Spend it like ya stole it

It's becoming apparent that fiscal responsibility has no place in Annapolis, despite the best efforts of our Republican minority:

The Maryland House of Delegates yesterday rejected a series of Republican-sponsored budget amendments to curb spending on transportation, education and other programs as the state prepares for a new fiscal year amid significant economic uncertainty.

The most sweeping proposal, by House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert), sought to cut $560 million from a $31.2 billion spending plan expected to be approved by the Democrat-led House today.

"A lot of these programs are good ideas, but we can't afford it right now," he said during preliminary floor debate. "We have not done enough to rein in the growth of spending in this state....."

.....O'Donnell said he was seeking to reduce proposed spending growth rather than make outright cuts to the budget. Under his amendment, he said, the overall budget would grow by 2.5 percent next year.

It is getting more and more amazing each day that these Democrats in Annapolis think they are invincible. They believe that they are beyond reproach, that they cannot be be beaten, and that they will continue to run roughshod over the people of this state. The fact of the matter is that the longer these Democratic legislators are in power in Annapolis, the further detached from reality they become.

The General Assembly seems to be completely of incapable of making the sacrifices they so readily ask us taxpayers to take. They seem to be incapable of making the tough decisions, and they are certainly incapable of spending with the state's means. And nothing proves that point more than the General Assembly's overwhelming rejection of common sense spending cuts proposed by the Republican minority.

It is, unfortunately, going to have to wait two more years until the voters get an opportunity to correct this imbalance. It will take us until 2010 when we the voters go to the polls with the opportunity to truly elect representation that puts people before politics, and get the opportunity to send leaders to Annapolis who actually understand that Maryland needs to spend less and to spend more responsibly. Until then, we are just going to get more and more of this irresponsibility from the legislature....