Democratic Diva

AZ Republic playing game of hide the TABOR and ignore the Dem’s plan

11 Jun 2009 11:23 pm
Posted by: Donna

This morning’s AZ Republic (once again, I’m writing a post late at night so it will be yesterday’s by the time most of y’all read this) took the GOP legislators’ budget plan to task for “sweeping” impact fees and vehicle taxes into the general fund, which will lead, inevitably, to local tax increases:

Let’s ignore the odd spectacle of Arizona Republicans channeling Capitol Hill Democrats in picking industrial winners and losers. The important thing is that GOP lawmakers are demonstrating – again – their lust to force cities into hiking taxes on established residents. Even Arizona Republic columnist Robert Robb, an anti-tax hawk, has chastised the Legislature for this money grab.

The Republicans have not stopped with impact fees. The GOP proposal includes a “sweep” of revenue it is required to share with cities, including about $95 million from vehicle-license taxes. More lost revenue. More pressure to raise local taxes.

Let’s ignore the predictable spectacle of the Republic making a gratuitous dig at Democrats. I will say that it’s nice of them to point out the hypocrisy of the local chapter of the Grover Norquist Anti-Tax Cult, though.

Sanctimonious bashers of Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, like Lake Havasu’s Sen. Ron Gould, need a long look in the mirror.

The Legislature’s “Goulds” are not opposed to raising taxes. They’re just looking for someone else to pay the bills.

Let no one be fooled. There’s Gould in those bills.

Oh yeah, let no one be fooled. Our paper of record will find a way to promote the interests of local bigwigs, bash the Democrats some more, and blithely ignore obvious truths :

Speaking of people who need a hard look in the mirror . . .

Apparently in league with Ron Gould et al, state Democrats are clawing at Republican Gov. Jan Brewer over the governor’s efforts to sell her budget plan.

That would be the budget plan that attempts to salvage great parts of the education and social-welfare programs Democrats claim to value.

That would also be the budget plan that includes a proposal for a tax increase – a formulation that could spell political doom for the conservative Brewer. On Tuesday, Brewer held budget “hearings” that included testimony from many of the education leaders, child-welfare advocates and others whose constituents stand to lose big under the GOP’s budget plan. Predictably, Republicans savaged the hearings as a sideshow.

But, then, so did Democrats. Party Chairman Don Bivens called the session a media stunt with a “clearly scripted parade of political allies. . . . Governor Brewer needs to work on the budget, not on her camera angles.”

Oh?

Bivens is playing the raw politics of Governor-2010 against Brewer, who is risking her legacy as a conservative in defense of what used to be his party’s traditional allies.

Schoolkids, disabled kids, foster kids and kids with no medical coverage. Those are Brewer’s political allies, Mr. Bivens.

Who are yours?

Oh? Gee, it just might be that Don Bivens and most other Democrats are opposing Brewer’s plan not because “Republicans suck, neener neener” but because there are some serious flaws in it. Like that provision that limits increases in government spending to a formula based on the consumer price index and population growth. IOW, a TABOR. Then there’s the little matter of Brewer’s budget hinging on a sales tax increase that must be approved by the voters. California voters recently defeated a tax increase at the polls so I don’t know why the Republic is assuming one will succeed here. Finally, they seem to have forgotten that the Democrats in the Lege presented their own plan, one that minimized tax increases on Arizona families and spared cities and towns. But those details are easily dispensed with when an editorial board is tasked with guilt-tripping the minority party into accepting Brewer’s lousy plan that she tried to sell at a phony, staged budget hearing.