Friday, January 16th, 2009...3:53 pm
Next Up, Swimwear. Very Nice.
I was sent a copy of the Power Point presentation that the chairmen of the two appropriations did for legislators. I have posted a PDF version of the file for y’all to check out.
The education cuts in the plan (I’m sorry, “option”) have already raised several hackles (here too). It seems to have even dissatisfied Republicans, one legislator I talked to said that Rich Crandall is “outraged.”
They are already backpedaling. Now they are saying that this is only one of several options that they are pursuing, so please, stop all the yelling. I guess since it is just an “option,” folks are not allowed to criticize it. Of course, it is the only option that they presented in detail. In fact, on page 17 they list possible options, then cross out several of them on page 18. It seems pretty disingenuous for these guys to put this stuff out there with all this fanfare, then do a rather high stakes equivalent of shouting “psych!” when they start getting criticized.
(By the way, the option of “Federal Assistance” is still on the list. One imagines these dyed-in-the-wool-small-government-conservatives going hat in hand to Barack Obama and Raúl Grijalva, begging them to save our poor beleaguered state. What, you don’t think it would do them any good to ask Jon Kyl, do you?)
It is doubtful that this plan (I’m sorry, “option”) has enough votes to pass, and indications from Jan Brewer’s folks are that she would not be too interested in signing this budget (wait, “option”) anyhow. In an ironic turn, one Democratic State Senator I spoke to told me that she is counting on Brewer to put the breaks on. Yep, that’s what it has come to, folks.
(It begs the question of how far out the chairmen of the appropriations committees are when the rather conservative Brewer is saying, “Uh, not so much…”)
As much as these guys love to blame Janet Napolitano for the various budget impasses during her reign, it must be remembered how much trouble they had passing budgets with votes from their own caucus. It looks like even with the change to a governor more to their liking, they still can’t get their act together. Thank God for small favors.
3 Comments
January 16th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Let’s just hope the Dems can pull together on this and make sure EVERY Arizonan knows what the Reps would love to cut if they could….something about “true colors” comes to mind.
January 17th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Michelle, there’s a big article about it on the front page of the Valley section of the Republic. Not a single quote from a Democratic legislator. Just to show how irrelevant we truly are in AZ. It is, therefore, imcumbent upon us activists to raise awareness of their agenda.
As for the expected bailout money, didn’t Russell Pearce say just the other day that Arizona didn’t need it?
January 17th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Michelle:
I live in a Republican small town, but the people support the schools here. So I am going to pledge that every time the budget cuts come up, I will be sure to say the “Republican budget” (because that is what it will be) rather than the “state budget” (as it was when Napolitano forced the legislative leadership to negotiate.)