Bill Moyers Essay: The Truth Behind Grover Norquist’s Pledge

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• Sandy Fisher

  I will never understand how people with so much can be so selfish and greedy

• Anonymous

  Everyone misses the point of what Grover Norquist is really about. His goal is to “starve the Beast.” He’s always said this. What he and those for whom he shills want is basically a Federal Government that cannot function. If it is starved of revenue, then no matter what laws and regulations may exist on food, drugs, the environment, labor, etc. they cannot be enforced, because there is no money with which to enforce them. The Federal Government then becomes nothing more than a straw man.

• Cyrus

  Selfish and greedy IS how those people got so much. As I. G. Bornel said: “At the bottom of every big sack of gold you’ll find the hair and the bones of a hundred decent men.”

• Alan Poindexter

  Bill, you are a true American Hero. Thanks for succinctly pointing out what I have been saying for years: Namely, people like Grover Norquist and Karl Rove have made a healthy living “monitizing ideology” and fomenting partisan divide. Bravo!

• J. Roland Cole

  I thank God that we can count on Bill Moyers and Company to give us real journalism–what is important, what is factual,, and what of essence that has been missing from the conversation. Thank you, Bill. I’ve been appreciating you since you were a young Baptist Minister and secretary-assistant to Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Baines Johnson. You have contributed SO MUCH OF BEAUTY, OF RELEVANCE, OF CULTURE, AND OF IMPORTANT THOUGHT AND THINKERS THAT WASN’T POLITICAL ALSO. For at least forty (40) years!
  I mean it. I thank God for you and yours. And was so glad to see you come back with a news/interview/commentary program again! Know that millions of us know that we need you, we appreciate you, and we love you.
  For my money, you and Mr. Rogers are two of the Greatest Unsung Heroes of our American Nation.
  May you live long and continue to be a blessing and to be blessed!.

  Rev. J. Roland Cole, UMC clergyman (ret.), College Station, Texas
  jrolandcole@hotmail.com

• Eric Schell

  Thanks for bringing up the fact that this glaring example of oversimplification, this “pledge”, was the product of the mind of a 12-year old.Idiot republicans mindlessly accepted having blinders put on them, so now they feel their hands are tied; BULL. They need to get their heads out and start seeing reality. Record-high debt calls for increased tax revenue. Denying this is stupid and self-defeating.

• J. Roland Cole

  Thanks, Petra421, for this central and heretofore unsaid opinion which I think is true. I’m still getting my eyes opened. My belief as a child in the 1940′s that Big Business (J. C. Penny, Sears and Roebuck,, the Car companies were “corporate good citizens,” standing up for American values that didn’t beat people down, step on them, or steal the fruits of their workers’ labor. Was that unfounded. I don’t care to be a “business basher;” while overrated and often given sole credit for our prosperity erroneously, business has “made America great.”

  Big business has been changing for sure, and is now often ruthless, uncaring, ready to fire Americans and offshore jobs and plants and arrange government subsidies to pay them handsomely for doing so, adding to their profits and the average American’s woes.. The laws they had written or paid lobbyist to write (half the lobbyists are ex-pols of power) are still in effect even after they have been exposed! That, to me, shows that citizens are not being represented by our government to a huge extent; corporations are. That they are ready willing (and as Bush years and earlier have shown us) able to take over and control government in many way (leaving the public’s interest and the vast majority of citizens’s desires completely out of the equation) was proven 10, if not twenty, years ago.

  Besides taking back our country from the corporations and a number of the politicians dependent upon and voting for them (instead of us), how can we do justice to good old American businesses and corporations that are more corporate citizens than corporate crooks? I’m sure there are many! (And I am not talking about the multinational corporations who once were American but who now care not one whit for our sovereignty, who buy our oil and gas cheap and cheat the government and private royalty holders and sell it for whatever the world market will extract–and now they participate in commodities futures to drive up their profit even more–and whose excess billions and trillions allow them to buy governments and almost anything,and now they support the arts, etc., and run slick, beautiful, expensive, “convincing” ads on tv telling us how much they care about our country and how good they are. When I see one now, I wish some good journalists would go find what dirt (dirty endeavors) in the world they are hiding and covering up.

  Again, how do we promote and support the good guys, the good owners of American businesses and corporations that honor limits and our American ideals, values, and design of government answerable to “we the people,”?

  While taking back our country from the Biggies–Big Banking, Big Pharma, Big Energy, etc.!

  While I’m a little heartened by the last election, when the pure Big Corporate candidate lost (who had two to six positions on every subject, kept using lies and false talking points long after Bill Clinton and others exposed them, and whose Right Wing veep candidate’s bills and Republican platform contained economic and health positions hurtful to and hated by the majority of Americans), I don’t feel wonderful that Tim Geitner and Larry Summers, in league with Rubin and Greenspan, et al.have been advisors and guides to our President. Or that BP was helped from the Bureau of Interior’s interior instead of properly corrected and controlled (and monitored accurately) by it during the oil spill. I’m still hurting for Exxon’s Valdez spill aftermath–many people or many people died over many years without getting the just compensation promised them by Exxon spokesman, Businesses and people’s lives ruined and not helped. Much of the oil/sludge never cleaned up/removed. Legal issues drug out for nearly two decades, a half-decent (or less) judgment appealed further until one judge (wonder why?) arbtirarily reduced payment radically.

  If Obama hadn’t been brilliant and had a brilliant team, a will and ability to use technology, and decided to keep an effective ground game in place and functional in Ohio, etc., we’d have lost even more of our democratic-republican form of government and “right makes might” philosophy, (as opposed to “business knows best” and “economics is mightiest and controls all.” With a candidate not full of contradictions, lies, and half-lies for all to see on TV, we might not have fared so well–and might not next time. ?

  I’m hoping there will still be a “United States of America” left to my sons and grandchildren and the progeny of my fellow citizens. I think most people don’t realize how dire our situation is. How ironic and catastrophic it would be IF the “last best hope” of Mankind should self-destruct, its senators and representatives and political parties sell out to economic interests instead of keeping the flame alive.

  Thanks again for pointing out that:

  What he [Grover] and those for whom he shills want is basically a Federal Government that cannot function.

  If it is starved of revenue, then no
  matter what laws and regulations may exist on food, finances, drugs, the
  environment, labor, etc. they cannot be enforced, because there is no
  money with which to enforce them.

  Then his benefactors, the Kochs, the global corporations, etc can run
  roughshod over the American people.

  The Federal Government (aka “We the
  People”) then becomes nothing more than a straw man at the mercy of the
  oligarchs.

• jlm

  I am curious – where does Norquist’s income come from? Book sales, speaking tours?

• Anonymous

  full transcript not available

• Anonymous

  Every
  President and Congressman is required to take an oath to defend the
  Constitution. As a part of his/her oath a Congressman also states, “I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.”

  If a Congressman signs a pledge with any individual or organization to
  perform (or not perform) certain acts while in office, is that not a
  violation of his/her oath of office?

• georg345

  Bill is a certainly a left wing hero. But to the rest of us, he is someone who takes taxpayer’s money in the form of PBS subsidies and uses it to push a leftist ideology. Norquist is simply asking our representatives to be responsible with taxpayer’s money. There is nothing evil or sinister about that – it’s something we should all demand of our representatives. The federal government has record levels of revenue but simultaneously has absurd levels of spending. Anyone who trusts that if tax revenue is increased, the government will apply it to the debt has no recollection of history. In short, the government has little credibility when it comes to managing taxpayer money. Tax pledges would not be necessary if people could trust their representatives to be responsible.

• Marchie

  Bill, I really did not appreciate your facial tone while talking about Grover last night. Namely you missed the point that is making and you looked like you exposed his secret. There is no secret to Grover. No More Taxes means simply that. I and many more believe it and that settles it. White Lake Mi

• An American

  One man who is not an elected official should not be able to control the congressional process.

• Bratty Roger

  Good question!

• Bratty Roger

  The fact that you don’t ^see^ the secret does ^not^ mean it isn’t there!

• Bratty Roger

  Perhaps replacing Party Primaries with Instant Runoff Voting would (help?) stop groups like Norquist’s from using the co$t of (the, General Election, candidate selection process of) the ‘Primaries, to intimidate & bully candidates into signing & honoring pledges of any sort that effectivly make it ^impossible^ to do the kind of ^compromising^ that serving the whole nation, ^and^ ^all^ of their constituents (not just the big pocket$ that paid for their election), necessitates¹ – for actually ^fulfilling^ their Oath of Office.

  Instant Runoff Voting is unlikely to be made law in any legislative process dominated by one, or the other, of the two predominant political parties – because Instant Runoff Voting would ^free^ voters from worrying about ^”wasting”^ their vote on ^non^ D or R candidates, which/who could more ^closely^ reprsent their views (and/or interests).

  In other words, I think it will depend on Initiatives Processes to put it on state Ballots for the ^People^ to vote on. (That’s how the State of Washington legalized Same-Sex Marriage & Recreational “Pot” use [unfortunately, that doesn't legalize it/them at the ^federal^ level].)

  ¹Seems kinda reminisent of a “Protection” Racket – a ^Political^ Protection Racket if you will. I wonder if the Attorney General of the US could investigate Grover Norquist and his orginization under RICO (ideally leading to prosecution[s], and perhaps [better ^yet^?] ^sentencing^). He/it/they certainly seem to have a (somewhat?) ^corrupting^ influence on our political process!

• Anonymous

  All the corporations, et al. have done is return to a Robber Baron mentality that existed in the 19th and early 20th century. Back to the days when they could have the National Guard or Army called out in their support against strikers.
  They never really were the good corporate citizens you thought. They were laying low. Originally FDR planned to pass a Medicare style plan as a companion piece to Social Security. Business screamed, fought tooth and nail… and half won. It took LBJ to get Medicare thru.
  Every single piece of legislation thru the years that has been to rein in corporate greed, corruption, pollution, etc has been fought.
  And after the Democrats lost the South, and there came to be more and more of a Christian tone to the GOP…. and a so-called “stand on principles”… it has become harder and harder to quell the toxic pairing of Christian Right and the manipulation of them by Big Business.

• Bratty Roger

  been thinking somethin like

• Bratty Roger

  arrgh.

• Sunfish76

  He is using abusing the system since Corporations are People..leaving the 99% without representation.
  I call that treasonist !

• brenda

  I find it extremely troubling when duly elected representatives to our government, from president on down, sign or declare pledges to an individual, ideology or group. I thought the pledge is to uphold and defend the Consititution of the US and to work for the people of the United States.

• Toby Slyme

  Bill’s show is not funded by PBS or any other tax dollars…Get it right…

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Bernadene-Zennie/643316988 Bernadene Zennie

  Watch this. very telling. C-Span:

  After Words: Jonathan Chait author of “The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hijacked by Crackpot Economics” interviewed by Grover Norquist

  http://www.booktv.org/Program/8699/After+Words+Jonathan+Chait+author+of+quotThe+Big+Con+The+True+Story+of+How+Washington+Got+Hijacked+by+Crackpot+Economicsquot++++interviewed+by+Grover+Norquis.aspx

• ggdiva

  And it always has been ‘ABOUT THE MONEY”.

• http://www.facebook.com/vernon.turner.7 Vernon Turner

  This has been going on in one form or another with the GOP and business since Lincoln was shot.

• http://www.facebook.com/ian.brewer1 Ian Brewer

  How did Norquist manage to weasel out of being prosecuted along with Jack Abramoff?

• http://www.facebook.com/BuddyMaggart Brandon Maggart

  Such a pledge does not represent We the People.

• Paul John Martin

  No Georg345, Norquist is not ” simply asking our representatives to be responsible with taxpayer’s money.” DC certainly needs a good dose of responsible conservatism – but not this boneheaded inflexibility. He serves only those who seek to broker power by their money. In fact, his straight jacket
  prevents the GOP becoming once again the party of fiscal conservatism.

• Madeline

  to White Lake…. Come on. We at our lowest level of taxation in decades! And our government is going deep into debt. Enough of calling for lower taxes.

• http://www.facebook.com/thecopywriter Christine Alexander

  Amen!

• http://www.facebook.com/robert.j.macdonnell Robert John MacDonnell

  What you are saying is clearly true; what is particularly of concern is the continuing story of Big Money making another “end run” on our already under-represented representative government.

• http://2000ah.blogspot.com/ edward

  Grover Norquist and his brethren will destroy America, if they are allowed to continue pushing America in the direction they have us going.

• http://www.facebook.com/mark.cauley.5 Mark Cauley

  Yes, another great expose of this Evil Doofus. Please sign and forward this petition to end his stranglehold over congress (It takes 8 seconds): http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/make-grover-norquists-tax-pledge-is/

• Anonymous

  See this essay: http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=7&print=1 to be reminded of the successes of government.

• Dougn

  Good bullet Bill. Politicians should take NO pledges other than the one they take to support and defend the constitution. To do otherwise can be seen as conspiracy. or worse.

• RockWall

  Finally someone has the guts to call out the lawmakers who have forgotten which pledge they were elected to uphold. I just wish Mickey Edwards (or anyone) had the nerve to call them what they really are – traitors. Anyone elected to public office that signs a pledge that conflicts with their oath of office falls into this category. As far as Grover Norquist is concerned, I think what he does used to be called blackmail.

• http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001487067405 Kris Rosvold

  Nope, His Catch-phrase or tag-line is “starve the beast”. Problem is it’s just EXACTLY like a used-car salesman using a catch-phrase. He means exactly NOTHING by the use of it. Translated (based on his ACTIONS)he REALLY means: Cut taxes on the wealthy and corporations, at the expense of the citizens, and transfer ALL costs of running this society to the little guy. It’s REALLY simple to decipher someone’s real intent when you quit listening to their words and look at who profits from their ACTIONS!

• BobMunch

  Glad I’m not the only one who thinks he sees this in Norquist’s agenda.

• LLC

  You are exactly correct about the toxic pairing of the Christian Right and GOP Big Business. Reagen put the kiss of death on the GOP in 1980 when he embraced Jerry Falwell and his organization into the GOP. They brought with them a disgusting triumphalism of a winner take all attitude that sees compromise as the tool of the Devil. Having fought them from inside Baptist life as a religion professor for the last 40 years I have seen this godless mentality up close and know how destructive it is.

• Anonymous

  The “pledge documents” are worthless. Just as federal law supercedes state law documents in governance, so does the Constitution supercede documents created by a private corporation. Their oath to uphold the constitution –including their responsibility as congressional representatives to raise tax revenue for the health and welfare of the country –supercede his pledge– they can’t abdicate that responsibility. No one elected Norquist for obvious reasons. He’s a pompous PT Barnum.

• Anonymous

  I just hear a bunch of whiney jealous liberals wishing THEY had the ability and intelligence to make money…

• John

  As usual. Follow the money. He makes a nice fat salary as their front man.

• Anonymous

  Yeah, they want to GET RID of “government”–EXCEPT for the POLICE, to keep the vagrants away, and the ARMY, to reinforce the police. Unfortunately, the police and the Army ARE the government, at it most basic form!

• http://www.facebook.com/thomas.sanford1 Thomas Sanford

  @ Bratty Roger: You can always write and edit your pieces in your notepad or word processor before you copy and paste it to the “Comment” box in the first place.

• Richard Shirey

  Over the past 30 years, the tax burden has been successfully shifted from the affluent to the middle class. The most insidious element of the shift has been that the affluent now loan money to the government rather than paying taxes. You are right, Bill. It’s all about the money.

• Anonymous

  My deepest sympathies. My grandmother was S. Baptist and an FDR Democrat… could not be both now. A lot of this 1st showed up in the schism in the S. Baptist Convention.

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Sadie-Custer/596450172 Sadie Custer

  Do you mind if I quote you when I share this post! I think you have named the beast!

• Anonymous

  Feel free. The interesting thing is that it’s basically the same principle as business uses with complex, pig-in-a-poke contracts… like never really knowing what your insurance will cover… never really knowing what your medical costs will be…. only with that it’s making things so complex and unpredictable that companies make out like bandits… and in most cases, you won’t win in court because contracts are written in such a way that everything has a backdoor.

• http://www.facebook.com/cdavidbonner Chris Bonner

  Searching for I. G. Bornel doesn’t turn up any results – sure you spelled that right?

• PFJChow

  I agree whole-heartedly on how big money moves our political system behind some façade organizations.
  Here is my take on Entitlement Programs by the same big money to destroy them.

  Hey, you politicians of both stripes (some should wear those zebra stripes as their uniforms), republican and democrat all, listen up. Stay away from the Entitlement Programs. We, the people, those not of the top 2 % on
  the economic scale, are entitled to them. We have that right. We’ve earned it! We earned it by contributing to these programs through our mandatory payroll deductions.

  These three programs are the spunks that keep the medically indigents and middle class senior citizens going with their minimal subsistence income. The rich and most politicians don’t need Social Security and Medicare because their financial futures are handsomely secure. The rich get their entitlements
  from secretive bank accounts scurried away in some offshore banks. And politicians can live off on non-disclosed campaign funds from super PACs stuffed in their refrigerators’ freezer compartments. This goes to show these guys don’t know a first thing about liquid assets. No wonder our economy is in such a deep freeze and sliding down a slippery permafrost slope to the fiscal cliff into the financial crevasse.

  Some venture capitalists, aka corporate raiders, live off on corporate welfare through government subsidies and bailouts, leaving the taxpayers holding the bag. Consider Bain Capital, headed by one Mitt
  Romney and his investors. When Bain Capital was acquiring Steel Dynamics, Mitt Romney and his partners was able to take in $37 million in taxpayer subsidies. Then later, Bain Capital gained majority control of an Armco steel mill in Kansas City, Missouri. They renamed it GS Technologies, GST. There they cut corners, skimmed profits and finally wrung the company dry. The company went under, costing a loss of 750 jobs. When it was discovered that GST had underfunded its pension plan by $44 million, the federal agency who oversaw and guaranteed pension plans had to step in to pick up the tab, sticking it again to the taxpayers. This is just an example tip of the proverbial iceberg. How did Bain Capital get away
  with hauls of cash through taxpayers’ sweat and toil? One can look no further than Capitol Hill. There is gold in them thar Hill, where crocks of taxpayer gold are hoarded and doled out by political leprechauns who chair powerful senate or congressional committees and caucuses.

  The CEOs draw off their discretionary funds for their
  recreations with their favorite politicos on some indiscretionary procreation activities from facade corporations in tax haven countries and by creative accounting. If you learn your stuff well from Economy 101 about liquid assets, you can easily spot these discretionary corporation accounts, listed under the main category Liability, subcategory Expenses, Lobby, and then Procreation. Oops, I meant Recreation. For these guys, recreation means procreation with the lobbyists and interns. The pro- part of the procreation process they like it well enough, but the post- part is where they hush up and sweep under the discretionary fund carpet. This underground economy operates and flies under the radar of the IRS and FBI, here the money behaves by the laws of quantum mechanics. They pop in and out of those politicians’ pockets without leaving a trace, and more elusive than those elementary quarks. The minute you notice
  them and poof, they are gone, leaving behind nothing more than a Cheshire Cat’s grin on those screw-the-taxpayer politicians’ faces. This is the quintessential Washington DC Barter System: Money, and Sex, and Political Favors, Oh My! You sure get the feeling you are not in Kansas anymore. This is
  something they don’t teach you in Econ 101.

  Some would complain that the Entitlement Program is getting too big and we will go the way of the Greeks. This country is not like Greece. The United States is seventy four times the size of Greece. Our economy and financial system is backed up by our huge natural resources, our relatively political stability, tons of gold in them thar Fort Knox, not to mention we have more geeks than all the Greeks in Greece. And the geeks will lead them economist types and see us through this
  financial quagmire, if only them political types would listen. Our country alone in the whole world can
  print all the money we need and still have people queuing up to buy US Treasury bonds; and if you haven’t notice, the US dollar is the de facto international tender for exchange and trade. Of course, we need to cut the deficit, but not at the expense of the middle class and their retirement future.

  Social security would be financially sound (and still is) had it not been for certain previous administrations and Congress siphoning off funds to support their own unwarranted wars and pork barrel projects. Trim wastes, frauds and abuses from the Entitlement Programs, yes! Eliminate COL increase, reduce benefits, no! United States have always been known as a nation of generous people. We dish out millions in aids annually to developing countries the world over, why can’t we do the same for our own citizens at home. Remember and take heed of an old but sage injunction: charity must begin at home!

  To those politicians who act as proxies for those super rich, super PACs and corporate heads to undermine the current Entitlement Programs, I give this fair admonition. To quote the man who warned off a TSA
  Official whose was over-enthusiastic in frisking him: “Don’t touch my junks!”, I’ll paraphrase here to warn you two-timed politicians: “Don’t touch our spunks or they will rise to the occasion to screw you royally come next erection! Uh… election!”

• LLC

  You are correct about the oxymoron aspect these days about being S. Baptist and a Democrat, Fortunately for me, I haven’t had direct connections with the SBC since 1997. Baptist yes; Southern Baptist no. The SBC is in a slow death march now that will doom it to the junk heap of useless cultural religion within a couple of generations, unless something drastic happens to turn it around. .

• LLC

  What I observed while living in Germany over the years on different occasions as a guest professor in some of their universities is a practice that is followed there. No official public campaigning more than 90 days before the election. Set limits rigidly imposed on how much money can be spent on each campaign. To be sure, it’s fast and furious during that 90 days, but that’s all that you hear from political candidates. Although I never understood the complex details, a law also permits bringing a candidate into court for telling blatant slanderous lies about his opponent. Severe fines and possible jail time loom on the horizon for any one convicted of violating it. Don’t know whether this would work in the US but it sure put a harness on the German elections. The candidates debated real issues!

• http://www.facebook.com/cheryl.s.jaeger Cheryl Starkey Jaeger

  I think Bill Moyers is among the best liberals in the business. He is a civil debater with the great gift of being able to challenge someone on the opposite side without offending too much. A good guy like Bill makes a guy like Norquist look like the devil himself without saying it point blank.

• Bratty Roger

  i cant

• http://twitter.com/ScribeJay Jay H

  Bratty – can you access Google Drive through your smartphone, either as an app or through their website? If so, you could use that, and then copy and paste. Shouldn’t be too hard, though I’ve never tried it myself.

• universalblur

  Anyone that thinks a candidate who needed $ 1 billion to get elected (Obama) isn’t controlled by big business is deluding themselves or is plain uneducated……please! The American people are getting screwed by ALL politicians! They are ALL in somebody’s back pocket!

• http://www.facebook.com/cdavidbonner Chris Bonner

  If you believe it and that settles it, why are you here? It would seem you would have little to talk about with those of who still have room for doubt and nuance concerning the methods and activities of our elected representatives.

• http://www.facebook.com/cdavidbonner Chris Bonner

  It continues to amaze me that in the days of ubiquitous access to information people whose shady dealing are a matter of record continue to maintain careers in the public eye.

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4Z2KAEXJSST27IB4N2PLMXT3RM bk_inAZ

  Could it be that he’s an un-elected politician who strives to remain in office by offering rationalizations for his existence? What legitimate skills could he bring to a job at Wal-Mart, or your local nursing home?

• Bratty Roger

  f remember

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Donald-Burnison/100000212743064 Donald Burnison

  Why won’t the “main stream media” post or print this truism? It is obvious to anyone who can read and comprehend. Why does it seem to always take suffering, regression, and revolution to correct these wrongs that block and inhibit our efforts to provide for the common defense and “general welfare”?

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Donald-Burnison/100000212743064 Donald Burnison

  It is very gratifying and reinforceing to read all these blogs, and realize that they were all to the same point. But just as important none of them (not one) used the GOP tactic used by too many to criticize with negative, untrue, political, racisist, rants to make statements about those who disagree with them.

• Daniel Jadick

  This may be too simple, but how can we the people expect our government to “live” on its income, when our own households are so deeply in debt??

  In total, American consumers owe:

  $11.38 trillion in debt

  A decrease of 2.95% from last year

  $852 billion in credit card debt

  $8.15 trillion in mortgages

  $914 billion in student loans

  An increase of 7.35% from last year

  We don’t have a political problem. We have a cultural problem.

• Ralph Alldredge

  While I have little doubt that corporate greed is a big problem in our country for many reasons, I also think we live in a world where big corporations are inevitable, so the solution is not to dismantle them or prevent them from having any impact upon policy. Rather, we need to put in place policies that will help correct corporate myopia so that big corporations begin to see that while people like Norquist may offer appealing short term rewards for their support (lower taxes this year and next), any rational assessment of the long term impact of the Bush Era tax cuts upon the overall health of the American economy should lead all corporations, large and small, to understand the long term adverse consequences of that course.
  Congress and the SEC have the power to make significant changes in the rules for shareholder democracy and corporate governance of public corporations that could reverse the current focus of corporate managers upon what financial results they will report for the next quarter and put that focus instead upon what they are doing to make sure their company and the economic environment in which it operates will remain profitable and stable over the next decade.

• http://twitter.com/TerranautX James T. McGuiness

  It’s not bout what Mr. Norquist says, it’s about what he does. And I for one see nothing but him ensanrring politicians into a conflict of interest trap and establish a usurped power article that by nature creates a superseding loyalty to the tribe over any oath of office sworn with hand on Bible. How is it not just plain old extortion to imply career-ending consequence for non-acquiescence to the mob Norquist represents? There is only one way to free our government from “Groverment” and that is with plain old law.