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| Norquist declares Star Wars on Obama: 'Darth Vader supports gun control' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The anti-tax activist Grover Norquist has waded into controversy over President Obama’s attempt to bypass Congress on gun control, with an invocation of Star Wars’ evil empire. | The anti-tax activist Grover Norquist has waded into controversy over President Obama’s attempt to bypass Congress on gun control, with an invocation of Star Wars’ evil empire. |
| Related: Obama to meet with Loretta Lynch to discuss 'epidemic of gun violence' | Related: Obama to meet with Loretta Lynch to discuss 'epidemic of gun violence' |
| On Saturday, Norquist tweeted: “To understand what Obama wants in our future … Watch the Star Wars movies and imagine that only the storm troopers have guns.” | On Saturday, Norquist tweeted: “To understand what Obama wants in our future … Watch the Star Wars movies and imagine that only the storm troopers have guns.” |
| The day before, Obama said he would meet attorney general Loretta Lynch on Monday to discuss the use of executive actions as a way to bypass the Republican-controlled Congress and tackle “our epidemic of gun violence”. | The day before, Obama said he would meet attorney general Loretta Lynch on Monday to discuss the use of executive actions as a way to bypass the Republican-controlled Congress and tackle “our epidemic of gun violence”. |
| The president, who after the 2013 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre watched as gun control legislation fell in the Senate, said such reform was “one piece of unfinished business” he wanted to address in his final year in office. | The president, who after the 2013 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre watched as gun control legislation fell in the Senate, said such reform was “one piece of unfinished business” he wanted to address in his final year in office. |
| But where the prospect of executive actions gives a new hope to supporters of gun control reform, gun rights advocates see only the empire striking back. | But where the prospect of executive actions gives a new hope to supporters of gun control reform, gun rights advocates see only the empire striking back. |
| Faced with an angry internet reaction to his first tweet on Saturday, Norquist asked: “Why does Obama rant about gun control? We could solve 2/3 of gun deaths by outlawing suicide. Let’s try that first.” | Faced with an angry internet reaction to his first tweet on Saturday, Norquist asked: “Why does Obama rant about gun control? We could solve 2/3 of gun deaths by outlawing suicide. Let’s try that first.” |
| Then he returned to his theme. “Darth Vader supports gun control,” he said. | Then he returned to his theme. “Darth Vader supports gun control,” he said. |
| Norquist’s choice of imagery should not be a surprise. He has tweeted an article of the “best tax revolts in science fiction”, and has tweeted his unease about how his eldest daughter wanted to play Darth Vader. | Norquist’s choice of imagery should not be a surprise. He has tweeted an article of the “best tax revolts in science fiction”, and has tweeted his unease about how his eldest daughter wanted to play Darth Vader. |
| The young Norquist was only like her father before her. Earlier in December the anti-tax guru attended a thinktank event dressed as the Sith lord himself. | The young Norquist was only like her father before her. Earlier in December the anti-tax guru attended a thinktank event dressed as the Sith lord himself. |
| So @GroverNorquist just walked into the room dressed like Darth Vader - peak DC. pic.twitter.com/50pOfWaYyQ | So @GroverNorquist just walked into the room dressed like Darth Vader - peak DC. pic.twitter.com/50pOfWaYyQ |
| Related: Donald and Darth: how the two leaders compare on key issues | |
| Norquist’s dual passions for tax policy and science fiction were consummated in the widely derided first prequel to the Star Wars movies, in which a trade federation rebels because “the taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute”. | Norquist’s dual passions for tax policy and science fiction were consummated in the widely derided first prequel to the Star Wars movies, in which a trade federation rebels because “the taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute”. |
| According to his anti-tax platform, Americans for Tax Reform, “nearly 1,400 elected officials” have signed his pledge to oppose any and all tax hikes. | According to his anti-tax platform, Americans for Tax Reform, “nearly 1,400 elected officials” have signed his pledge to oppose any and all tax hikes. |
| Norquist’s tweets also echoed a new attack on Obama by Donald Trump. The Republican frontrunner – who told CBS in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday: “I don’t like anything having to do with changing our Second Amendment” – this week released an ad that targeted the president’s oft-professed affection for the Star Wars films. | |
| The box-office-record-smashing new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, was screened at the White House on 18 December. That day Obama ended a press conference with the words “OK everybody, I gotta get to Star Wars.” Spokesman Josh Earnest then appeared at the presidential podium with the droid R2-D2 … and two stormtroopers. | |
| “Our president is busy with another war,”Trump ad said. “Time for a leader with real priorities. Trump. Make America great again.” | “Our president is busy with another war,”Trump ad said. “Time for a leader with real priorities. Trump. Make America great again.” |
| Another tweet from Norquist on Saturday, might equally have been directed at Trump. | |
| “When did they pass the law making it illegal for liberals to have a sense of humour?” he asked. | “When did they pass the law making it illegal for liberals to have a sense of humour?” he asked. |