The replacement of Dave Cogdill by Dennis Hollingsworth bodes well for California Taxpayers.  Here is the question.  Now that Cogdill is no longer the leader will he feel comfortable enough to vote the way he knows is right, as opposed to the way he has been convinced is "responsible."

Every Republican knows that the Democrats created this budget crisis by spending like drunken sailors on leave (with apologies to those sailors, since they are at least spending their own money).  They then cry about the bankruptcy they have created, and then whine when Republicans won’t raise taxes to cover their spendthrift ways.  Unfortunately, in the past, the general Republican response has been to "be responsible" and bail the Democrats out.  Democrats are the bad teenagers, enabled by years of Republican indulgence, who have been arrested for breaking the laws of economics, and are asking Republicans to hire the lawyer and post the bail for their irresponsible behavior in the past.  Too often, Republicans have indulged this bad behavior because they "cannot let the people" suffer.

First, the people won’t suffer.  Some people will, but most of those people will be people who have been feeding at the public trough for so long they think they are entitled to rape and pillage taxpayers.  Taxpayers, the largest part of the "people" will benefit if the Democrats past self-indulgences are disciplined and not enabled.

Second, the solutions to this crisis are relatively easy to achieve if the political will is there.  The Democrats, however, will do everything they can, including throwing the proverbial three year old temper tantrum, to avoid having to do what everyone knows needs to be done, and that is, cut every single program, including the vast, bloated education bureaucracy across the board.  Yes, all of these pigs, who have been rooting at the public trough for so many years, will squeal when they are stuck, but it needs to happen.  It is not "responsible" to indulge these pigs any more.  In fact, it is the classic "enabler" mentality.  These spending addicts (to mix my metaphors again) need tough love, not enablers.  They need to go to spendaholics anonymous.  They need to admit their addiction, and seek the help of a higher power, the Constitution.  The only way this will happen is if the Republicans act like the responsible parents, and apply that tough love.

Quite frankly, that is the responsible thing to do, but, as I said before, it will not be easy.  The no to new taxes must be a firm no, repeated over and over again, until the Democrats have gone into complete withdrawal from their spending addiction, hit rock bottom, and realize that they have a true problem.  No amount of procedural protection.  No amount of so-called reform.  No amount of negotiation to avoid the problem is going to fix it.  The responsible thing is not to save the Democrats from the consequences of their addiction, as the Governor is trying to do, but rather to force them into the withdrawal, to suffer the consequences that the years of addiction have created in their behavior in the capitol.  Cut the spending, and face the political consequences of cutting.  It is tough, but if Republicans truly love the people as they claim, they will do what loving parents would do to an addict child, apply tough love.

So far they have done just that.  There have been moments of weakness, but as time goes on, it will get easier and easier to do.  It should have been done years ago; it must be done now, no matter what the cost.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.