Name-calling won't get it done

Commenter Thane made an observation on yesterday's post on the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on the senate's FY2010 budget proposal.

It doesn't happen often (sorry, Thane :) ), but he was dead on with something he wrote.

"I'll just remind everyone here that name calling and disparaging comments on the intelligence or lack of intelligence of state representatives and state senators isn't going to win you any points in the audience of independent voters of Arizona."

He's right - name-calling isn't informative to readers, and it isn't going to get the job done when it comes to convincing folks who don't observe the real goings-on at the lege that a change is needed.

For that name-calling, for writing the post while absolutely outraged (and not at least identifying the post as a vent for that outrage), I apologize to readers.

And while "idiot" may be too strong a word, I don't apologize for the disparaging evaluation of one member's intelligence level - he earned it. If you don't believe me, watch the video of the meeting once it is posted and make your own judgement.

I also won't apologize for the low opinion expressed regarding the Rs' sense of obligation to the people of Arizona. Simply put, they exhibit nothing but contempt for any people who disagree with them or don't serve their purposes.

And right now, that is most people in Arizona.

...In past years, we've passed referenda clearly defining our priorities for government spending, and those priorities include education and support for the neediest in our state.

So instead of looking for ways to follow those priorities, the Republicans in the lege look at those priorities and call for a weakening of the Voter Protection Act so that they can further attack education and public services in AZ.

...Teachers, educators, and students exercised their constitutionally-protected rights to free expression and to petition the government and held rallies at the lege to bring attention to the massive cuts to K-12 Ed and the universities, so the Rs have proposed forcing school districts to fire all union representatives, requiring teachers to pay for substitute teachers if they engage in an "lobbying" activities, even if they properly use a vacation day to cover the time off from work.

...In an era when the state's municipalities are expected to meet their own infrastructure needs, the Rs in the lege are swiping sweeping the money that AZ's cities and towns have set aside to do just that. Furthermore, at the behest of the Home Builders of Central AZ, they've restricted the ability of cities and towns to recoup that money or even implement updated building codes.

...And to top it all off, while the lege is saying 'no' to abused children, the disabled, and the teachers and students of the state when they ask for support, they wholeheartedly say "yes" when the largest corporations in the state (Pinnacle West, Intel, and the rest of the usual suspects) ask for a permanent repeal of the state equalization tax.

Simply put, they're refusing to do the job that they were hired to do - represent the people of Arizona - and they don't have the integrity to resign their positions so that people who are willing to do the job can enter the lege.

I will not apologize for calling them on that.