Senator Tom Coburn, in his new book “The Debt Bomb” (released today), casts barbs at high targets and deflates bloated egos. More to the latter, Sen. Coburn attacked notorious anti-tax radical Grover Norquist, calling the author of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge (i.e. an oath to never, ever raise taxes) merely a “paper tiger.” Coburn is also extremely critical of his fellow Republicans and their apparent “careerism“:
Careerism — the philosophy of governing to win the next election above all else — is the root of almost all that ails Washington.
Coburn combats the idea that Grover’s organization, Americans for Tax Reform, wields as much electoral power as its allies and opponents perceive, and argues that Grover’s ability to prevent re-election is over-estimated. He cites as evidence the fact that Republicans put revenues on the table in a Super Committee proposal and also considered eliminating tax expenditures for ethanol blending.
When asked to respond to Coburn’s comments, Grover said:
It’s kind of like the kid who sends a 20-page letter to his ex-girlfriend and says he doesn’t care about her.
Seriously, why do all of Grover’s political analogies have something to do with his middle school years?
