brewer

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood (former Republican Congressman from Ill.) pulled one of the more outrageous acts of arrogance I have seen from a bureaucrat in a long time.  After Sen. Jon Kyl criticized the lack of stimulus coming from the “Stimulus” funding, LaHood wrote a letter to Gov. Brewer asking if she agreed with Kyl and if she prefers “to forfeit the money we are making available to the state, as Senator Kyl suggests, please let me know.”

George Will had lunch with LaHood a couple months ago, and then wrote about it:

LaHood, however, has been transformed. Indeed, about three bites into lunch, the T word lands with a thump: He says he has joined a “transformational” administration: “I think we can change people’s behavior.” Government “promoted driving” by building the Interstate Highway System—”you talk about changing behavior.” He says, “People are getting out of their cars, they are biking to work.” High-speed intercity rail, such as the proposed bullet train connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco, is “the wave of the future.” And then, predictably, comes the P word: Look, he says, at Portland, Ore.

Riding the aforementioned wave to Portland, which liberals hope is a harbinger of America’s future, has long been their aerobic activity of choice. But LaHood is a Republican, for Pete’s sake, the party (before it lost its bearings) of “No, we can’t” and “Actually, we shouldn’t” and “Not so fast” and “Let’s think this through.” Now he is in full “Yes we can!” mode. Et tu, Ray?

McCain has now weighed in on LaHood’s childish letter to the Governor:

“That is one of the more arrogant and elitist statements that I’ve ever heard,” McCain, R-Ariz., told The Arizona Republic during an interview in his Capitol Hill office. “It’s not their money; it’s the money of the Arizona taxpayers. And they are making the money available to our state? Since when do they have that authority? Of course, we question the stimulus. It has been a failure.”

LaHood needs to go back to Peoria, Ill. and get back in touch with real America.  The Potomac fever is gone to his head.

Arizona State Senator Steve Pierce is a straight-talking cowboy.  He is a third-generation Arizonan raised in a ranching family.

His election to the State Senate last year was a breath of fresh air.  After losing Jake Flake, the legislature didn’t have a real cowboy to keep everyone honest.  Steve Pierce has stepped into that role, and hasn’t pulled any punches.

He sent out an email that every Arizonan should read.

Dear Friend,

Here is our overall picture of the State’s budget in very simple terms.  This is only concerning the small part of the budget the legislature controls.  The over-all budget for Arizona is roughly $30 billion dollars and most of that flows from the feds thru the Governor’s office and the legislature never sees any of it or has any direction in where it is spent.  The legislature controls under $10 billion in recent years.  Today the revenue for 2010 is projected at $7.2 billion and spending is proposed at about $9.5 billion by the legislature and just over $10 billion by the Governor.  We have voter mandated issues that were put in place through initiatives and approved by the voters through the years that dictates where money must be spent, specifically Prop 301 has built in increases in both spending and increased Taxes.  You can do the math and see how bad things are.  We are spending $2.3 BILLION more than we are taking in.  Why?  Because the will to live within our means is not there.  Legislators bow to the crying of the strongest lobbies:  education and health care. 

Wednesday morning at 7:30 AM the legislature adjourned sine die and the session ended.  It ended with the bills the Governor had requested and negotiated over the past 4 weeks.  We approved the very bills she wanted and sent them to her to sign, aside from the sales tax referral.  There simply aren’t the votes to get it out of committee let alone the full Senate.  So because it didn’t have the Brewer tax referral, she vetoed things that wouldn’t shut down the State including all education funding.  She said it was because the cuts were too deep in education but for 4 weeks she had agreed with those very cuts and we passed what she agreed to.  The vetoes are not good for Arizona, not good for the Governor, and not good for anything. 

The Governor has stated numerous times since she took office that she wanted her five point plan addressed that always ended with a temporary sales tax increase. The legislature responded that we could pass a 2010 budget without a tax increase and deal with the tax referral for the 2011 budget.   We did this! We did what we had promised on June 4th, after we had already finished two separate budget adjustments on the 2009 budget that amounted to a $2.25 billion shortfall left by previous Governor Janet Napolitano.   Governor Brewer tried mightily to prevent the legislature from passing a budget that didn’t raise taxes.  She deployed her staff to try to keep Republicans from voting for a budget.  She failed. 

We did our job.  We passed a budget that takes care of 2010.  We fulfilled our Constitutional duty.  But the governor has told us to start over – to start from scratch.  She desperately wants a vote to raise sales taxes.  I don’t know why she thinks her veto will garner more support for a tax increase, but that seems to be her plan.

In the special session, perhaps she will resort to bargaining with Democrats.  This inevitably will lead to an increase in spending.  As I stated above, we are broke.  If this is her plan, it will further widen the structural deficit for 2011 and beyond.  The Brewer Tax Increase is not necessary for 2010.  She’s even admitted as much.   I’m asking the governor to sign the 2010 budget and let’s begin the much-needed work on 2011.  The debate about tax increases can begin then.  

Unfortunately, lost in the battle over the sales tax increase is the fact that the legislature’s budget prevented property taxes from going up $335 million.  That provision was also vetoed by Governor Brewer.  Arizona taxpayers are going to feel a lot of pain under Brewer’s proposals.  We need to rein in spending.  It’s that simple.  Taxpayers all over the state are tightening their belts and the State needs to do the same.   The problem isn’t a lack of taxes, it’s a lack of spending control. 

I’ve been highly distracted the last couple days.  Just thought you should know.

So at dinner I ask my 7 yr-old daughter what she thinks it means to be tolerant.  My wife leans over and whispers something in her ear.  Daughter responds, “Taller than an ant.”  Now that’s funny.

I’m a Diamondbacks season ticket holder and I have yet to step foot in Chase Field this season.  There is something very wrong with this picture.  And there is a certain amount of irony to why I’ve been too busy and too out of town to do so.

Wal-Mart announced that it is joining with the Service Employees International Union in support of an employer mandate to provide health insurance coverage.  For one thing, doing anything with SEIU (I actually refer to it as SUIE – as in sooooweee! Like when you are calling the pigs since SEIU leadership is like a bunch of hogs at the trough of forced union dues) is a recipe for disaster.  Does Wal-Mart actually believe that SEIU won’t try to unionize them in exchange for supporting bad policy on health care?  Think again.  Sam Walton is turning in his grave.  Tevi Troy has a good take on it here.

There are a lot of flowers in our house as a result of my 15 yr-old daughter’s spinal surgery.  When they are a few days old, they really start to smell the opposite of what they are supposed to – but they’re still pretty, so I don’t want to throw them out yet.

Given the distractions, my daughter’s surgery and my schedule for the last week, I have paid zero attention to the Arizona budget fight between the Legislature and the Governor, so I don’t know what to think.

As I have pointed out before, Greg Patterson over at espressopundit is a really smart guy and has a great, great blog.

But he needs to put the crack pipe down and rethink what he wrote here:

The new schism in the Republican party is not Conservative or Moderate, it’s Conservatives who are part of the establishment versus conservatives who are part of the resistance and it looks to me like McCain, and to a lessor extent even Shadegg and Brewer, are vulnerable in Republican Primaries.

McCain vulnerable in a primary?  Maybe.  Depends a lot on who it is.

Brewer vulnerable in primary?  Uh, oh yeah – you know, the whole demanding a tax increase thing?  Yes, Greg, Brewer is vulnerable, very, very vulnerable.  No “lessor extent” about it.

Shadegg vulnerable in a primary?  What are you smoking?  Seriously.  Yes, McCain has not been the most solid of conservatives – you know, campaign finance, global warming, and, you know, immigration.  Yes, Brewer is following in George H.W. Bush’s footsteps.  But Shadegg?

This is a guy that conservatives (you know, like, Mike Pence, Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, et al.) begged to stay in Congress when he announced retirement last year.  This is a guy who consistently ranks among the most conservative in the U.S. House by Club for Growth, National Taxpayer’s Union, American Conservative Union and Americans for Tax Reform among others.

If the argument is that some elected officials are potentially vulnerable because they are not conservative enough, then I get it.  But saying that Shadegg isn’t conservative enough is a little bizarre.

City Councilwoman Maria Baier has been picked to run the State Land Department.

Gov. Jan Brewer on Tuesday tapped Phoenix City Councilwoman Maria Baier to lead the Arizona State Land Department.

Baier, 48, a land-use consultant and former aide to Govs. Fife Symington and Jane Hull, has served on the council since January 2008. She replaces former State Land Commissioner Mark Winkelman, who resigned in May to return to the private sector.

As head of the Land Department, Baier will oversee about 9.3 million acres of state trust land, including sales and leases.

I have to be honest. My first reaction to this story was, “Maria is 48?!?!” I’d have never guessed.

Maria is eminently qualified to run the State Land Department.  She has dealt with those issues for years, and was Gov. Jane Hull’s point person on Growing Smarter, which took her on a state-wide tour talking to a variety of folks all over Arizona.  There are few people who know more about State Land and the issues surrounding it than Maria Baier.

Solid pick by Governor Brewer. 

Figures this would happen.  I came up with what I thought was a clever solution to Arizona’s budget crisis only to learn that it’s an idea that is already in place in eight other states!  Who knew?  This is from ATR’s Patrick Gleason’s blog:

Last week Sean Noble, author of the blog Noble Thinking, offered a solution for those that insist taxes must be raised in Arizona. Noble suggests “The Arizona Department of Revenue should expand the option of voluntarily paying more taxes by adding a form – let’s call it Form SITIC – for “stuff I think is critical.” Then, all these people who want to pay more taxes can check the box for what their additional contribution will fund.”

ATR supports Noble’s idea and notes that it is not without precedent. The solution Noble offers is a Tax Me More Fund. Arizona lawmakers can simply create a Tax Me More Fund so that people who feel they are under-taxed, like Gov. Brewer, Chuck Coughlin, and Randy Pullen, have a place to send their money. As it stands, 8 states already have a Tax Me More Fund in place.

The concept has it’s origins in the cradle of the liberty movement in America. According to the Center for Fiscal Accountability, Massachusetts led the way in developing a Tax Me More Fund proposal at the turn of the century. After Bay State voters passed a 2000 referendum to lower income taxes, the Voluntary Optional Tax Endowment (VOTE) was introduced as a way for opponents of the tax cut to voluntarily pay at the old rate. In 2001, the MA legislature added a checkbox on its state tax forms in 2001 that allows the taxpayer to decide which tax rate to pay.

ATR agrees that those who claim taxes in AZ aren’t high enough should be given the ability to put their money where there mouth is. ATR urges AZ lawmakers to introduce and pass a bill to create a Tax Me More Fund in the Grand Canyon State. The bill might be most appropiately titled “The Brewer-Coughlin Arizona Patriot Act.”

For a list of states that have enacted Tax Me More Funds, Click Here. 

I find it pretty ironic that the first state to enact a Tax Me More fund was Massachusetts.

Nothing is more certain in life than dying and paying taxes, and most people spend a lot of time and energy avoiding both.

A common theme with those folks left-of-center on the political spectrum is that people are happy to pay taxes for the things that government should provide.  The problem is that they think government should provide a lot more than what our Founding Fathers ever envisioned, and thus, more government than people like me want.

On the state level in Arizona, it is clear that Governor Brewer believes that people would rather pay more taxes than do with less government, thus her budget plan which is light on reducing government spending and heavy on taxes. 

I oppose increased taxes, so I got to thinking about how I might deal with this issue if I was in charge.  It occurred to me that there are so many interest groups who say that people are fine paying more taxes, that we should actually give them that opportunity.  The Arizona Department of Revenue should expand the option of voluntarily paying MORE taxes by adding a form – let’s call it Form SITIC – for “stuff I think is critical.” Then, all these people who WANT to pay more taxes can check the box for what their additional contribution will fund.

I’m guessing with as many people saying they want to pay more, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee would be able to project an revenue increase of somewhere in the neighborhood $1.7 billion per year.

Hey! Problem solved.  You’re welcome.

The Governor has released her budget plan.  In her transmittal letter – addressed to citizens – Brewer calls for a $1 billion tax increase through a 1% increase on state sales taxes.

I know she, and her advisors, believe that there is no other way to deal with the budget, but the legislature has passed a balanced budget out of committee – without a tax increase.

Here is the problem I have with the Governor’s budget: if we can’t undo the massive growth of state government foisted on us by former Gov. Janet Napolitano and a few allied moderate Republicans joining with Democrats in the legislature, then why do we as Republicans even have a majority?  If it reducing the role of government in the daily lives of Arizonans isn’t an article of faith of being a Republican, than what is? 

What frustrates me with this whole debate is that I think we are presented with a false choice.  The Governor says we have to raise taxes – that’s because she isn’t willing to cut spending more.  The legislature has a plan that avoids cutting taxes, but has too many gimmicks for my taste.  It cuts about $600 million – when we really should be cutting closer to $1 billion.

Yes, I know it sounds harsh – that’s cutting a lot.  But if we don’t cut now, when times are tough, we will never do it.  It shouldn’t take a crisis for Republicans to actually act like Republicans, and it’s downright pathetic when Republicans just act like weak Democrats.

If I were in charge (and sometimes I’m glad I’m not) my philosophy would dictate no increase in taxes and no gimmicks – just hard cuts.

Wow!

The Arizona budget battle is about to go nuclear.   Various news outlets are reporting on a strategy memo prepared by Gov. Brewer confidant Chuck Coughlin at Highground that lays out a $225K campaign to target 18 legislative districts to pressure legislators to support a yet to be released budget from Gov. Brewer.

Team,

Attached is the legislative strategy docs that were handed out and discussed briefly at the meeting. This strategy is based on the launching of a budget next week that the coalition would be able to support. We would like your input on the strategy as well as the targeted legislators who should be part of our outreach efforts. If you have any questions, please let us know.

As we near the end of the fiscal year (June 30) the pressure is ramping up to get a budget done to fix the structural deficit that has become the legacy of former Gov. Janet Napolitano. The rub is that Brewer wants a billion dollar tax hike and the legislature wants to balance the budget without raising taxes.

There are two fascinating points.  One, it’s obvious that Gov. Brewer and her team do not expect a serious primary opponent.  (The only other explanation for her to target fellow Republicans is that she is not running for election in 2010, but that is dismissed by nearly everyone in town).  This may change that dynamic.

Two, look at the folks who are a part of this pro-Brewer, anti-legislator effort.  The name that jumps out the most is Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen.  It is stunning that Pullen is participating in a campaign that literally goes after incumbent Republican legislators when we are going into an election year that is critical to maintaining Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

How does the party, on one hand, support the effort to criticize and pressure Republican members, while on the other hand claim to be the vehicle for legislators to help them get re-elected?

It makes reason stare.

My guess is that the legislature is not going to take this laying down.  They will fight back, and the irony is that many of the legislators closest to Pullen are on the target list.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more strange…

If there is one thing Republicans are very consistent at, it is shooting at each other, and shooting themselves in the foot.  Yes, Democrats shoot at each other as well, but I get the sense that we do it more often, more publicly and more lethally.

Case in point is the warfare that has been playing out on the conservative blog Sonoran Alliance for the last few days.   Almost all bloggers who contribute to Sonoran Alliance are anonymous, and one of those bloggers is “Chewie Shofir”.

Chewie posted an over the top hit piece on local lobbyist/political operative Chuck Coughlin who runs a firm called Highground.  Chuck has been in the biz for the better part of 25 years and has many friends and many enemies.  My own relationship with Chuck has been hot and cold – depending on the issue that is being debated at the moment, but we remain friends and respect each other.

Chuck responded to Chewi with a rational, calm and well written explanation.  He laid out, in a systematic way, the problem that Arizona faces (thanks to former Gov. Janet Napolitano and her allies in the legislature) and points out that Gov. Brewer believes that we may not have any choice but to raise taxes.

Chuck’s response is the way that Republicans should dialogue with each other on difficult issues.  To go postal on each other just leaves blood on the floor and Democrats smiling.