Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson writes that he sees a possible "twitching of the eyelids" that could mean President Obama is waking Republicans from a "self-defeating dream."
Maybe the fever is breaking. Maybe the delirium is lifting. Maybe Republicans are finally asking themselves: What were we thinking when we put an absurdly unrealistic pledge to a Washington lobbyist ahead of our duty to the American people?
I said maybe. So far, the renunciations of Grover Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" amount to a trickle, not a flood. But we're seeing the first signs in years that on the question of taxation — one of the fundamental responsibilities of government — the GOP may be starting to recover its senses.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) was the first to shake off the cobwebs, announcing last week that he would no longer consider the no-taxes promise exacted by Norquist's pressure group, Americans for Tax Reform, to be holy writ.
"I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge," Chambliss said. "If we do it [Norquist's] way then we'll continue in debt, and I just have a disagreement with him about that … I'm willing to do the right thing and let the political consequences take care of themselves."
Welcome back to consciousness, Senator. The year is 2012, your party just got whupped in an election, we're facing a "fiscal cliff" and your party's view — that we should starve the federal government of needed revenue — will only hurt your constituents, not help them …
Read Eugene Robinson's entire piece at the Washington Post.
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