Most of it was stuff that we have heard before, with just a little more rancor than usual (apparently, the idea of having to work on the Saturday before Christmas on matters that should have been dealt with by the end of June put the legislators in a less than "seasonally cheery" mood. What a shock. :) )
Time permitting, I'll cover some of those gems in a later post after the lege has posted the video of today's session.
However, one utterance caught my ear and then my eye when Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services included it in his piece on Saturday's happenings at the lege.
From the article, courtesy VerdeNews.com -
Rep. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler, said the Democrats voted against every spending reduction that came to the floor, not just this session but earlier this year.
"It may politically expedient to say, 'I voted against the cuts,' ' Yarbrough said. "But that is political gamesmanship, not statesmanship.'
This from one of the people most responsible for the state's mess, what with his devotion to his STO and protecting its ability to siphon revenue from the state into his pockets and his signing on to Grover Norquist's "no taxes" pledge.
Yarbrough, along with almost all of his Republican colleagues, haven't just voted against all attempts to address revenue (and not just taxes), including the "passing of the buck," a referral of a sale tax increase to the ballot, they've simply refused to even consider them.
How about we change his statement to -
"It may be politically expedient to say 'I voted against the taxes.' But that is political gamesmanship, not statesmanship."
Change a couple of words, and Yarbrough's statement is true, but truth was never a part of the special session agenda for Yarbrough and his friends. Gamesmanship was.
On the other hand, gamesmanship and ideological rigidity may be what passes for "statesmanship" in today's GOP.
Yarbrough is one of the leaders of the gang that has sacrificed fiscal sanity and legislative professionalism on the altar of "political gamesmanship."
If he wants to assess blame for the toxic atmosphere and culture of ineffectiveness at the Capitol, that is his prerogative.
He just needs to be looking in a mirror when he's pointing fingers.
1 comment:
Political gamesmanship...like say when the Speaker of the House killed the STO Task Force live video feed minutes before testimony from the AG's office was set to be heard? OH! Or when you get your fat mug in front of the newspaper guy and go on and on about the OTHER guy's political theatrics, when you and every other Grand Old Poobah will proclaim how you have the House, the Senate AND the governor's office so the rest of the state can just get bent, 'cuz they're steering this Titanic.
I honestly cannot stand this smug, self-important, jackhole. And someone tell me why oh why no one is challenging him for the Senate seat???
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