Wealthy right-wingers are openly mocking Steve Bannon's 'very silly' plan to raise rich people's taxes

Chief White House political strategist Steve Bannon has shown himself willing to challenge past Republican orthodoxy on economic issues, including trade agreements and even taxes.

However, the Daily Beast reports that Bannon's recent pitch to raise the top income tax rate on America's wealthiest people has been going over like a lead balloon among other Republicans -- whether they're in the White House, in Congress, or in anti-tax advocacy groups.

Longtime anti-tax activist Grover Norquist tells the Daily Beast that he has nothing but contempt for Bannon's proposal, which reportedly would have raised the top bracket for high-income earners up over 40%.

"It’s embarrassing when you ask somebody about a very silly idea they put forward," he said. "It’s up there with, 'Was that you that farted?'"

Heritage Action spokesman Dan Holler similarly told the Daily Beast that he believed "the administration is committed to pro-growth tax reform, and hiking taxes is not part of that equation."

In the end, the Daily Beast concludes that while Bannon's plan to raise taxes on the rich to help fund tax cuts to the middle class would be politically popular, the idea amounts to little more than "his own political fan-fic."