your money alone when you stop taking mine.

[Donk]

Better yet: A Fascist with an attitude! A truly bombastic Toad. Poor McCain, with friends like this he's doomed...

[PepeLepew]

Man, it's almost as if these clowns are actually trying to *help* Obama.
Keep up the good work, Norquist, Dobson, et al!

[MsLiz]

Don't you know Grover Norquist was bullied in school for his ridiculous name? He is still that PO'd little boy.

[nicoshalom]

HaHa! You know that's what it is...poor widdle Grover had feewings hurt and he needs to try to be a man by bullying others!

[dartagnan]

ALL the top Rethuglicans and neo-cons strike me as being the kind of people who were bullied in school and always picked last for baseball games and have carried a chip on their shoulders ever since. They're mad at the world and they want revenge. Sick bastards, all of them.