Democrats Ignore Budget Problems; Republicans Here to Work

We’d like to tell you that the legislature solved the state’s $466 million budget deficit today, or even attempted to tackle this crucial issue. Really, we would. But that just isn’t the case, and forgive us if reading this gives you a nasty case of Deja Vu: Super-majority Democrats had an opportunity today to work on the problem but took a pass instead. Even worse, they left the building without telling anybody when they’d take up the issue again. Does this sound familiar? It should. A year or so ago, House Republicans asked super-majority Democrats to address a brewing financial storm. Republican legislators submitted their own budget solutions, just as they did recently to fill the current financial gap. But Democrats then pushed the problem to the background, instead focusing on pet projects that offered nothing to businesses struggling to keep their doors open and employees on the payroll. Eventually, Democrats passed their “balanced” budget that increased taxes and fees, increased state debt by record amounts while relying on shell game tactics that have failed miserably. Now, with our deficit expected to hit $3 billion by 2012, will we continue to see the same type of Democratic inaction that dominated newspaper headlines into the fall? House Republicans stood outside the House Chamber on Tuesday, once again explaining they were ready to work. Democrats have already ignored House Republican proposals to close the budget gap, and if what happened Tuesday is any indication — well, we’re headed for a long, rocky ride. Check out this video clip: