Posted on 04/14/2010 8:38:26 AM PDT by eeevil conservative
When I ran for office, several of those very same recruiters encouraged me to make a taxpayer protection pledge to my constituents that I would not come to Atlanta and vote to raise taxes. I agreed. I wanted to be a different kind of Senator - one who spoke his mind and meant what he said. I made that commitment. But the commitment was to my constituents, not to some outside group. I gave my word – my bond - that I would not come down to Atlanta and raise taxes. I believed, perhaps incorrectly, that one of the foundational cornerstones of the Republican Party was to reduce the size and scope of government and to cut fraud, waste and abuse rather than raising taxes. And, now those people who urged the need for an independent thinker - who begged for a strong willed leader with backbone who would not bow to pressure or sell his constituents’ vote - have now attempted to threaten, harass, intimidate and punish me for being exactly the person they recruited me to be. This Republican Senate leadership punishes me today, because I will not break the word I gave my constituents, which the same leadership urged me to make.
Today is a very sad day for Republicans in Georgia. Our Lt. Governor has repeatedly said that if the people of Georgia can only afford to send us $15 Billion in tax revenues, that is the amount we will spend. We will balance our budget to that figure. We will live within our means and will not raise taxes. But now the Lt. Governor, Majority Leader and President Pro Tem, have completely reversed that position, engaged in a rhetorical game of semantics and abandoned that commitment to balance our state budget to the amount of revenue that is available. They have instead decided to pursue the easier route of raising new revenue through taxes and fees.
Prior to the beginning of this legislative session, in December of 2009, the Republican Senate leadership had a poll conducted by McLaughlin & Associates. The question was posed, “When the General Assembly convenes in January, state leaders will be faced with a $2 billion budget shortfall. How do you think the State Legislature should balance the budget?” The top two responses were cut waste and cut spending. The lowest response was “raise taxes” which only 5% of Georgians chose. Only 5% of Georgians feel we would help balance the budget by raising taxes! 5% didn’t respond or didn’t know. 90% of Georgians felt we should balance the budget through some means other than tax increases. Then they asked a second question, saying, “Thinking more about the state budget, which of the following do you think would be the most effective way for the State Legislature to balance the budget? Again, exactly 5% said “by increasing taxes and fees on individuals and Georgia businesses.”
The Republican leadership used this poll to argue in December that we should not raise taxes. Now, when it comes to decision time, I vote with 90% of Georgians on the poll that my leaders commissioned. They stand with 5% of Georgians who want more taxes to balance the budget. And, they punish me!
Please follow the link and read it ALL!! WORTH EVERY MOMENT!
Our Leadership STRIPPED this man of his Chairmanship for voting AGAINST a TAX INCREASE!
PING!!
God Bless Preston Smith for standing with his people, not his party.
We need thousands more like him.
There's simply no real reason to vote for them unless they are, at long last, serious about reining in the monster we call government. If they're just voting to grow the government at a slower rate than Dems, we're still going to go bankrupt, but at a slower pace and with less chance of fixing what's broken.
I'd much rather, if the whole thing's going kaput anyway, that it do so quickly, on the Dems' watch, so that they are completely discredited for a generation or more, and we can get about the business of restoring some sanity as quickly as possible.
Disgraceful!
....great....
Wow! This is what I fear will happen in the next Congress. A Gingrich getting power and then exercising it to the detriment of the people.
Great speech! God, we need to get Michael Steele out now, and start making people in our own party accountable, starting with him...We are in dire straits and we must take action now!
We see how many have fallen due to this kind/type of pressure. Then it becomes easier to promise one thing and do another,(perhaps).
God is our source, God help us in our day, in Jesus name, amen.
He sounds like the sort of man who needs to be on the Tea Party trail.
Thats right. Do we have a thread for that purpose?
Powerful stuff. This guy would get my vote on cajones alome.
I just got flamed for cautioning against trusting Republicans. Could someone tell me why we should trust Republicans, and look forward to their revival this fall?
Thanks for the ping.
I don’t know, probably not.
This guy should be elected President in 2012. This is bedrock, solid stuff. What a great conservative.
Sobering.
What part of that 5% who want to raise taxes do they think will vote ... for repubbies?
I very rarely post to “All” but “eeevil conservative” knows me and can vouch for me.
Don’t get too affected by the fantastic speech. It’s good stuff, but this is only one side of the story. Those he publicly accuses are saying he’s lying and they have proof. I personally am filled to the brim with ALL THE NONSENSE happening at the GA Capitol right now, but fine political rhetoric from the well does not a fine statesman make.
Bookmark
If you know the other side of this story, please share. I am outraged by this. I will start making phone calls, and will share this with the other voting members of my family. We need to clean up our State House before we start on DC.
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