re: #1 Obdicut

Politics is the very art of compromise; and staking out an extreme position might sit well with the far fringe, but that wont play well in the general election or with independents who you need to win an election.

That clip essentially says these clowns (and I’m now considering every last one of them on that stage to be a clown) would refuse any compromise that gives them 90% of what they want.

It also means that Norquist has fully taken over the fiscal policy of the GOP and not in a good way.

That’s not fiscal conservatism in the slightest as someone seeking fiscal responsibility would take that kind of a deal in a heartbeat. But the soundbite of accepting even a slightest hint of a tax hike is an anathema to the party candidates.