** Why do politicians sign Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledges, why do they keep the pledge?

This morning I woke up thinking about all those Republicans who claim they can not vote for any kind of a tax increase on the very wealthy for any reason--- even a complete economic collapse which might result from debt default we are skating toward.

If Tom Bondrich, Dick Dirtymoney, and Harry Hotcash put money into an organization like Tax Break PAC, and then had the organizer of that group get city councilmen  to sign pledges that they would never tax Tom, Dick, and Harry's  Red Rose Yacht and Airport Gated Community, and promised they would in return never finance any candidates opposing the councilmen and would support them in an election with workers and contributions, any written evidence of that agreement would seem to me to be prima facie evidence of quid pro quo bribery and/or extortions that prosecuting attorneys and newspaper writers would think they had struck political and press gold..

But, Grover Norquist and his organization are apparently smarter than that.  I spent about 2 hours searching Google and Yahoo for indications of what the carrot and stick were that Grover Norquist has that persuades mostly Republicans to sign his federal and state pledges to not increase marginal tax rates, etc, but found no writeen evidence of the explicit quid quo pro even if implicit evidence seems to exist in politicians unwillingness to cross Norquist.

I noticed that Kristi Noem and John Thune have signed the pledge as have a half dozen or so SD state legislators including one Democrat.

I think we citizens of South Dakota (and the nation for that matter) ought to have our own pledge for politicians.  Something like,

I pledge not to sign pledges from special interests which pervert government in the interests of the very rich at the expense of the unrich and thus endanger our state or nation, the economy, the functions of government, the integrity of legislators, and democracy.  _________________ Official or Candidate. Signed this ____ day of __________, 2011.

If there are no sticks and no carrots connected with the Norquist pledge, then there is no reason for legislators to sign them and obey them when that is in direct opposition to the interests of all but the very rich.  Signing such a pledge perverts the meaning of representative government and demeans all legislators.

If they use that pledge as an excuse for irresponsible behavior following GOP economic mythology and fairy tales, then we have reason to suspect some carrots and sticks.  Otherwise, there is ample reason in the coming economic debt collapse to tell Norquist and his anti-tax on the richest group to go straight to hell without passing go.

Another way to put all this:  The anti-tax pledge is just an excuse not a reason for the GOP No, No, No attitude toward sensible Obama administration proposals or policies ..OR,

The pledge is really the equivalent of a contract with benefits and penalties and as such is also the equivalent of a documented bribe and/or extortion.

July 15: Some links below relating to Grover Norquist

Democratic Underground on WSJ on Norquist Marching Orders

NPR..The Man behind the GOP No No No on marginal tax increases on the rich

Washington Post lets Grover go on and on with mythology, etc.

And the AFTR site which claimis to protect all taxpayers with No Tax Pledge also links to LISTS of those politicians dumb enough to sign the pledge which is actually a pledge to protect only the very rich from tax increases

** Stay tuned and send My "No Pledge" pledge to your congress critters and state officials --- Doug Wiken

 

 

Comments

[caheidelberger]

Agreed. Pledges like Norquist's seem to violate the "Republic Not a Democracy!" principle Norquist types like to shout. A legislator should have the freedom to use all available policy tools to address changing situations. "I won't raise taxes" is maybe a nice declaration of fiscal philosophy, but it ignores the possibility that stuff might come up (war, flood, drought) where the only way to keep the doors of government open and provide vital services is to go get more revenue.

[Douglas Wiken]

Yup Cory, it is the private corporate version of a Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget and shares the same kind of problems and potential for economic crash and disaster.

[Bill Dithmer]

What do the following men have in common other then their relationship to terrorism?
AKhaled Saffuri,
bdurahman Alamoudi
ASami
al-Arian’s l-Arian
Mazen al-Najjar
Suhail Khan,
Mahboob Khan,
Ayman al-Zawahiri,
Nihad Awad
Ghassan Elashi
Bassem K. Khafagi
Randall Todd “Ismail” Royer
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
Muzammil Siddiqi.
Agha Saeed,
Sami al-Arian
Eric Vickers
Mahdi Bray
The answer is that they all know the man responsible for the pledge to not raise taxes Grover Norquist.

With my faulty mental condition of the last few days I was having a hell of a time trying to come up with just what was bothering me about this man and the people that so blindly follow and sign his pledge. Then while I was setting in the bathtub in the dark trying to get some relief I remembered where I had first read about Grover Norquist. It was in a very conservative publication and it was in the year 2003 while the stink of 9-11 was still fresh on Americas mind.

This article lays out facts that are documented and a time line that represents over twenty years at that time of Norquist involvement with radical Islam. Through four administrations he had access to the inner circle of the White House including our presidents.

One has to wonder how many of the people that have signed his pledge actually know who and what he is? And would they be so willing to hitch their horses to his cart if they did know?

I cant do a link right now but I will copy and past because it is important.

A Troubling Influence
By: Frank J Gaffney Jr.

And it was in the online cosevative FrontPageMagazine.com

This is a very interesting read and should be required for anyone that has signed the pledge. No scratch that it should be required reading for everyone. You know this man must be dangerous if Karl Rove didn’t trust him being around President Bush.

I am a little bit crazy but I am still The Blindman

[Douglas Wiken]

Bill, Thanks. I stumbled onto some of that when I was searching for the hammer that Grover Norquist was using, but thought it was perhaps too old to tangle in with his current extortion/bribery-like pledge, etc.

[Stace Nelson]

One of the core planks in the SD GOP platform is that we will work to reduce taxes & government on South Dakotans. Despite that, the push for both happily came from within the ranks of those that claim an (R) behind their names. The only people I am responsible to for taking on that burden of saying "no," are the voters. The average person seeing how much & where we spend your tax dollars, would say NO MORE TAXES!

[Lorenza De La Llata]

Norquist's pledge to appose any and all tax increases for people and businesses unless matched dollar for dollar by further tax cuts in ludicrous. It violates our Constitution. So, when someone pledges to Norquist's pledge, they are ignoring the intent of the founding fathers: The forming of a more perfect union, fairness and justice for all, it treatens our ability to ensure domestic tranquility and proper defence and it prevents us from providing for the 'commom good' (mostly men and woman of lessor means and power) allowing the powerful and rich to reap (a nation that would take from the poor to give to the rich). I am not an executive nor am I a 'rocket scientist.' I am a 'commom woman.' A part of the majority of this nation. What can we do to overturn this crazy pledge that harms our nation and so damages and hurts our people?

[Clemens Gunther]

Thought when you take office, you pledge that you have not pledged to any other organization/ group country etc.. That any pledge you have made to any other organization becomes null and void.