Quote of the Day: Alan Simpson on Grover Norquist

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Will there be a budget deal? Not if Americans for Tax Reform's Grover Norquist has his way -- or, at least, there won't be a deal that includes tax increases (or even just letting the Bush tax cuts expire and returning to Clinton-era tax rates), though it's pretty clear that there's no way the budget problem will ever be addressed seriously without raising revenue (spending cuts alone won't cut it, particularly given how unpopular they are).

I haven't been a fan of President Obama's "deficit commission" -- it proposed some sensible reforms, such as ending various tax loopholes and subsidies, but its overall focus was on keeping government far too small, that is, on advancing a moderate Republican agenda without regard for progressive concerns -- but it's hard not to like, or at least to appreciate, the straight-talking (renegade Republican) Alan Simpson for occasionally telling it like it is:

If you are in thrall to Grover Norquist, this country hasn't got a prayer.

Okay, it's an old quote. He said that in February (though it was reported yesterday). But it still applies. And the problem, clearly, is that almost all Republicans are "in thrall" to Norquist.

Which means the country is in big, big trouble.

Quote of the Day: Alan Simpson on homophobes and hypocrites in the GOP

By Michael J.W. Stickings

And, oh, is this quotable. Here's the former Republican senator from Wyoming on Hardball yesterday:

Who the hell is for abortion? I don't know anybody running around with a sign that says, "Have an abortion! They're wonderful!" They're hideous, but they're a deeply intimate and personal decision, and I don't think men legislators should even vote on the issue.

Then you've got homosexuality, you've got Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We have homophobes on our party. That's disgusting to me. We're all human beings. We're all God’s children. Now if they're going to get off on that stuff -- Santorum has said some cruel things -- cruel, cruel things -- about homosexuals. Ask him about it; see if he attributes the cruelness of his remarks years ago. Foul.

Now if that's the kind of guys that are going to be on my ticket, you know, it makes you sort out hard what Reagan said, you know, "Stick with your folks." But, I'm not sticking with people who are homophobic, anti-women, moral values -- while you're diddling your secretary while you're giving a speech on moral values? Come on, get off of it.

No one ever accused Simpson of being verbally delicate, and while he doesn't really have anything to lose, he deserves a lot of credit for telling it like it is. It's just a wonder he still calls himself a Republican. Because, let's face it, there's an awful lot more he could have said.

Here's the clip: