Michael Dougherty sticks his neck out for the "13th member" of the supercommittee:
If there is a problem here, it isn't with Grover Norquist. The problem is with Republicans who preemptively sign away a policy decision they could use in governing, or in a compromise. … Most lobbyists conduct back-room meetings with politicians. They extract promises of policy and support in secret. Norquist's Pledge and the campaigns he runs against pledge-breakers are completely open and transparent.
I couldn't agree more. This isn't some secret plot; it's an open conspiracy against any pragmatism in making the core choices within taxing and spending. The pledge to an absolute position on an obviously varying set of policy choices, however, is not politics, it's a form of fundamentalism. In this sense, Norquist is dedicated to an anti-conservative principle – dogma – in order to bring about a more limited government. It's because of that contradiction that the GOP has now walked itself into a corner.
The Dish 