by David Safier
The Star rightly allowed Cap'n Al Melvin to respond to editorials which have painted him in a [deservedly] negative light. Melvin reveals more about his personality in his defensive attacks on the Star than he does about the legislation he supports. It's a shameful display by an angry, petty man.
I can almost guarantee Melvin wrote most of this himself. First, any reasonable ghost writer would have lowered the level of personal animus. Second, I've heard him speak often enough to recognize the tone and phrasing. This is classic Melvin.
Here's how he begins:
I appreciate the opportunity to defend myself and respond to your newspaper's indictment of my votes in favor of our state's budget.
You lament the cuts that have been made and the fact that I did not pursue higher taxes as a solution to our state's budget woes. You suggest that letting criminals out of jail earlier would save us money. And you refer again and again to "the children" as victims of the budget that was passed, particularly in the area of education.
Your advocacy for liberal solutions is not a surprise.
You have endorsed my liberal opponents in every race I have ever run. You were a cheerleader for the big-spending policies of then-Gov. Janet Napolitano that dug the hole that Arizona now finds itself in.
You have a knee-jerk reaction against the education reforms that would provide parents with more and better choices for their children's education, denying them a better education for less money.
Further down, Melvin talks about "government's insatiable desire for taxpayer dollars." He might look at the charts AzBlueMeanie posted below and consider that our corporations and richest individuals are sharing in the tax breaks while the rest of us are sharing the sacrifice.