A commenter on my agreement with Dick Cheney speculated what might be next: Reagan, Mecham, Graf? Well, I gotta say, the fact is even stranger than the speculation. In what is becoming an on-going series, the latest right wing nut job that I happen to have some small and likely transient area of bi-partisan kumbayah is Grover "Drown It In The Bathtub" Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. Grover seems to have gotten a bug up it about government transparency, and I have to say I’m all for that. He recently published a piece in the Financial Times that I wholeheartedly applaud and support:

"The nice venture capitalists in Silicon Valley are always looking for “the next big thing”. While we will have to wait for another six months to learn who will make it through the Republican and Democrat “Survivor” reality show we call primaries we can already see the next big thing in politics bubbling up from the 50 states: transparency. Making state budgets, contracts and individual expenditures available to the public on the internet."

More after the click…

Link: Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy.

UPDATE 9/10: Google Cached Link: Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy. Apparently, Family Security Matters pulled the article. Maybe they actually were (rightfully) embarrassed by its contents. Maybe they are actually capable of experiencing shame…

UPDATE 9/12: Wow, these folks want to push this thing WAY down the memory hole. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sam Seder gets a cease and desist order for hosting this copy of the article. Just in case, I have decided to post the full text after the flip on this post. I think this link to the Google Cache may keep working, too.

UPDATE 9/21: A little extra crazy from Atkinson, who apparently also wants to enslave undocumented workers and invade and subjugate Mexico…

As much as I find the opinions expressed at the above link abhorrent, I am gratified by the author’s honesty and integrity in saying in an unvarnished manner what he really thinks. I suspect that the purely evil scenario Philip Atkinson recommends would be acceptable to many Republicans – cause for celebration, in fact. I don’t think all Republicans would celebrate the downfall of democracy Atkinson advocates, but I think many would welcome the chance to remake our society without the restraint of political opposition, so long as one of the their own who held the sceptre.

Before you write Atkinson off as some marginal crackpot, check out the Board of the Family Security Matters foundation, which he represents. It reads like a who’s-who of conservative thought and media power. This isn’t the deranged rantings of some blow-hard; this is an expression of policy by a significant faction within the conservative movement. Make no mistake, there are enemies of America within.

Annie Loyd is running for Congress in CD 3 as an Independent. She will be facing incumbent John Shadegg (R) and Democratic challenger Bob Lord in the general election. I sent Annie a questionnaire about her views and positions on the issues that she returned as a PDF that you can download, or read online by clicking the continuation link below.

Annie and I also had a roughly half-hour telephone conversation following up on her answers, and touching on some additional matters, which you can listen to as a podcast.

The full questionnaire is after the click…