|
||||||||||||||||
RELATED LINKSInternal LinksGrants to: Profiles:
External LinksBuying a Movement, People for the American Way Norquist Lobbying at OpenSecrets.org MORE LINKSPaul Kiel Grover Faces Ruin, But No Jail TimeAs I mentioned yesterday, Grover Norquist, the cold-blooded anti-tax bogeyman of the right, got hit hard yesterday in the McCain report.
Lou Dubose The Pimping of the PresidentJack Abramoff and Grover Norquist Billing Clients for Face Time with G.W. Bush ...[Jack] Abramoff was so closely tied to the Bush Administration that he could, and did, charge two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President. From the same two clients he took to the White House in May 2001, Abramoff also obtained $2.5 million in contributions for a non-profit foundation he and his wife operated... It is ... a regular ATR [Grover Norquist's outfit] practice to invite state legislators and tribal leaders who have supported ATR anti-tax initiatives to the White House for a personal thank-you from the President.
Richard Leiby Norquist: "Any farmer will tell you that certain animals [Democrats] run around and are unpleasant, but when they've been fixed, then they are happy and sedate""They are contented and cheerful. They don't go around peeing on the furniture and such."
Bill Berkowitz Hijacking historyGrover Norquist's Reagan Legacy Project has its eyes on many prizes ...If Grover Norquist has his way, within the next decade the image of President Ronald Wilson Reagan will be permanently stamped upon America's landscape
Frank Gaffney A Troubling Influence[Norquist has enabled] a political influence operation to advance the causes of radical Islamists, and targeted most particularly at the Bush Administration. The growing influence of this operation...has created a strategic vulnerability for the nation, and a political liability for its President.
Winds of Change Grover Norquist: Islamists in the (White) HouseInstapundit points to a story about Republican fundraiser Grover Norquist, whose close connections with radical Islamists take the term "slimy political bagman" to dizzying new depths.
Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman Terry Gross, Grover Norquist and the HolocaustFirst of all, Grover, the morality underpinning the estate tax is the not same as the "morality" underpinning the holocaust. The holocaust was mass killing driven by a racist ideology. There is no morality there. The estate tax is a moral tax -- taxing the wealth of the super-rich to help the not so super-rich -- it's called progressive taxation.
Josh Marshall Why isn't this getting more attention?A few days ago I heard from several readers that anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, who is a close advisor to President Bush and Karl Rove, compared the Estate Tax to Nazi persecution of the Jews during the Holocaust. Not kinda sorta. He really did. Also see:New Democrats Online: First They Came For the Rich...
Chris Suellentrop Grover Norquist: The Republican Party's prophet of permanenceAll those Greenies and Naderites who grumble about the permanent duopoly on political power in Washington, D.C., can take heart: It's over, according to an emerging consensus. The bad news: It's been replaced by a near- permanent monopoly. Of Republicans.
DLC / Blueprint Magazine Starving the BeastIf President Bush keeps listening to Grover Norquist, Republicans won't have a government to kick around anymore Grover Norquist says: "Bipartisanship is another name for date rape," and "We are trying to change the tones in the state capitals-and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship."
Denver Post Rancor becomes top D.C. exportGOP leads charge in ideological war Republicans are working to make political discourse uglier, not more civil. "We are trying to change the tones in the state capitals -- and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship," [ Norquist told ] the Denver Post. "Bipartisanship is another name for date rape."
Insight magazine / Washington Times Conservative Leaders Rebuke Norquist...Grover Norquist, under fire for his ties to radical Islamic groups, has received a stinging rebuke in the form of a letter signed by 11 conservative leaders, some of whom have worked closely with him in the past.
The New Republic Fevered PitchGrover Norquist's strange alliance with radical Islam
USA Today Norquist's power high, profile lowWASHINGTON — President Bush's tax cut finally has passed, but there's no time for the true believers in this downtown conference room to celebrate. Grover Norquist calls on a White House official, who rises to thank more than 100 conservative activists for their help in passing the sort of sweeping tax relief this group has been pursuing for years at weekly strategy sessions known as "the Wednesday Meeting."
Robert Dreyfuss Grover Norquist: 'Field Marshal' of the Bush Plan...Norquist [sketches out a] timeline starting in 1980 and going to 2040...a dozen or fifteen projects of Norquist's "center-right coalition," some nearly completed, others not even to begin for a decade or more.
Thomas B. Edsall 'Newt Inc.' Faces Uncertain FateNorquist bragged to the Washington Post in this article that: "I work with the entire [conservative] movement and know everybody in the Republican leadership, and work with them all."
|
PERSON PROFILEGrover G. NorquistGrover Norquist is one of the most connected members of the new right wing movement. He has close ties to the Republican Party, large U.S. business interests, and both the subsidized and regular U.S. media. He truly represents the nexus of politics, business and media. As President of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), Norquist helped the Heritage Foundation write the Republican's 1994 Contract With America. Shortly thereafter, Norquist led a right wing charge to "de-fund" the left, declaring that "We will hunt [these liberal groups] down one by one and extinguish their funding sources." [from Buying a Movement]. ATR, which is a 501(c)(3) charity, describes itself as "a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes at both the federal and state levels. ATR organizes the TAXPAYER PROTECTION PLEDGE, which asks all candidates for federal and state office to commit themselves in writing to oppose tax increases. " ATR is funded by the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation. Norquist was on the campaign staff on the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Republican Platform Committees, and formerly was Executive Director of the College Republicans. He has also worked in policy positions for other Republicans, including serving on the National Commission Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service. Adept at media appearances, Norquist writes a monthly politics column for the American Spectator magazine, and frequently speaks at regional and state think tanks of the movement. He is also well-connected with large scale U.S. business interests, having served as economist and chief speech writer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (1983-1984). Norquist air dropsNorquist is also quite adept at dropping in at various localities across the country and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid his political allies, this despite his organization being a 501(c)(3) charity. Here's a short from the Minneapolis Star Tribune from August, 1999:Antitax group airs ads favorable to Grams Greg Gordon / Star Tribune Here's an excerpt from the Oregonian from August, 1999:Local opponents of "paycheck protection" laws target the leader of the national group Americans for Tax Reform Republican lobbyist Norquist may become familiar face here Tuesday, September 8 1998 If you've never heard of Grover Norquist, you'll probably be introduced to him at least once between now and Nov. 3... "Although Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform are not household names in Oregon, they are well-known in national political circles as a powerhouse working to achieve a wide range of Republican goals. The organization supports a flat tax rate, school choice and tighter controls on the right to sue for injury. It opposes gun control, abortion and "all tax increases." To secure the group's endorsement, politicians must sign a lifelong pledge to oppose tax increases. Norquist founded Americans for Tax Reform in 1985. Initially, the group lobbied for the overhaul of the tax code Congress approved in 1986. Today, Americans for Tax Reform has become a clearinghouse for dozens of anti-tax organizations and what Norquist calls the "Leave Us Alone" coalition, a loosely organized group that includes religious conservatives, school choice supporters, gun owners, small-business owners and libertarians who oppose government intrusion in their lives. Here's something from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy: Conservative activist Grover Norquist thinks the Democrats are sore losers. His group, Americans for Tax Reform, has also been accused of skirting election law. It was given $4.6 million by the Republican National Committee (RNC) for a direct mail campaign on Medicare in October, 1996. Americans for Tax Reform, and other like-minded conservative advocacy groups, claim that they were simply countering a $35 million dollar campaign that the unions waged.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington CREW FILES IRS COMPLAINT AGAINST GROVER NORQUIST'S AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORMCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today filed an Internal Revenue Services (IRS) complaint against Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), and American for Tax Reform Foundation (ATR Foundation), conservative, non-profit organizations led by right-wing activist Grover Norquist. The complaint asks the IRS to investigate activities by the groups which may violate IRS regulations and require a revocation of their tax-exempt status. Philip Shenon $25,000 to Lobby Group Is Tied to Access to BushThe chief of an Indian tribe represented by the lobbyist Jack Abramoff was admitted to a meeting with President Bush in 2001 days after the tribe paid a prominent conservative lobbying group $25,000 at Mr. Abramoff's direction, according to documents and interviews. Stuart Levine Did Grover Norquist Commit Tax Fraud?...The information that is publicly available is still too limited to allow one to definitively answer that question. However, the facts that are publicly available point to systematic violations by Norquist of various provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Peter H. Stone Grover and Jack's Long AdventureAbout once a month since 2001, Grover Norquist has invited a top Bush administration official or a Republican congressional leader to dine with him and some 20 or 30 corporate lobbyists who help subsidize Americans for Tax Reform, the anti-tax group that Norquist heads. Jay Bookman The lies of lobbygate...In another series of e-mails,[Ralph] Reed tells [Jack] Abramoff he's going to need another $867,511 for TV and radio ads, phone banks and direct mailings to conservative evangelicals.
|
MORE LINKSGrover Norquist at SourceWatch.org
Norquist Lobbying at OpenSecrets.org
James V. Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt Senate Report: Five Nonprofit Groups Sold Clout to AbramoffFive conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued today.
CNN.com Report: Abramoff used Norquist to distribute fundsAnti-tax advocate acted as a buffer for lobbyist's activities In Jack Abramoff's world, prominent Washington tax-cut advocate Grover Norquist was a godsend.
Paul Kiel Committee: Reed, Norquist Used as Pass-ThroughsHere are some damning details about Ralph Reed and Grover Norquist, courtesy of the newly-released McCain Report. It goes into great detail describing Ralph Reed's scheme to launder casino fees through non-profits.
Carrie Sheffield Norquist seeks trademark on ‘K Street Project’ nameConservative activist Grover Norquist is seeking a trademark on “K Street Project,” saying Democrats and Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) have wrongfully acquired the term to describe unethical practices that have nothing to do with his organization.
Tucker Carlson What really smells about Abramoff scandal...Weirdos and charlatans and self-interested hacks like Lou Sheldon and Grover Norquist have long discredited the conservative ideas they purport to represent. Their political allies in Washington and Congress may be tempted to defend them. I hope they don't. We'll all be better off when they're gone.
Nina J. Easton The knives are falling all around him, but Grover Norquist...insists they won't fall on himA lobbyist aims at McCain... A Norquist friend and former colleague, Jack Abramoff, is under criminal investigation for his lobbying activities, some of which involved the same Native American tribe on Norquist's client roster. The noose on Abramoff appeared to have tightened Monday when his former business partner, Michael Scanlon, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to bribe public officials and to defraud Indian tribes...
David Sirota Grover Norquist, Turncoats & the Embrace of Movement PoliticsThe New Yorker has a new piece on conservative activist Grover Norquist, and how he realized the one of the keys to helping Republicans effectively fight Democrats was to pressure GOP moderates and thus unify the right. As New Yorker reporter John Cassidy notes, today Norquist "criticize[s] moderate Republicans, such as John McCain and Lindsay Graham, because they think the moderates are holding back the conservative agenda." In the states, Norquist is "attacking Republican governors and legislators who raise taxes. In the past few years, a lot of states and cities have been facing budget deficits, which they are legally obliged to close. You might think this justifies higher taxes, but Norquist doesn't. He's just brutal to Republican tax raisers."
Names & Faces Norquist to College Republicans: McCain "the nut-job from Arizona"Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) became a target in the latest round of political rhetoric when Republican strategist Grover Norquist referred to him last week as "the nut-job from Arizona."
Daniel Franklin and A.G. Newmyer III Is Grover Over?Norquist's anti-tax jihad stumbles in the states
Grover Norquist The Democratic Party is ToastThe modern Democratic Party cannot survive the reelection of President George W. Bush and another four years of Republican control of both Congress and the White House No brag. Just fact. Also see:What if Bush Wins? also in the Washington Monthly
Mother Jones The Soul of the New MachineAs national ward boss for the right, Grover Norquist has gone a long way toward demolishing the old Democratic agenda. And he isn't done yet.
|
||||||||||||||
