Grover Norquist in New York Times Magazine This Sunday Defends 'Nut-Job' McCain

While the cover story on Chris Matthews has already drawn attention to this coming Sunday's New York Times Magazine, a Q & A with tax-cut guru Grover G. Norquist should not be overlooked. Norquist reveals that he is now working with John McCain, after calling him a 'nut-job" just three years ago, and in return McCain "reciprocates by sending at least one person to each of our Center-Right meetings."

Norquist now admits that labeling McCain a "gun-grabbing, tax-increasing Bolshevik" was "an overstatement." At the same 2005 College Republicans gathering he referred to McCain as "the nut-job from Arizona."

Asked why McCain once opposed Bush tax cuts but now favors making them permanent, Norquist explains, "He was unhappy about losing the presidential nomination in 2000. He was very mad at Bush. He was mad at me, too."

When Deborah Solomon asks, "You're saying he [McCain] opposed the tax cuts out of spite?" Norquist replies, "Out of understandable pique."

He also argues that the Iraq war has not hurt the economy and reveals that his mother was the town tax assessor in Weston, Mass. When Solomon complains that her children will have to pay for the current budget deficits, Norquist answers, "Oh, good, then my kids will be off the hook."

Norquist has no children.

After the 2005 "nut job" comment, Mark Salter, a senior adviser for McCain, issued a statement that said, "John McCain hasn't spent five seconds in his entire life thinking about Grover Norquist. He's not going to start now."

Greg Mitchell's new book is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq.It has been hailed by our own Arianna, Bill Moyers, and Glenn Greenwald, and features a preface by Bruce Springsteen.

http://www.amazon.com/So-Wrong-Long-Pundits-President-Failed/dp/1402756577/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194834498&sr=1-1

Comments

[LeoMarvin]

I realize a lot of people here strongly disagree, but I think that underneath all the stupid, arrogant, partisan, dishonest, Constitution-bending, incompetent bungling that guided our invasion and occupation of Iraq, Bush, Cheney, Wolfewitz and the bunch honestly believed they were trying to do what was best for the country. Grover Norquist, on the other hand, is just a mean-spirited, selfish little prick.

[Nyland8]

I might suggest that even if your assertion were correct about their intent, at the end of the first year, when it became clear that their plan was failing more and more each day, they all became mean-spirited, selfish little pricks ...

... and remained that way day after day, week after week, month after month, year after blood fucking year until this day. To witness first hand the decimation of our military, the rape of our treasury and the loss of our traditional allies in the world, and to do nothing about it after all this time, is to qualify with high honors for the title mean-spirited, selfish little pricks.

Just a thought.

8

[Bluedog12]

If he has time for Mccain why hasn't Grover visited his old pal Jack Abrahamoff in the Federal pen?

[rudyinbama]

Wasn't there some Grover Norquist - Jack Abramoff connection?

[carfino]

You people need to look for the humor with Herr Nordquist.

This chap and most others of a similar right wing shading are essentially adults who never where exposed to the simple lessons one learns in grade school about how to get along with other people....... to the point of lunacy. They think they get to live in a society where they get all sorts of benefits of that society, such as police and fire protection, defense, food and drug laws, banking laws, or the simple pleasure of driving down a newly paved road, etc for free....or at least free for them.

Fast forward to Senator McBush...here's a guy who has absolutely no clue about macro economics. The only thing he's ever excelled in has been taking money from lobbyists and doing their bidding.....read Keating Five, or Paxson Communications for a brief window.

He'll buy into Nordquists version of Voodoo Economics in a heart beat because somehow he thinks those people will somehow run interefence for him and his clueless views.

Watch McBush flipping and flopping all over the map embracing old political enemies to try to get elected. Here's where the real humor is to be had.

[irishgawdess]

"free riders"

[illinoisan]

I hope Norquist employs the services of a driver. I'd hate to meet him at an intersection regulated by one of those Bolshevik stop lights.

[westwind]

Norquist lives in a childless world of ideology, untainted by the consequences of implementing his Ayn Randian fantasies.

Having children would probably not make him any more human-like, though -- Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld et al obviously don't care what hardship and struggle their descendents will have to endure because of their crazy ideas.

[munkeyfuk]

You must be kidding, westwind, to suggest that any offspring of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld will EVER experience ANY hardship whatsoever.
That has been the point of the respective family men, to steal so much that their descendants can live a life befitting royalty, which they have become, due to our inaction. If you doubt it, check their tax returns.
Nothing crazy about stealing every thing that isn't nailed down, at least if you aren't the victim of the theft.

[schatsie]

Let's face it Grover would like to do away with the Income tax altogether and stick all the bills to the working class stiffs....