Soccer Dad

Mocking my delegate

(Graphic courtesy of Pillage Idiot)

Delegate Sandy Rosenberg sent out an e-mail titled Sandy's Special Session Diary. Here's yesterday's entry with annotations.

Profiles in Rhetoric

It’s no Profile in Courage to oppose a tax increase.

Actually for a Republican that might be true, but for a Democrat there's a real cost to opposing the governor. One could lose choice committee assignments or other legislative perks for not supporting the governor. One could also lose that all important endorsement from the Baltimore Sun or Washington Post in the all important Democratic primary. So there would be a risk to a politician who chooses to buck the party leadership and represent his constituents instead of his bosses.

But there can be a cost to doing so: if the voters are informed of the services they are likely to lose without those additional revenues.

At less that 6% of the state budget the projected deficit is not so huge that it can't be resolved without belt tightening.

Governor O’Malley had a press conference yesterday to announce budget cuts totaling $1.65 billion if taxes aren’t raised. “Governance through fear is abhorrent to the American psyche,” responded the Republican leader in the House of Delegates, Anthony J. O’Donnell.

Well if the governor was responsible he would have identified some pork and programs that don't work instead of a doomsday scenario. The projected deficit isn't 50% or 30% or even 20% of the budget. There are choices to be made, but I'm sure the governor emphasized cutting essential services as opposed to trimming fat or restraining growth. So yes that's "governance through fear."

Gee, that’s what the Bush-Cheney administration has been doing since 9/11.

Cheap shot. But terrorist hijacked 4 planes and killed some 3000 people that day. That's something to fear. Restraining growth in government is being responsible and it shouldn't be feared, unless you believe that spending is the equivalent of governing.

While you're at it, check out Kevin Dayhoff, won't you?

maryland.

Posted by SoccerDad at November 1, 2007 5:20 AM