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September 08, 2008

Norquist and Rove for McCain? Gag Me.

I could not have been more amused than I was when I received in the mail on Saturday a “confidential” letter from Karl Rove containing the “2008 Election Battleplan.” Mr. Rove, whom I despise for his dirty tricks approach to politics, even called me his “Taxpaying Friend.” Tucked inside was a letter from Grover Norquist, Sizemore money launderer extraordinaire and former avowed enemy of John McCain, “urgently” asking for my help to elect Senator McCain to the Presidency. Imagine my delight to see that Grover Norquist was saying to me, “I need your help.” That help would come in the form of my “best contribution to help fund an enormous $18.6 million ‘Conservative Voter Mobilization Campaign’” – also known as “TAXPAYER MOBILIZATION 2008.” Of course, I have no money, which only adds to the humor. Apparently, because my now-embarrassing contribution of a sizeable chunk of my valuable time to one ignominious GOP gubernatorial candidate several years ago was reported as an “in-kind” contribution, my name has been placed on the list of major GOP contributors. I get the most interesting mail as a result.

Keeping in mind my emotionally exhausting, but sadly ineffective efforts to hold Grover Norquist accountable for breaking the law by laundering contributions for Bill Sizemore, despite the solid evidence I possessed (which greatly excited federal prosecutors until they inexplicably decided to drop the matter), please enjoy this wonderful excerpt from Mr. Norquist’s letter to me:

You and I may not have yet met personally. But I have taken the liberty to write to you because I am told you are a pro-freedom conservative who cares deeply about America.

He’s got that right. That’s why I wanted his sorry ass kicked out of GOP politics.

Personal humor aside, I find the whole letter even more comical considering that just last year, Norquist was outraged that McCain refused to sign the centerpiece of Norqust’s activist work – his “no new taxes” pledge. McCain further refused to promise to veto any tax increases. McCain has gone all wimpy on us since that time, however, issuing statements that went even further than Norquist was asking and sending goodwill ambassadors over to make up with Mr. Slimeball to win his support this year. I was disappointed in McCain then, and find that disappointment still stings despite his inspiring acceptance speech. But I can still enjoy the memories of such things as Norquist’s 2005 outburst, in which he called McCain “the nut-job from Arizona” and a “gun-grabbing, tax-increasing Bolshevik.”

Back then, I thought if Norquist was against him, then he must be doing something right. McCain reminded us last week why he won the ire of crooks like Norquist:

I've fought corruption, and it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. They violated their public trust, and had to be held accountable. I've fought big spenders in both parties, who waste your money on things you neither need nor want, while you struggle to buy groceries, fill your gas tank and make your mortgage payment. I've fought to get million dollar checks out of our elections. I've fought lobbyists who stole from Indian tribes. I fought crooked deals in the Pentagon. I fought tobacco companies and trial lawyers, drug companies and union bosses…

I don't mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I've had quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson along the way. In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test.

I fight for Americans. I fight for you. …

I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust, when we valued our power over our principles.

We're going to change that.

That perked up my ears. He told me what I wanted to hear, what I had been hoping for years that a Republican would say, and he punctuated that message by selecting a running mate with a reformer’s reputation. Now the question is whether he really means it. Has polling shown him what he needs to say to us disaffected former Republicans if he intends to snap us out of our attraction to Barack Obama? If he wins the election, will he give in again to the forces of darkness, or will he actually take out the trash?

I have to say that if he’s got Norquist and Rove - the biggest piles of trash currently in Washington - trying this hard to get him elected, then it’s not looking real good to me.

Posted by Becky at September 8, 2008 01:32 PM