But Do Please, Brer Madigan, Don’t Fling Me in Dat Springfield Brier-Patch

Jim Leahy 11 January 2011

You have to hand it to Speaker Madigan, knowing the political landscape and the way the last election went he is going to pass a tax increase and still let some Democrats look like fiscal conservatives. Yes he and the Governor float a huge 75% and of course the voters hit the roof. But for the last few days Madigan has allowed some of suburban and downstate members come out aggressively against big spending and government expansion.

So now when the tax increase comes out as a paltry 40% or so every one of these Democrats in the next election can use the footage of them demanding that the “Needed increase” be reduced and spending caps be put into place. How much better can things get for a Democrat? They get more money to pay for their huge spending over the last decade with huge tax increases and still will be able to claim fiscal conservatism! Wow! And the media is doing it’s job by providing the camera time for the members from red areas. Providing cover for past spending with questions like “is this something like a trigger being put into place that if you over spend the tax increase is nullified?” Or “Does this mean you can stomach a tax increase if they put a hold on spending?”

My own Representative Karen May (D-58) has been every where in the media going so far as to put out an email with the following paragraph:

“.Thanks for the encouragement many of you gave to me for the media coverage of my leadership in the House for fiscal sanity as we contemplate revenues to return to us to strong financial health. I will fight down to the final minutes of the 96th General Assembly on Wednesday.” She went on to claim “I also want you to know that on Thursday, the House passed HB 5420, which I co-sponsored, which will implement significant reforms to our Medicaid system, in order to both rein in costs and improve care. The bill will tighten eligibility standards for the Medicaid program, increase the use of managed care, provide payment for performance and increase the use of electronic records. The bill will also increase penalties for Medicaid fraud, and provide for greater responsibility in the payment of claims. The bill is estimated to save the state $774 million over five years, money which can help us pay down our deficit.”

Imagine that, a member of the party that has been in control for over 8 years, and has spent the state into oblivion with huge expansions of government, can say with a straight face she is providing leadership for fiscal sanity! By the time this is over, these Democratic legislators will get awards from tax payer groups for being so fiscally conservative. They saved us from a 75% increase and a increase in the corporate tax rate that would make it the highest in the industrialized world.

The Republican leadership had better get in front of this now by reminding the voters how we got into this mess. Remind voters that the Democrats “significant reforms” were requiring people to prove they lived in Illinois!. My God how fiscally conservative can you get? Maybe next, Republicans and these newly conservative Democrats could demand a list of people enrolled in All Kids or even to get a list of all of the services the state provides? No that’s asking to much don’t you think? One step at a time.

http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/but-do-please-brer-madigan-dont-fling-me-in-dat-springfield-brier-patch/