[Cross-posted from Red County]
LA Times Columnist George "Just Tax The Ingrates" Skelton column today is his millionth screed proclaiming higher taxes as the only responsible solution to budget deficits. It’s always the same column, just re-written to suit the day’s news.
In this case, it’s not even new news, but a paean to Sen. Dave Cogdill, who was dumped as Senate Republican Leader more than a month ago. Cogdill, of course, is aces in Skelton’s book because he helped negotiate a massive tax increase as a deficit cutting measure. Skelton wasn’t able to find room in the column to mention the deficit has grown by $8 billion anyway. Someone apparently forgot to tell the deficit that tax hikes are supposed to make it go away.
Note to Republican politicians: if you want to receive newsprint Valentine from Skelton, all you have to do is vote for transferring wealth from the people to the government.
But to my main point: Skelton expresses astonishment that Senate Republicans would toss out Cogdill in the middle of a budget battle:
"Many legislative leaders have been shoved overboard after a policy fight had played out, or after an election in which the party had lost seats. But none come to mind who have been relieved of command as bullets still were flying."
Is that so? I read Skelton’s lamentation and a name came immediately to mind: Ross Johnson.
Ross was the Assembly Republican Leader during the 1991 budget battle. The state faced a $14 billion deficit — a gargantuan amount at the time — and all the "pragmatic" types advocated a split-the-baby solution: half spending cuts, half tax hikes. Sound familiar?
Johnson refused to agree to a tax hike, and was eventually dumped as leader — "while the bullets were still flying," in Skelton’s words — in a coup engineered by the Wilson Administration.
Apparently, if you’re a Republican leader who gets ousted because you oppose higher taxes, then you are sent down the Skelton memory hole, to be forgotten.
In any case, Ross was replaced by then-Assemblyman Bill Jones, who along with six other GOPers provided the votes to pass what was then the largest state tax increase in American history.
By 1992, the budget deficit reappeared, and Republicans lost seats in the Assembly in November despite the fairest redistricting in a generation.
Funny how none of that ever winds up in one of Skelton’s encomiums to brave tax-hiking Republicans.