Salon‘s David Daley caught Claire McCaskill on Meet the Press today trying to claim that she doesn’t know who Grover Norquist is. Really. If that’s true, then I’m worried about the general level of knowledge that fuels the decisions our democratic Senator will be making in our name. That’s just downright pathetic. Even my apolitical eight-three year old Mother-in law knows who Grover Norquist is. On the topic of John Boehner, though, and the “fiscal cliff,” she nailed it:

People like Norquist, McCaskill concluded, almost make her feel sorry for John Boehner. “There is incredible pressure on him from a base of his party that is unreasonable about this. And he’s got to decide: Is his speakership more important, or is the country more important?”

Norquist for his part, tried to turn the tables and paint President Obama as the recalcitrant one:

“It’s the president who’s threatening to raise taxes on the middle class if he doesn’t stamp his feet and get his way.”

I suppose that to Mr. Norquist when our government refuses to bargain with terrorists, no matter what they threaten, then they are stamping their feet in order to get their way? Aren’t Republicans trying to threaten dire results – unnecessary results from any point of view – if they don’t get everything they want? Pure terrorism as far as I’m concerned. If the worst comes to pass, we’ll remember who was willing to come to the table in good faith and who insisted on pulling out the big guns instead.