Apocalypse averted . . . so now what?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse — House Speaker Kirk Adams, Senate President Bob Burns, House Appropriations Committee chairman John Kavanagh, and Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Russell Pearce — tried their best to destroy the state of Arizona. But they were thwarted (temporarily) by the veto stamp of the Accidental Governor — who would herself be the Fifth Horseman (woman?) of the Apocalypse if only she met the height and weight requirements.

Some of this blog's readers who see the world in stark contrasts of only black and white have argued that "So what if the government of Arizona shuts down? Would anyone even notice?" In other words, if the epic failure of leadership of our Accidental Governor and the GOP insane clown posse leadership does not immediately result in an end of the world Apocalypse, "what's the problem?" When one can only view the world in terms of such extreme dichotomy, it is easy to make excuses for the lack of competency to govern and the lack of basic human decency, dare I say, empathy and compassion for one's fellow man.

Sen. Russell Pearce was recently quoted as saying that "women and children are not going to be dying in the streets" if Arizona's government has to shut down. You disturbingly make my point, Senator.

Arizona has averted a state government shut down (so far) only because of the creative use of the line-item veto by our Accidental Governor. But it will not last for long. How Government Avoided Shutdown This Morning:

After a frantic last night of the session, the state's 41,000 employees returned to work Wednesday. But with no budget signed, and no constitutional authority for them to work, many wondered how government was functioning.

* * *

State Treasurer Dean Martin said employees are working on "good faith" that Brewer would sign something today.

"There's a clause in the statutes that basically says you can operate in good faith," Martin said. "The governor has said she's going to sign all of this before the end of the business day; everyone is working on the good faith that she's going to sign it by the end of the day.

"If she doesn't, " he added, "Now you have a really interesting question."

(Continued) Brewer spares agencies with veto pen:

Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1188, the 2009-10 General Appropriations Act, allowing state government to operate this fiscal year. But she also used her veto pen to cross out large sections of the act, setting up a showdown at the Monday executive session.

Among the agencies spared significant cuts for the moment are the Department of Economic Security, the Department of Health Services and the Department of Environmental Quality.

"These agencies have already suffered significant across the board reductions over the last two years and are simply not in a position to sustain additional reductions without compromising their missions," Brewer wrote in a letter to Secretary of State explaining her vetoes. "While I recognize some reductions are in order, the magnitude of what has been sent to me, absent some counterbalancing measures, is an unacceptable hit to critical agencies."

Apocalypse averted … so now what?

I am going to start calling the Accidental Governor by a new nickname, "Big Casino," because she is willing to gamble big by throwing a few children under the school bus now in the hope of obtaining more education funding for them out of the Legislature later. It's a new twist on the old "we had to destroy the village to save it" strategy.

Big Casino vetoed the entire K-12 school funding budget. She did it she said, because she wants lawmakers to lessen the cut — about $220 million in their approved package. Her line-item veto power did not allow her to change the figure. Redo budget, Brewer tells lawmakers

To gain leverage over the Legislature, Big Casino is willing to put at risk their sacred cow, charter school funding. With veto, Brewer seeks more K-12 cash:

Brewer's action gives lawmakers about two weeks to scramble together a new K-12 funding plan. On Wednesday, the state Treasurer's Office disbursed a $602 million payment to the public schools. That's money due to them from last year's state budget.

But a $300 million payment to the schools due July 15 can't be spent unless there is a budget. That could be especially harmful to 100,000 charter-school students, since charter schools don't have the authority to issue warrants, a form of IOU, to cover their spending, said Tom Horne, the state school superintendent.

"I want to reassure the public that the schools will keep operating," Horne said. "The more serious deadline is July 15. The charter schools are getting no money now."

Big Casino is demanding a temporary increase in the state sales tax to alleviate cuts to K-12 education, health and human services and public safety in the face of an at least $3 billion budget deficit. And she is willing to put charter school funding at risk on July 15 to get what she wants.

Big Casino is blatently disregarding the Republican Party's First Commandment: "No New Taxes," and she is willing to gore their sacred cow, charter schools, in order to get a sales tax increase for the "godless, Communist liberal" public schools in Arizona. That's some set of cajones.

Unfortunately, the compromise budget deal that Big Casino negotiated with the GOP insane clown posse leadership last month is just as bad as their original June 4 budget. It has already been rejected.

Big Casino's best and perhaps only option is to work with the Democrats using their budget plan as a starting point, make some concessions, and concentrate her efforts on strong-arming four GOP Senators and six GOP Representatives to pass the new budget (there are a number of legislators who are leaving office after this session, so Big Casino ought to be able to get the votes she needs). This plan is far more practical than trying to convince 16 GOP Senators and 31 GOP Representatives who have already told her "no" – 38 of whom have sworn their allegiance to their dark lord and master Grover Norquist not to vote for any tax increase.

The Democrats — whom you have ignored up to now, Governor — have offered to work with you to find a way out of this morass. I suggest that you accept their offer and negotiate with them in good faith.

NB: Russian painter Victor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov portrayed one of the Bible’s end-of-the-world events in his painting The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1887). According to the Bible’s Book of Revelation, the horsemen represent war, famine, pestilence, and death. The painting hangs in the Museum of Religion and Atheism in Saint Petersburg, Russia.