John Stewart vs Grover Norquist

[RandFan]

Jon Stewart challenges Grover Norquist on ‘absolutist’ anti-tax pledge (video)

IMO: the Norquist pledge is one of the most asinine things ever dreamed up in American politics. Now, don't get me wrong. Sure there are a whole host of remarkably stupid things perpetrated by our beloved leaders and lobbyists. But this is really up there.

• Politics is the art of compromise.
• The tax pledge removes any and all leverage from taxation and therefore it is not conducive to compromise.
• The tax pledge arbitrarily assumes that an optimum tax amount is static.

 

[Babbylonian]

Jon Stewart challenges Grover Norquist on ‘absolutist’ anti-tax pledge (video)

IMO: the Norquist pledge is one of the most asinine things ever dreamed up in American politics. Now, don't get me wrong. Sure there are a whole host of remarkably stupid things perpetrated by our beloved leaders and lobbyists. But this is really up there.

• Politics is the art of compromise.
• The tax pledge removes any and all leverage from taxation and therefore it is not conducive to compromise.
• The tax pledge arbitrarily assumes that an optimum tax amount is static.

It's worse than that. The implication is that lower taxes are always better, so it doesn't even encourage maintenance of the status quo.

It's utter nonsense.

 

[leftysergeant]

Idiots like Grover also tell us that industry can self-regulate and that private industry can perform most government functions better.

 

[Lowpro]

RandFan thanks for posting that. I couldn't find the extended interview on the Daily Show site (not sure if they hide the damned things) but I found the Will Ferrel one, which was also entertaining.

Gotta love Jon Stewart taking people to task, gotta ask where the coverage is for other people asking these questions, IF they are.

 

[Brainster]

Speaking of nonsense, check out what Stewart says:

“When you speak about it in this manner, you sound like an absolutely reasonable individual talking about reforming and working within a system,” Stewart said. “When you put out pledges — you know you talk about the unions and the pledges. So what does the Republican governor do? He goes in and he removes any sort of public’s unions right to collective bargaining.”

“So its not, ‘we need to be on the same page.’ He goes in and says, ‘unions are the problem, they’re jerks, they’re the ones who are freeloading on the system, people who aren’t paying any taxes are the ones who are really gumming things up.’ Their rhetoric in no way matches the very sort of sensible, reformist mantra that you have taken on here.”

Whom is he talking about when he says, "people who aren't paying any taxes,"?

 

[A'isha]

Whom is he talking about when he says, "people who aren't paying any taxes,"?

The "he" was Governor Walker, and he was talking about the protesters in Madison Wisconsin last year.

Stewart is paraphrasing the comment Walker made in an interview with the Heritage Foundation, when he said he wasn't "going to let tens of thousands [of pro-Union protesters] overload or overshadow the millions of people in Wisconsin, the taxpayers of the state".

 

[Brainster]

The "he" was Governor Walker, and he was talking about the protesters in Madison Wisconsin last year.

Stewart is paraphrasing the comment Walker made in an interview with the Heritage Foundation, when he said he wasn't "going to let tens of thousands [of pro-Union protesters] overload or overshadow the millions of people in Wisconsin, the taxpayers of the state".

And Stewart manages to garble that into the notion that union workers or pro-union protesters aren't paying taxes?

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

And Stewart manages to garble that into the notion that union workers or pro-union protesters aren't paying taxes?

I think it's the sort of rhetoric Stewart is arguing against.

He's saying that while reasonable minds can disagree (and carry on a discussion) about the best tax policy, stuff like the Norquist pledge and the anti-union statement Stewart is alluding to destroy the chances of productive discourse.

ETA: It was Walker who talked about "taxpayers of the state" as a class distinct from the pro-union protesters.

 

[A'isha]

And Stewart manages to garble that into the notion that union workers or pro-union protesters aren't paying taxes?

No, it was Walker that did that. As JoeTheJuggler noted, Walker was referring to them as two distinct categories: the pro-Union protesters, and the taxpayers of the state.