Letter: Ask Grover Norquist for permission

I just read in Saturday’s Advocate that LSU’s medical schools are taking a big hit from lack of adequate funding. Under democratic forms of government, the people can collectively decide to fix the problem by raising the needed funds through taxation. The chuches can’t do this, the charities can’t do it and the free-market system can’t do this.

The problem we have in Louisiana right now is that our governor has signed a pledge to conservative activist and lobbyist Grover Norquist not to raise any taxes for any reason. If he breaks that pledge, Gov. Bobby Jindal will be banned from advancement in the National Republican Party.

So, I guess the people of Louisiana should personally implore Grover Norquist to give our governor dispensation and allow us to consider raising taxes to save ourselves. We can also ask the kind and benevolent Norquist to let us consider raising taxes to address our Medicaid crisis since a few thousand poor and sick folks will die from lack of adequate medical care.

The omnipotent Grover Norquist can implored at [e-mail].

Alex D. Chapman Jr.

lawyer

Ville Platte

Comments

1) Comment by potkcalb - 13/11/2012

I appreciate your comments lnPVille. I know about Alinsky. The gist of my comments were simply that there is no need to link approval or disapproval of Norquist with Alinsky, revolution, radicalism, or anything else. In any event there has been enough verbiage about this without pursuing the topic ad infinitum. To mix metaphors, enough hairs have been split.

2) Comment by InPVille - 12/11/2012

@potkcalb: 1. You asked for someone to translate when agagent's last post was about. 2. It was an apparent reference to the claim some have made that President Obama has been influenced by Alinsky. I took it to be agagent's way of saying "look who is talking about extremists. So I provided you a link to Alinsky's Rules For Radicals so you could see what agagent was talking about for yourself. 3. You stated "Sounds like garden variety politics to me." 4. There was no way to know from your cryptic comment whether you were saying Norquist and Alinsky were garden variety politics, Alinsky was just garden variety politics, or whether you had even looked at the link. 5. I guessed you were saying Alinsky's views were garden variety politics. I disagreed with that view. -[**]- Hope this helps.

3) Comment by potkcalb - 12/11/2012

Instead of dropping one liners perhaps you should try explaining yourself lnPVille if you are responding to my comment. I have no use for Grover Norquist. Sorry if that's a problem for anyone. I am not a radical. I am not a revolutionary. I see no point in making more out of things than they are.

4) Comment by InPVille - 11/11/2012

It is more than garden variety politics. It is about revolution.

5) Comment by potkcalb - 11/11/2012

My point is simply that both sides vilify the other side. There is enough blame without parsing it out as to which side is employing the most invidious tactics. No need to belabor the subject. The subject here was Norquist: It's no more complicated than believing Norquist is right or that he is wrong. One can believe either way without invoking Alinsky.

6) Comment by InPVille - 11/11/2012

@potkcalb: Have you ever read parts or all of Alinsky's Rules For Radicals?

7) Comment by potkcalb - 11/11/2012

Sounds like garden variety politics to me. I heard plenty of that on both sides in the election campaign, only evil when the other side is doing it.

8) Comment by InPVille - 10/11/2012

@potkcalb: It has to do with how to subvert free societies through deceit and community organizing. http://www.scribd.com/doc/82214106/Alinsky-RulesForRadicals-1

9) Comment by potkcalb - 10/11/2012

Can someone translate agagent?

10) Comment by agagent - 10/11/2012

Just to explain what is going on here: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and 'frozen.'…”-- Saul Alinksky, Rules for Radicals

11) Comment by gvm - 09/11/2012

Even more of an embarrassment, in my opinion, is that legion of sycophants who fell all over themselves to sign his stupid little pledge. Our illustrious Governor is one of those, I believe.

12) Comment by potkcalb - 09/11/2012

Grover Norqist is an embarrassment. I don't know of anything that can be added to that.

13) Comment by DMJ - 09/11/2012

Don't try and reason with agagent. He's not interested in any information, facts or stats that contradict what he already believes. Believe me. I've tried. It's useless. The bubble is strong with this one.

14) Comment by Old Man Kensey - 09/11/2012

Hey agagent, I have some more school work for you. Google HW Bush and Grover Norquist. When your done with that, please give a refernce how Obama's policies have depressed Louisiana's oil and gas revenue. I'm calling you out on this lie.. >>>>>>>>> now, stop being part of the problem.

15) Comment by DMJ - 09/11/2012

I'm not going to ask Norquist anything. I just want him to go away. He can take Jindal with him.

16) Comment by Scrooge - 09/11/2012

according to agagent its all Obama's fault. Companies are not locating to Louisiana for many reasons related to the fact that Louisiana is pretty much last in quality of life indicators. A major problem is the educational system so the anti-Obama's solution is to make our educational systems worse in some fantasy ideologically inspired never land where reality and research are inconveniences to be ignored? Cry all you want.

17) Comment by bourbon-soda - 09/11/2012

How did the governor get all that power?

18) Comment by InPVille - 09/11/2012

@postscript56: Who is not paying attention? The people of Louisiana have the government they voted for over generations. If the governor controls everything, then why do we even have a legislature and just rewrite the constitution and create a dictator/king/despot. . . take your pick. Louisiana has historically been a poor state even when flush with oil revenue. The consequence of poverty results in more people needing assistance while at the same time there is less revenue available to state government to provide the needed assistance. Because the world has always been driven by perceived self-interest, the best and brightest see there are better opportunities in other places, so a sufficient number of them relocate. That doesn't help the situation either. -[**]- Sorry about your health problems. Obamacare promises to make more people eligible to receive medical care. However, it does nothing to increase the number of people in medical practice to provide the care. In fact there is some evidence to suggest the number of people in the field will decline from people getting out of the field and fewer getting in the field because self-interest leads them to fields where financial self-advancement is easier. Look for more non-native English speaking physicians, nurse practitioners, and physicians assistants. Look also for longer waiting times for an appointment and less time actually being attended to once you are at the appointment. I don't like any of this. But it is what I see happening.

19) Comment by agagent - 09/11/2012

Louisiana is going through tough times because we must deal with the Obama policies, too. The national average household income has decreased by more than $4,000, and the unemployment rate is much worst than 7.9% national unemployment rate suggests. Millions have stopped looking for work or settled for part time work (If you stop looking for work you are no longer considered a part of the labor force). Most of the jobs added in recent months were part time jobs. Louisiana is too dependent on oil and gas revenues. Natural gas prices are low, depressing Louisiana’s revenue, and Louisiana’s oil and gas revenues would be higher without the restrictions of the Obama administration.

20) Comment by postscript56 - 09/11/2012

pville - do you pay attention? the governor has too much power to be opposed without severe consequences and he's happy to dish out some consequences to anyone who opposes him. have you followed this story? at what point has bobby allowed legislators to have any say at all? scottb - do you ever ask why people can't afford to pay for medical care or do you just assume they're all a bunch of lazy socialists? and why do you think it will be news when a poor person dies? several years ago i lost my insurance because i needed it. now i can't get a policy (unless "obamacare" makes it possible). the specialist i was seeing at the time (and trying to pay for out of my pocket) told me to my face i needed to go to earl k long from that point on. only now bobby wants to do away with that because he thinks it is morally superior to shut down hospitals rather than raise taxes on the wealthy. you folks keep patting yourself on the back for your sensible and compassionate conservatism.

21) Comment by unevahno - 09/11/2012

Great letter, Mr. Chapman. There are many who are either volutarily blind, or genuinely uninformed by facts known to all who don't depend on data supplied by fringe AM-radio hosts and the Governor. In this state, Jindal has a cadre of people who he has promised to carry along for the ride to Washington, D.C. Grover and the Governor are smart, for Louisiana, but pretty substandard outside our borders. As long as Louisiana is a red state, you can trust it's leaders to do everything to hurt the poor people who vote for them.

22) Comment by ScotB - 08/11/2012

Hyperbole. Where are the reports of people dying from lack of medical care? I know from sitting in on meetings of our hospital district how much money is given away treating people who cannot pay. Nobody is dying to my knowledge - and nobody is going to.

23) Comment by InPVille - 08/11/2012

Louisiana has one governor and how many members in the two branches of the legislature? It may be convenient to blame one person for a problem. However, you are letting a host of culpable others off the hook when you do it. If a fire needs to be lighted under bunch of legislator's bottoms, then do it.