Grover Norquist is among the worst of the old time Radical Wrong. He’s famous for an anti-federal viewpoint so extreme that he has said he wants to starve the federal government (no taxes) until it is weak enough to drown in a bathtub. Charming. At lease he didn’t say he wants to shoot the federal government in the head or lynch it and drag it behind a truck (as other anti-feds have). Even though I’ve lived long enough to see Republicans move so far beyond the conservative that Tricky Dick is too liberal, I’m still amazed when the old demons sound sensible compared to the new ones.
Referring to Gingrich’s anti-Muslim fervor, ThinkProgress asked whether there is a place for Islamophobia in the GOP 2012 presidential primaries. “I don’t think there is,” Norquist replied:
TP: This sort of fearmongering about Islam. I don’t think Gingrich has gone as far as Gaffney has but he’s kind of right there. He’s near that edge and I’m wondering do you think there’s room for that on the presidential campaign.
NORQUIST: I don’t think there is. I don’t think you’ll see it because the people who support you is broader. … . I don’t think that it will work because it doesn’t work. I think it will go away because it doesn’t work. I would like it to go away because it’s the wrong thing to do. But I’ll take it doesn’t work.
Also during the interview, Norquist praised Democrats for their ability to be an inclusive party. “Democrats have doing it with the mosque in Iowa forever. They just have this natural understanding of, ‘Oh there’s a mosque? Let’s go!’ … You know there’s an incredible understanding of diversity [within the Party].”
What makes Norquist so … progressive (throwing up now): Could it be the fact that his wife is Muslim?