Apparently Bishop and Dillon are going at it on talk radio in Detroit, and they hit the TV over here in Grand Rapids. Cropsey and Schauer went at it on Walt Sorg's show, Alan never letting Mark get a word in edgewise.
The laughable thing (if there is such a thing here) is how the Republicans are trying to hit on the fact that the House isn't in session; this comes after all the times they bugged out this year, saying they didn't need to be there if there wasn't an agreement to vote on. Dillon can have the House back in a heartbeat- making that talking point yet another diversion, but they sure are banging that drum as loud as they can.
Whatever.
I'm not going to lay this all out again. The service taxes came about because of the Senate Republicans. If you need the back story, just check my diaries and read back. The Senate Republicans seem intent on turning this into a negotiation to BREAK A DEAL they made in the first place - something that is getting lost in all the racket. Hello, media? Want to report that?
The question now becomes- why are they breaking this deal. What possible reason could they have for upsetting their own base? The answer comes in a tidy package from MIRS-
The answer is there are enough people on both sides of the aisle who would like to see the service tax start up.
Many Republicans are licking their chops to ride the anti-tax fervor to a November 2008 victory. They're looking at a triple threat by backing the effort of Oakland County Executive L. Brooks PATTERSON to get a repeal on the ballot and bring out the base. Many R's think the proposal will put them over the top to take back the House. And it will swing Michigan red in the presidential election.
Because that worked so well in 2006? Ohhh-kay. Carry on.
For the Democrats on holding strong- the reason is fiscal responsibility.
Meanwhile, a lot of Democrats would rather go with the devil they know a little better than the devil they don't. They feel they've got a deal already negotiated on Sept. 30 and aren't inclined to go for a bill that could blow a $380 million hole in this year's budget and will sunset before Michigan makes a full economic recovery.
Let's recap. Republicans want something to yell about next year, Democrats want to put Michigan on solid ground. That is why there is no deal.
And there is also this- seems a certain pink pig is hungry.
"It's helpful," said Drolet, the ringleader of several recall efforts against tax-supporting lawmakers statewide. "Or, let's put it this way — what happened yesterday was a tragedy for everyone except moving companies and Michigan recalls."
Reportedly, Drolet's war chest to aid in legislative recall efforts has become fuller in recent weeks as business owners reacted to the overall service tax snafu. Drolet is targeting lawmakers who voted to increase the income tax or expand the use tax to services.
Could it be that Republicans are holding up this replacement simply because they want to help drive the recalls and create a ballot issue for 2008? Given all the flipping and flopping they have done on this issue, at this point it's a fair bet.