Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

I did it. I used Norquist as a verb.

[to] Norquist: to dissolve the infiltration of lobbyist stronghold/influence in government

Need an example?

Enter Grover Norquist. Conservative libertarian. Founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. Bully. Lobbyist. Republican. Poster child for the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Feared. Perpetuator of the “Read My Lips,” tax fallacy. Did I mention bully?

Before November 2012, ninety-five percent of Republicans had pledged that they would oppose an increase in taxes; for years Republicans held strong to the Norquist-sponsored pledge as if they signed it with blood. And they did. Any Republican that failed to pledge, or went back on that pledge, were subject to pay the electoral price. (Remember George H. W. Bush’s re-election? Yeah, me either). That promise to primary anyone who opposed kept pledge percentages high…and politicians scared. Norquist was winning, but the looming fiscal cliff crisis of 2012, Obama’s re-election and waning support for the lobbyist, have revealed a chink in the armor.

He might want to build a bigger moat.

What was once thought to be an impenetrable stronghold on tax reform is showing signs of weakening in a surprising and welcome reverse-infiltration of citizen influence in government. We are literally bringing the house down. Republican by Republican.

With the firestorm of gun-control laws (this time ignited by NFL player Jovan Belcher’s death), I had the idea of bringing another impervious infrastructure down. A long-standing, profitable, almost invincible organization rooted in the very tapestry of this country. The National Rifle Association (NRA). Seems impossible right? If you understand the NRA’s relationship to government, the profit of guns and killing in America, the always emotion-evoking Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights, then you’ll understand that this is almost a suicide mission. Gun enthusiasts are willing to fight faster and harder for the right to bear arms than for the country that gives them that right. 

There’s something to be said about talking heads, political pundits, and this new breed of newscasters with no objectivity trolling gun-control laws, however they can’t change NRA regulation nor rally enough support behind their short-lived commentary to make a dent in the massive abyss that is gun control in this country. What we need is real political capital.

Obama isn’t willing to bend on his decision to raise taxes on the wealthy to curb the fiscal cliff. He’ll make negotiations, no doubt, but I’m confident he’ll be firm enough to see this through. And Democrats and Republicans will have no choice but to follow. See where I’m going?

We’re going to need Obama to make the call. We’re going to need him to Norquist the Norquister’s. Gun-control is going to have to be a real issue, not a convenient one. We can’t talk about it when someone gets killed or when a mentally-unstable individual massacres a movie theater. There HAS to be some ultimatums. We have to push a ban on the sale of magazines with more than 10 rounds (James Holmes, the alleged Dark Knight shooter, used a 100-round drum magazine). Where are the ultimatums? We have to push to close loopholes, like the one that requires no background check on buyers at gun shows (See Bloomberg’s quest). We need to make ultimatums. 

The NRA isn’t going anywhere, that’s told and true. But gun-control regulations need to evolve, because in my opinion, they’ve modulated into something horrible. And deadly. And excessive. And heartbreaking.

In any case, I’m not proposing a foolproof plan to bring down the NRA. I’m just trying to redirect some of the jabbering to the person that could make the change.

Obama a Norquist for gun-control laws? Now that would be something.

Christina Coleman

Christina Coleman is the News and Politics Editor at GlobalGrind. As a previous science writer, she is obsessed with NASA and is a self-proclaimed foodie with a crush on Anthony Bourdain.