Archive for January, 2009

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” –Will Rogers

Governor Brewer signed a balanced budget into law on Saturday after she and lawmakers hammered out a deal.  As expected, Republicans supported and Democrats opposed the budget. 

There was the typical prediction of the sky falling by Democrats, including this gem from Meg Burton Cahill:

“The state of Arizona will come to rue this day,” said Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe. “The bill that will come at the end of the decade or so from the decision we’re making today is going to be very expensive for the citizens of Arizona.”

What is it about a $1.6 BILLION hole that Cahill doesn’t understand?  And what about the $3 billion hole that legislators will now start to grapple with for next year’s budget?  In typical fashion, most Democrats complained about the cuts, but offered little of their own ideas about how to deal with the problem.

There are two ways to manage being the minority party: 1) whine and complain about every single thing the majority does; or 2) offer actual alternatives to the majority plan and try to find ways to get votes on those plans.

So far, Democrats in the Arizona Legislature are following the first path, and Republicans in Congress are following the latter (as evidenced by bipartisan support for the Republican alternative to the latest stimulus package).  We’ll see which strategy works in 2010.  My guess is that Republicans in Congress will see a lot of gains, and Democrats in the Arizona Legislature will not – in fact, they will likely lose more seats.

“This is awesome!” — Michael Steele upon getting elected RNC Chairman

This column in today’s Wall Street Journal is too good to not pass on.  Peggy Noonan, former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, is one of my favorite writers, in part, because she emotes unashamedly. 

This piece points out the hollow victory for Obama with the House passing a stimulus bill with no Republican votes.  If he were serious about “a new way” it would have been a bipartisan bill.  But Peggy says it much better than me, so I’ll stop right here.

Republicans elected Michael Steele to be the new Chairman of the Republican National Committee.  It was a six-ballot marathon, which had drama, intrigue and controversy.

Steele will make a fantastic Chairman.  Most recently, he has been the Chairman of GOPAC, and he is well-spoken, conservative, a solid fundraiser and will motivate the grassroots.  He is the full package.

Most importantly, he has a spine.  And he will stand up to the liberal onslaught of the House and Senate and keep President Obama in check.  The future of the Republican Party is bright.

So the Illinois State Senate voted 59-0 to remove Gov. Blagojevich from office.  Not surprising.  He is clearly a corrupt politician.  Even the most partisan of Democrats were running away from him as fast as they could.

This is the first impeachment and removal of a Governor since Arizona’s own Gov. Evan Mecham .  Mecham’s impeachment revolved around the misappropriation of funds.  He had loaned $80,000 from an inaugural fund to his car dealership, which he ended up paying back with interest.  Not clearly an impeachable offense, but he had rattled the establishment sufficiently to have every one gunning after him.  And he obviously did not do himself any favors with his habit of speaking before thinking.

No, the Blago impeachment was a much more standard-issue corruption case.  He had “this thing, and it’s (expletive) golden” and he wasn’t going to give “it up for (expletive) nothing.” 

Every time I think of Blago conspiring to sell the Senate seat for $150,000, I think of Dr.  Evil from Austin Powers and his demand for “One million dollars!” as if it is some enormous amount of money.  The reaction is, “Seriously, he only wants a million?”

I can just see the folks who were angling to buy the Senate seat.  Blago says “150,000 thousand dollars!” and they look at each other, thinking, “seriously?”  I mean, Jim Pederson spent like $12 million dollars trying to buy a Senate seat and he still didn’t get it.  Jim, dude, seats are going for a song in Illinois.

Ok, so here is the “twist” to all this. Remember, Mecham got impeached over $80,000 back in 1988.  Guess what that $80,000 would be worth today?  Yep, right about $150,000.  Interesting.  I guess you could say that Mecham is Blago’s mini-me… or is it the other way around?

“The significance of a man is not in what he attains, but rather what he longs to attain.” –Kahlil Gibran

Ok, so you know I love ABC’s LOST.  If you don’t watch the show, this post will be essentially meaningless.

Last night’s episode had some great payoffs - and added more questions (of course).

The most significant twist for me was that we learn that the infamous Charles Widmore is an “other.”  I’m telling you, the writers of this show are brilliant.  I did not think they could keep the story line fresh, but they have in a big way.  And I’m not alone in thinking this… 20 million people watched the season premiere last week.  Wow.

On an unrelated note, I also love the show Mad Men, on AMC.  I was walking through the Burbank airport yesterday and walked by Christina Hendricks, the actress who plays Joan Holloway. (Or, it was someone who looks VERY much like her.)  Pretty cool.

“Don’t give up your ideals.  Don’t compromise.  Don’t turn to expediency.  And don’t…having seen the inner workings of the watch, don’t get cynical…. Don’t get cynical, because look at yourselves and what you are willing to do, and recognize that there are millions and millions of Americans out there who want what you want, who want it to be that way, who want it to be a shining city on a hill.” –Ronald Reagan

Maybe I was wrong about light rail in the Valley.  Maybe it was a good idea.  I mean, it’s a nearly daily floodgate of material for blogging! 

 The latest is the tiff between Sheriff Joe and his plan to transport prisoners on the light rail, and the City of Phoenix in a panic to prevent that from happening.

There is some rich irony in this story.  Here is the quote from a Metro official: “I can’t speak for the sheriff or his office, but public transportation is not a controlled environment, and it is not intended for this kind of use.”

So according to metro, guards transporting prisoners is not an intended use.  But people claiming to be artists can take off their pants and we are supposed to celebrate the “public space” that is now available?

The joke that is light rail will be the gift that keeps on giving.