Rhonda Nyman: What's wrong with the budget? All but Four GOPers voted for it?

Well, don't you have to "go along?" (4.50 / 2)

Hear, hear, Rob.

This is what happens when you have a minority leader who apparently discounts the concept of "principled opposition."

If there is ONE VOTE during the entire session that the leadership understands that the minority party must vote IN BLOC, it is the final budget vote.

I wonder how cheap most of them went. Could have been a $50,000 line item for some youth center in their district, or one new court officer for the Ludlow district court.

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by: wavey @ Thu Sep 20, 2012 at 13:13:12 PM UTC

Agreed (5.00 / 2)

I'm reminded of a great quote:

"Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for Wales?" -Sir Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons.


Matthew P. Carleo, Yobgoblin

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by: mcarleo @ Thu Sep 20, 2012 at 14:29:07 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Agreed. There must be a GOP budget (5.00 / 1)

There must be an alternate, well-thought-out budget that represents our priorities. That budget should get a vote (if at all possible) before Republicans decide - if they decide - to vote for the Democrats' budget in return for useful modifications.

But to have no alternate budget and no alternate vote doesn't leave candidates with anything to run on.

I understand that an alternate budget would involve a lot of time and effort that would seem to have little value for Republicans on Beacon Hill. They might argue that their constituents didn't send them there to spend weeks working on legislation that has no chance of passing.

Perhaps a crowdsourced approach might work. Maybe they could set up a website that divides the budget into pieces and ask Republicans across the state to offer up ideas. This kind of collaborative process could not only help get the budget done, but get lots of other Republicans acquainted with and involved with the realities of governing.

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by: edfactor @ Thu Sep 20, 2012 at 16:39:16 PM UTC

The Better Budget (5.00 / 1)

was a regular annual fixture for the House Republicans in the 1980's. I don't know who dropped it, Teague or Jones.

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by: wavey @ Fri Sep 21, 2012 at 13:50:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]