Most Dangerous Man in Washington in Danger

President Barack Obama may arguably be the most powerful man in Washington, but the most dangerous man in the Nation's Capital is a publicity-shy lobbyist named Grover Norquist, whose name most Americans ignore.

Norquist is a conservative activist, a lobbyist and the founder and president of Amerians for Tax Reform. 

Why is Grover Norquist the most dangerous man in Washington?  

Because he virtually blackmailed 95% of all Republican Congressmen and all but one of the 2012 Republican presidential candidates to sign his "Taxpayer Protection Pledge."

And what is the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge?"  

It opposes increases in marginal income tax rates for individuals and businesses, as well as net reductions or eliminations of deductions and credits without a matching reduced tax rate.

What's so bad about the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge?"

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blamed Norquist's influence for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's lack of progress, claiming that Congressional Republicans "are being led like puppets by Grover Norquist...He is their leader."

• Republican ex-Senator Alan Simpson, co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, has been particularly critical of Grover Norquist, describing his position as "[n]o taxes, under any situation, even if your country goes to hell."

But why is Grover Norquist now in danger?

It all started when a few extremely courageous Republicans started to reject Grover Norquist's "no taxes" pledge. As reported back in May:

A small but increasingly vocal group of freshmen Republicans are publicly rejecting the idea they are beholden to Grover Norquist's pledge...One such member, Scott Rigell of Virginia, has openly rejected the pledge, explaining on his website that it would prevent Congress...from eliminating corporate loopholes or government subsidies...The math, he said, just doesn't make sense. 

Freshmen Reps. Kevin Yoder [R-KS], Richard Hanna [R-NY] and Rob Woodall [R-GA] never signed the pledge...making up half of the six House Republicans who refused to sign on.

And now, conservative commentator and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, one of the biggest Republican guns in town, has dared to stand up to the most dangerous man in Washington!

On "Fox News Sunday" he stated that the Republican Party should accept new ideas, including the much-criticized suggestion by Democrats that taxes be allowed to go up on the wealthy.  "It won't kill the country if we raise taxes a little bit on millionaires," he said.

"[Is] the Republican Party is going to fall on its sword to defend a bunch of millionaires, half of whom voted Democratic and half of whom live in Hollywood and are hostile?" he asked.

Jagor's comment

Grover Norquist should read the handwriting on the wall: Republicans, after their humiliating defeat on Election Day, are finally coming to understand  that they no longer need to be blackmailed by Grover Norquist, and that it is no longer unpatriotic to compromise with the Democrats and raise taxes on the super-rich.

Maybe the time has finally come for the most dangerous man in Washington to go back to being a "boring white bread Methodist."

Jagor