Norquist on Colbert: "I want to be a lord."

Grover Norquist appeared on the Colbert Report last night, and the flies in the snake oil he peddles were on full display.

Norquist repeatedly bleated his “limited government” refrain, arguing repeatedly that the only proper role for government is to maintain a police force (“to protect us from muggers”) and a military (“to protect us from foreigners”). When Colbert pressed a bit, on interstate highways for example, Norquist repeated his police and military only argument.

So, just for fun, let’s consider some of the things Norquist would like to do away with:

Road construction and maintenance
Highway construction and maintenance
Bridge construction and maintenance
Harbor construction and maintenance
Aquaduct and Canal construction and maintenance
Water distribution and treatment
Sewage treatment and sewage systems in general
Environmental protection
Zoning (including height, bulk and use restrictions)
Rent control
The Federal Reserve system
The Securities and Exchange Commission
Courts
Prisons
Medicare
Medicaid
Social Security
Unemployment Insurance
Public parks
National monuments
Fire protection
Forestry services
Health and safety regulations of any kind (OSHA, the FDA, the CDC, etc.)
Basic scientific research (NIH, CDC, etc.)
Public Universities
Public education
Product safety regulators and laws
Building codes and inspectors
Health and safety codes and inspectors
Fire codes and inspectors
Electrical codes and inspectors
Planning for the society’s future food and energy needs
Disaster response

Good idea? I think not.

In Norquist’s vision of government, there is no need for a legislative branch or a judicial branch. The entirety of the government functions he envisions are executive, and really just a high-enforcer, whose purpose would be to maintain order and protect the stature and property of the ruling class. To protect it from physical threats from without (the military) and within (the police). We have a word for that: feudalism. And it worked so well in the Dark Ages!

Dumbass.