Pre-election antics won't help Michigan

[Judi Lynn]

Pre-election antics won't help Michigan
Friday, November 25, 2005
This is the way things work -- or, rather, don't work -- in Lansing, a year before state legislative and gubernatorial elections:

Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and two Republican legislative leaders, Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema and House Speaker Craig DeRoche, hold a press conference to announce the compromise agreement they've reached on a $1 billion jobs proposal and a plan to restructure business taxes.

Shortly thereafter, the Republican-controlled Legislature passes a collection of bills to enact the jobs plan and business tax restructuring. But Republicans slip into the package of bills a few items that weren't part of the original agreement. They are all ``tie-barred,'' which means if the governor vetoes one of them, none of them can be enacted. The reason? They figure Granholm won't veto the tax bills she didn't agree to -- if it means stalling the jobs package she has wanted so badly.

The plot thickens. Apparently the tax restructuring and the jobs package weren't tie-barred tight enough. The governor's office realizes she can veto two of the 25 bills in the tax restructuring package, thus stalling the entire tax package, but without halting the jobs program.

Republicans send out angry press releases denouncing Granholm for killing business tax reform on the same day that General Motors Corp. is announcing it would cut its North American labor force by one-fourth, including about 3,000 Michigan jobs.
(snip/...)

http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-2/1132935689220220.xml&coll=7

[Lefty48197]

1. Why can't they just pass the package that was agreed upon?

Why did they have to try and sneak in the other crap? Did they think that the Governor wouldn't notice? Was it a test of some sort?

"Granholm tells the Legislature to come back from vacation to fix the problems with the tax restructuring package so that she can sign them.

Republicans huddle to decide their next course of action. We're betting it won't have much to do with cooperation.

Expect these skirmishes to continue until Nov. 7, 2006."

Maybe they should get their lazy asses back from vacation and rewrite the bill, so that it can be signed?

[xchrom]

2. they're republicans, that's why.

republicans are nothing if not tenacious about going after and getting what they want.

and it's been successful for them as far as their constituents are concerned -- a lesson democrats could learn.