Posted on 03/16/2005 10:44:26 PM PST by Coastal
"The only Grover they know in Indiana is the fuzzy creature on Sesame Street," cracked Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels after anti-tax activist Grover Norquist attacked his proposed tax increase. That reminded Norquist of the 2003 remark by Ohio Gov. Bob Taft: "The only Grover I know is on Sesame Street." Norquist retorted: "Not only do these tax-hikers have the same tax policy, they also have the same gag writers."
Until Jan. 18, nobody dreamed of comparing Bob Taft to Mitch Daniels. The Ohioan with the famous Republican name is despised in his own party as a tax increaser. In contrast, as President George W. Bush's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director, Daniels was a tax-cutting supply-side advocate. But in his State of the State address Jan. 18, the newly inaugurated Daniels stunned Hoosiers by proposing a one-year increase in Indiana state income taxes from 3.4 percent to 4.4 percent for people making $100,000 or more a year.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalledger.com ...
I thought taxes were the one thing that united republicans.
I, for one, wasn't a 'stunned' Hoosier. Whoever won the gubanatorial contest was going to raise taxes: the Democrats because increased taxation is in their nature, or the Republicans because this particular business is effectively insolvent. After a succession of amazingly inept administrations, state finances are a bonafide mess. Daniels took the least painful way out politically by taxing his strongest support demographic, figuring that erosion of support would be minimal, I suppose.
With Republicans like this, who needs DemonRats?
This is the same nonsense that our Republican governor (Alabama) promptly pulled once he was elected. Thank God we have a state constitution that allowed the people to vote it down.
The same crap is happening in Texas after Republicans finally clawed their way to majority control. They may as well change their name to RepublicRATS.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Anybody should have been able to see this effete, fem-man was going to capitulate.
He's a good man. He still has my support. We have to clean up the mess the Dems have made.
I don't want him to raise taxes, yet that is overshadowing all the good things he is doing! (voter IDs for one!)
The "legacy media" was all over him,calling for him to apologize. He told them basically ," Bite Me"!
The first thing Mitch Daniels did upon taking the oath of office was to get rid of the state 'workers' union. Dead weight can now be heaved overboard without worry of intimidation, lawsuits and accusations of racism. That action will not only save the state money but de-bureacratize :o) things.
I realize he made it easy for others to call him a capitulator on taxes, but he fights back well. He has one heck of a Dim-created financial mess to clean up and the alternatives (gambling revenue, cutting truly essential services) have to be a last resort.
If I am not mistaken, a balanced budget is a constritutional requirement in Indiana.
How about fiscal responsibility? When the kids have a party and destroy the house, the grownups have to clean up the mess and pay to fix things.
Mitch doesn't appear to be "married to the idea" of the tax hike. He said it would just get our finances back on track sooner. He has two projections: one with the hike and one without.
Mitch is one of the good guys.
If there is anything this man is less likely to do it would be to capitulate. I still support him although I don't always agree with his ideas. The main reason I support him is because he is not your normal politician. He sticks up for what he believes in. He inherited a mess in this state which started with Bayh. If things are going to get straightened out, it will take someone brash and strong and willing to stick through. Daniels appears to be just that kind of man. Time will tell.
Knowing incredibly little about either budget situation, I still have to ask: Could it not be that each of the budgets has different problems, and require different solutions?
I agree; Mitch has a mess on his hands left over from the dims. On the economic front, I like Mitch's approach to job creation and economic development. He is full of new ideas for Indiana's growth. Ms. Miller's appointment to head job growth is one of these new ideas.
We Hoosiers need to give him some room to fix our problems. In the meantime, we'll keep our eyes on him and his majority lawmakers.
Yeah...what would I do without him raising my taxes? Oh, I know, I'd have an extra thousand dollars in my pocket.
He's one of the good guys? With friends like him, who needs enemies?
If we give up the tax issue, we give up the main reason voters vote for republicans.
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