Glenn Grothman: no real budget priorities -- again.
Hi folks,
This from our own Zak Masur reporting from West Bend.
Republicans ready to budge a bit on budget:
Surprisingly, Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) agrees, but with a caveat. 'It can be wrapped up immediately if the Republicans agreed to one and a half billion dollars of new taxes - but why would they do that?'What if he and his pals simply agreed to budget enough to pay for the things we need "to live well in Wisconsin?"
We don't hear much from Glenn about what it means to "live well in Wisconsin" -- only the endless list of things he thinks we don't need to live well in Wisconsin.
If he told us what he believes we need to live well in Wisconsin, we'd be able to figure out how much it'd cost and budget accordingly.
Sounds good but, unfortunately, if he did that, he wouldn't have anything to talk about. 90% of his press time is spent criticizing everybody else. He'd vanish from the news, and from government, and then we could elect Pat Strachota to his Senate seat.
Hmmm.
I'm just thinking out loud.
hiho
Mpeterson
4 comments:
Thought you would have something to say about Mark Belling being upset that West Bend's conservatism might be a myth (re positive support for school referendum - supposedly the community that sent such a strong message about taxation by electing Glenn Grothman can't be the same community that might want to improve its schools). Alluded to West Bend needing "outside" help to defeat the referendum. How about some outside Democrats come along and bring Grothman out into the "light of day" - find out if he is for the local taxpayers making a decision about spending it's money on facilities, or if he would prefer that revenue caps be extinguished so that the school board would have the cash available from revenue to build schools - like Mark Belling said, New Berlin was able to do it & I understand West Bend could have $10M a year if they could tax at the same rate. Guess the politics would be interesting - a lot of people are interested in the outcome of the referendum question - imagine if those same people would come to question where Grothman is coming from.
One thing I know, if I walked into a bathroom and the only vacant stall was occupied on one side by Mark Belling & Glen Grothman on the other side, I would probably take my chances and go somewhere else to do my business.
Wow. I have to say this was completely off my radar. My Google alerts missed it -- but its a beautiful example of the conceptual dissonance you find in the hobgoblin infested worldview of people like Belling and, usually, our Glenn.
What must it be like, conflict in his mind between the right of the people to control their own lives and the threat of spending that money on education?
I have to assume that his Gingrich-stole-Christmas reaction to any taxes (even when spent competently and responsibly and in a way that actually serves the interests of the tax payer) would overcome his belief in the people's right to spend their taxes as they wish.
But I haven't heard from Glenn on this. Glenn? Chime in.
hiho
Mp
I guess that would be "tyranny of the majority" (a concept that I don't understand, it is something I saw in a Boots & Sabres comment or something about enacting smoke-free environments, and I can't get that out of my mind). In the Grothman mindset, he wasn't necessarily elected to represent the interests of his constituents, as much as he was elected for the "right" to advance his own agenda. Maybe he & Mark Belling share the same stall, and the constituents are just the disposable toilet tissue of politics/conservative talk radio.
They don't seem like it much when a majority of the West Bend City Council disagrees with them either. I think your metaphor is apt.
I am beginning to think that maybe guys like Belling are really peddling, not politics, but a kind of pornography: a compelling but deceptive imitation of the real thing only with more sugar. Like a decoy to draw you in, take your wallet, and make you land in part of the marsh you would never fly into if you thought twice about it.
It's just a theory, mind you.
Regards,
Mp
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