Repair Despair

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online.  It’s called “Repair Despair.”  I actually threw up a little in my mouth when I wrote this part:

Fortunately for conservatives in Wisconsin, Gov. Doyle used his powerful veto to make the budget repair bill more conservative. It’s still not pretty. He raided the transportation fund. He left some of the bad policy in place. But he also cut more spending than the Republicans and made the repair fare more responsible than the disgrace that the Legislature passed.

Sorry about the typo. 

1. One thing that has been lost in all the analysis is that the final budget repair act, as vetoed by Doyle is more in line with the Assembly package passed earlier this year than the Dem package.  The cuts, less transpo fund raid, etc.

   The final budget repair bill, as signed, is more conservative than the bipartisan compromise sent to him, but it’s not more conservative than the original work of the Assembly.

   There is plenty of room for argument regarding the conf. cmte compromise that was sent to the Gov, but it’s not entirely accurate to pin all the shortcomings on the Assembly Majority. Others who were closer to the deliberations can explain what happened and why, if they so choose. Which for crying out loud they should attempt to do so!

   That being said, Owen, I’m in complete agreement with you that the State spends too much, and that both houses and both parties in the legislature (and the Governor) have yet to aggressively promote a pro-free market, pro-investor, pro-innovation, pro-liberty agenda that will help the private sector get us out of the current economic slowdown.

   Posted by Fraley on May 20, 2008 at 1802 hrs




2. Umnnh..yah, Brian.

   Bet on this:  Doyle will beat the “I SAVED MONEY” drum half to death if he runs again.

   Make the Pubbies look like fools.

   Posted by dad29 on May 20, 2008 at 1810 hrs




3. What would your alternative been, Dad?  I’m not saying I support the compromise or that I would have advocated for it, but what’s the realistic alternative given that on one side of the table was the Assembly GOP and on the other side, Senator Decker and the Dems?

   The budget shouldn’t be about making Doyle look bad. Heck, if more politicians thought they could win reelection by cutting spending we’d all be better off.

   Posted by Fraley on May 20, 2008 at 1844 hrs




4. Brian,

   Doyle’s first pass on cuts were limited to the repair bill. What will happen next is that Doyle will order deeper spending cuts on his own later this summer to avoid having the two idiots (Decker and Huebsch) from coming back with yet another repair.

   Doyle needs real cash to fund more than a billion dollars in state obligations. Doyle will actually make cuts.

   The story of Doyle’s move to the fiscal center (actually right of center) is not even close to over yet.

   Huebsch’s problem was that he should have been saying this before he ever agreed to a budget deal. He should have been pointing to the slow down in the economy that started early last year and asked for a slower growth in spending.

   He didn’t really do that. He came closer to Doyle’s budget and relied on undercutting the senate to claim a win.

   Huebsch was wise to work with Doyle to get a budget deal while cutting out the senate, but he gave up all of that wisdom when he chose to work with Decker on the repair bill rather than listening to the Governor.

   Balancing the books on paper does not replace the need for cash to pay the bills. That was the tactical blunder that Huesbch made in the compromise.

   He chosee the “it’s technically” balanced approach rather than the “we have to find actual dollars” approach that Doyle needed.

   That moves Huebsch and the idiots who voted for the compromise closer to the liberal senate while leaving Doyle to the right of center on fiscal issues.

   That’s a bad place to be for Republicans just a few months before an election.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on May 21, 2008 at 0048 hrs




5. IR and D29, both of your takes hinge, of course, on the assumption that the Doyle Administration will actually make more than 200 million dollars in cuts…

   Posted by Fraley on May 21, 2008 at 0914 hrs