Norquist's Goal: Drown Government in the Bathtub

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The real agenda at the core of today's Republican Party is to decimate government as we know it and return us to the world of the Gilded Age.

That was, according to Webster's, "a period of U.S. history in the 1870s noted for political corruption, financial speculation, and the opulent lives of wealthy industrialists and financiers."

It was followed by the Progressive Era and the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.

The Gilded Age was a time with no federal income tax, an unregulated stock market where manipulation was rampant, no 40-hour work week, no minimum wage, no child labor laws, no Social Security, no Medicare, no protections against the poisoning of the air and the water supply.

In short, government was free to subsidize large business by building railroads and other infrastructure but not to ameliorate the conditions of post-industrial life or establish the preconditions for a vibrant middle class.

Grover Norquist is a lobbyist, leading conservative activist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. He has been referred to as "King Grover" because of the sway he holds over the Republican Party with his "Taxpayer Protection Pledge."

In Republican primaries, failure to sign and abide by the pledge will likely determine the result. According to Sean Lengell of The Washington Times, as of late 2011, 238 of 242 House Republicans and 41 out of 47 Senate Republicans had signed the pledge.

The ultimate endpoint of the pledge is to create a debt so huge that we will have no choice but to eliminate or severely restrict popular government programs such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, student financial aid and many more.

It would be political suicide to confront any of these programs directly, so the "starve-the-beasters" have cut taxes and spent lavishly on wars and tax exemptions for favored interests - hoping that, in desperation, pushed to the precipice of a financial cliff, we will either do their dirty work for them or fall off instead of fighting back.

In an interview with Mara Liasson, shortly after the Bush tax cuts passed in May 2001, Grover Norquist said: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub."

Speaking in 2004, Norquist said: "And we've had four more years pass where the age cohort that is most Democratic and most pro-statist, are those people who turned 21 years of age between 1932 and 1952 - Great Depression, New Deal, World War II, Social Security, the draft - all that stuff. That age cohort is now between the ages of 70 and 90 years old, and every year 2 million of them die. So 8 million people from that age cohort have passed away since the last election; that means, net, maybe 1 million Democrats have disappeared - and even the Republicans in that age group."

On "60 Minutes" in November 2011, Steve Kroft interviewed Norquist.

Kroft: "I mean, you did say that your ultimate ambition was to chop it in half and then shrink it again to where we were at the turn of the century. You're talking about 1900, not 2000."

Norquist: "Well, the - I think -"

Kroft: "Eight percent of GDP."

Norquist: "Yeah. We functioned in this country with government at 8 percent of GDP for a long time and quite well."

Kroft: "That was before Social Security. It was before Medicare. It was before welfare assistance, unemployment assistance. Is that the federal government you envision?"

Norquist: "Each of these government programs were set up supposedly, in name, to solve a problem. OK. Do they solve the problem? Could the problem be better solved through individual initiative? I mean, I think we've found under welfare that we are doing more harm than good."

Kroft: "Do you feel the government has any obligation to the poor or the elderly or the unemployed?"

Norquist: "Yeah. It should stop stepping on them, kicking them and making their lives more difficult."

So it appears that Social Security and Medicare, both of which played an essential role in ensuring the dignity of my Republican parents' last few years of life and ameliorating the suffering of their terminal illnesses were, in reality, "stepping on them, kicking them and making their lives more difficult."

Modern chronic annual deficits have averaged 2.4 percent of GDP. From 1967 to the current recession, we spent an average of 20.6 percent, while taking in 18.2 percent. The original "borrow-and-spender," Ronald Reagan, and the first President Bush presided over average deficits of 4.25 percent of GDP. Before President Clinton, the last surplus was achieved in 1969.

With Social Security amounting to 20 percent of our budget, Medicare and Medicaid another 21 percent, national defense 20 percent and interest on past debts 6 percent, there is no way to reduce our budget by 61 percent and protect defense spending without cutting Social Security and Medicare.

Let's face it, with revenues at 15.8 percent of GDP, we are historically undertaxed. 1950 was the last time they were lower. Beyond taxes, the rising cost of health care will need to be brought under control in a way that maintains a basic guarantee to seniors present and future.

Tom Goergen lives in Southern Pines. Contact him at tgoergen @nc.rr.com.

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The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 4 weeks ago

My wifes boss, a local moore county lawyer recently told her that she would be cutting her own throat by coting for romney. It still amazes me how people who spent so much time in college can still be so naive about things. This article is a typical example of what Democrats actually think the gop is and shows how ignorant they are of what the gop Actually is.

Courseaire 7 months, 4 weeks ago

Mr. Goergen - I want to thank you for letting me know about the evil Republican Party's agenda. This is something I did not know and I'm glad I found out prior to the Nov. elections before I made a horrendous mistake and vote the Republican ticket line. Thanks to you, I'll be able to switch to the Democratic Party in time for the election. Dusty & MC7 have been warning me, but thanks to you I can now believe them. Mega Dittos to you!!!

packwilleat 7 months, 4 weeks ago

Tom ~ the problem here is your misunderstanding of the role of government. You believe the state should provide services by acts of force and coercion, and that no one is entitled to 100% of their property. Income, being ones voluntarily exchange of ones LIFE for that of PROPERTY. You my friend need to read some books on how our forefathers envisioned America, and what they warned against. Your views are strictly socialist...... pssst..... it has never worked.

JimRussell44 7 months, 4 weeks ago

packwilleat, evidently government is OK as long as it runs a school with a good basketball and football program. Otherwise, it is a scum sucking leach, depriving you of all your god given rights. You may also want to go back and read those books you encourage others to read about what our forefathers envisioned. They didn't put much faith in women being smart enough to deserve a vote and they had no problem with buying and selling human beings for work and profit. I could go on, but I don't think it would matter to you.

packwilleat 7 months, 4 weeks ago

Jim ~ it was never intended for the govt to provide education. Honestly, the constitution was a compromise just as any other document, bill, act, or treaty that man has ever contrived. There was also a group of people in those days called the Anti-Federalist. But then again statist are always gonna state.

fugitiveguy 7 months, 4 weeks ago

TOM GOERGEN: American People Must Unite for Real Change

Ole Tom railed on the national debt in 2008. Barely mentions it in this article. Seems odd esp since it is so much LARGER now. Considering President Obama pledged to halve it, considering President Obama controlled congress for his first two years it seems odd that he made such extreme negative progress toward this goal. Now Ole Tom would have us believe its a plot by the Republicans, Ole Tom would have us to believe its not a spending problem, its a taxation problem. I don't know Tom but I think it is safe to say he did not earn his fortune in economics.

teufelhunden 7 months, 4 weeks ago

FG-HEEHEEHEEHEE good one

dustyrhoades 7 months, 4 weeks ago

It still amazes me how people who spent so much time in college can still be so naive about things.

I know the person you're talking about, Ryan, and I can say without equivocation that he's a heck of a lot smarter than you. Also more successful.

Thatcher 7 months, 4 weeks ago

Great post fugitiveguy! Alot of liberals suffer from selective amnesia. Cheers!

JimRussell44 7 months, 4 weeks ago

I don't suppose that the reason for running up a big national debt should be brought into the conversation as an explanation on how someone could be against running up debt in one set of circumstance, while being for spending in another set of circumstances. The current administration has to spend this much to correct the situation left by the previous administration. But you don't want to hear that, do you.

Middleman522 7 months, 4 weeks ago

Tax payer is the word you need to use for Government. They get their funds from us. They produce nothing and sell nothing. Something like that needs to be small, like in business. This administration's personal business cost "taxpayers" $1.4 billion last year for Czars, assistants, flights, chefs, ect. The Royal Family was only $57Million!!!! They are out of control wanting to take $716billion from Our Money in Medicare, to buy votes with. Just like someone did with Social Security years ago. Enough!! EPA 40% bigger, IRS is bigger. Michelle has a staff of 24!! How am I doing so far?? Does any of this matter?

packwilleat 7 months, 4 weeks ago

Middleman~ it doesn't matter to obamas "fans". To them he is the highest deity, omnipotent, and a walker of the water. What ever the cost, he needs it in oder to give us the "change" and "hope" we all seek. He shall never be questioned or opposed in any way....... ever!

Middleman522 7 months, 4 weeks ago

One liberal that I know told me that she did not want to know the truth about Clinton or Barry. I told her that was scary! Too many feel that way. Like the media, "don't let the truth get in the way of a good story" Dan Rather..lol