Plans to fit dogs with cement shoes were scrapped by House Democrats after it was determined that it would be "too expensive at this time" and that it would tear up the carpet.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you want me to say something, I know. What can I say at this point? I had a post started that was titled, "Dems do nothing wrong, admit guilt anyway", but it quickly dissolved into such a bitter rant fest that I lost the heart to write it.
Look, I'm a Cubs fan, OK? I'm used to watching "my team" douse themselves with gasoline and striking a match. It's kind of a tradition. But this isn't a ballgame, this is some very serious business, and it's getting worse every day, and to continue to focus on this petty stuff is unproductive. So, I let it go. Let's hope they have learned a lesson.
Moving on to the important issue here, I will say one thing- I agree with Mike Bishop. Yes, you read that right. I agree with Mike Bishop when he says this-
"It is time for House Democrats to come to the table with a proposal to address the current fiscal crisis."
That was supposed to be this week, a little fact that got lost in the whole "iPod shuffle". As of this writing, they have about three hours to announce something, but I'm not holding my breath here.
The fact that Bishop said that, and not his usual "we did our cuts and you have to accept them" spiel, tells me that the Senate might be amenable to a plan to raise revenue. Also, there was this very interesting story out of the K-zoo Gazette this week that no one picked up on-
Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer says fixing the state's nearly $700 million deficit will require some tax increases, and he says enough Republican senators will break party ranks to support them when the budget is presented.
The next part of the story is a framing script I would dearly love to hand to Dillon and have him read at the next press conference, but perhaps we shouldn't let the House Dems have any more press conferences at this point.
Just go read the whole story. It ends with this-
Republicans control the Senate, 21-17, and Schauer said Democrats would need three Republicans to support a plan with tax increases. He said there are more than three who would endorse such a proposal.
"What we've heard from a number of members is encouraging things, statements that they understand it will take a comprehensive approach to solving problems," he said.
"I think there will be a number of (tax) loophole closings and some other smaller pieces, some of which the governor's proposed."
Schauer believes replacing the Single Business Tax, creating a services tax, raising the income tax, or some combination of the services and income tax, are the most likely choices facing legislators.
Let's get these guys in the Witness Protection Program, and let's get to it. We don't have the time to mess around anymore.