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DEL.ICIO.USTaking a private fight public: Senate Republicans call in the fiscal hard-cores
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fights among lawmakers in the state Capitol, over who has say-so over how many millions in tax dollars, are the essence of every session of the state Legislature.
But historically, such tussles have been restricted to a circle of a dozen or so legislators in the House and Senate, plus the governor. In other words, it’s largely been a private fight over public money.
This year, Republicans — in particular, Senate Republicans — are bringing in outsiders. They’re calling in The Base. An e-mail campaign this week, rallies next week.
You’d think it was November, and Democrats were on the ballot.
Here’s the issue: Most years, the state takes in slightly more in tax revenues than it plans to spend. This year, the amount is $700 million.
Each year, most of the surplus — contained in a mid-year budget document — goes toward unanticipated school spending. Under Democrats, many millions also went toward what Republicans called pork— spending projects advocated by influential lawmakers.
Republicans vowed to be different. And while the process is slightly more transparent, much of the annual surplus still goes toward projects of the kind that many GOP lawmakers once condemned.
That changed last month, when Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, commander of the Republican-controlled Senate, demanded that the mid-year budget be stripped of everything but what could be justified as emergency spending.
House Republicans were stunned. The session came to a stand-still. It will remain stalled until either the House or Senate blinks. Which brings us to the decision by Senate Republicans to bring members of the GOP’s fiscal conservative core into the fight.
This isn’t about popularity. Republicans in the Senate are out to crack the will of Republicans in the House with a very public campaign.
The Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia, a loose subsection of the state GOP, this week urged its associates to e-mail letters of support to members of the Senate. And to Republicans in the other chamber, if they feel so inclined.
“Georgia House Republicans have added over $214 million dollars of pork to the 2007 supplemental budget,” the organization’s web site states.
Jared Thomas, executive director of the Georgia chapter of Americans For Prosperity, a new anti-tax group, says he intends to mobilize his membership next week.
These efforts aren’t aimed at House Speaker Glenn Richardson or his lieutenants. They’re directed at the right-wing of the chamber’s GOP caucus. The true-believers.
When the $700 million mid-year budget was presented to the House last month, state Rep. Steve Davis of McDonough was the only lawmaker to vote against it. He’s a Republican.
Davis said he’s not out to embarrass his own leadership. “I just want to do the right thing. It’s not about me and them,” he said. “I don’t feel that I’m alone.”
Davis isn’t a high-ranking member of the House. But he is a member of the 216 Group, a collection of 20 or so GOP lawmakers dedicated to fiscal conservatism and limited government. They meet in Room 216 of the Capitol.
State Rep. Tom Graves of Ranger, Ga., is the chairman of the 216 Group, according to its web site. We weren’t successful in our efforts to contact him Thursday.
In the fall of 2002, party chairman Ralph Reed and the entire Republican ticket assembled at the state Capitol to endorse something called the “Declaration for a New Georgia.”
The manifesto was modeled after Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America,” and listed the major reforms Republicans would implement, should they ever become masters of state government.
Included in the declaration was a vow to end the tradition of burning through surpluses: “Republicans will end this practice by abolishing the [midyear] budget.”
To stage right of the group — Reed was on one side, Sonny Perdue on the other — was a placard of the declaration. Republican candidates were invited to decorate it with florid John Hancocks.
Nearly six years later, the hunt is on for that placard and the signatures on it. The signboard has become evidence in the budget fight.
But the placard and its signatures have gone missing.
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By Bill Kecskes
April 5, 2007 8:54 PM | Link to this
HB 94 was passed by the House last week 162-0 and contained many pet pork-barrel projects such as:
$75,000 to the Voyager Magazine $70,000 to design Roman Arches for Rome’s Art Center $155,636 to provide guided informational tours of the State Capitol Building $358,685 to construct the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame $50,000 to construct an Aviation Hall of Fame $18,000 to City of Savannah for weight lifting equipment. $100,000 to Warm Springs to renovate the FDR golf course and $35,000 to Dooly County to improve the Big Pig Jig Site. By any definition, this is pork-laden waste that has no business in a fiscally conservative budget. Georgia taxpayers have had enough of this type of pork barrel politics. I’m embarrased that all of the House Republicans (except Mr. Steve Davis)voted for this waste. This is not what Republicans stand for. This is not what Republicans worked so hard for in creating a majority. We worked to create a majority to cut the budget, scale back government, cut the waste and end good ol’ boy politics as usual. Cut the pork!
By GATeacher
April 5, 2007 11:31 PM | Link to this
Voyager is a great resource for Ga teahers. http://www.gavoyager.com/
By Bill Kecskes
April 6, 2007 8:10 AM | Link to this
GATeacher - you are absolutely correct, the Georgia Voyager Magazine is an outstanding magazine; however, if it must rely on a $75,000 subsidy from Georgia taxpayers, it is apparently suffering from a lack of subscriptions and a lack of commercial advertisers. The underlying question remains the same: Is is a legitimate function of state government to subsidize failing commercial enterprises and shouldn’t the commercial market place determine the success or failure of private ventures? Shouldn’t the Georgia Voyager magazine be seeking more readers and advertisers instead of relying on a $75,000 handout from taxpayers?
By Nancy
April 6, 2007 8:47 AM | Link to this
Oh, come on people this is only Casey Cagel grandstanding an trying to make the Speaker look bad! The senate is only saying don’t put the money in the 2007 supplemental budget, but put it in the 2008 budget. Which starts in July 2007. Cagel is trying to prostion himself for the 2010 Governor’s Race. He is A true snake in the grass. Also I think that the AFP should stay out of this battle. This only a battle that is being wage to see who has more power the Senate or the House.
By Bill Kecskes
April 6, 2007 8:53 AM | Link to this
HB 94 appropriates $100,000 to renovate the City of Warm Spring’s FDR Golf Course. This city course charges $20-25 greens fees yet nearby privately owned courses such as Pebblebrook charge $27, Callaway Gardens $25-30 and Overlook Golf Course charges $35-45 greens fees.
If Warm Springs FDR golf course needs $100,000 from Georgia taxpayers, then obviously the city is not charging enough for greens fees which is pretty obvious since they are lower than all others. The question here is: #1 - Why is any city owning a golf course to compete with private businesses and #2 - if a city must own a golf course, shouldn’t they charge sufficient greens fees so the golf course is not a burden on city taxpayers and #3 - shouldn’t city taxpayers be the ones to subsidize lack of revenue instead of Georgia taxpayers?
By KR
April 6, 2007 9:26 AM | Link to this
Nancy, there is a BIG difference in the budget at the beginning of the fiscal year and the supplemental budget.
If placed into the budget at the beginning of the year, such “porky” projects have to compete with everything else the state does for funding and there is a cap on what the total budget amount can be.
Placing a project in the supplemental budget circumvents the full budget process and a lot of the project justification that goes along with it.
By Chris Farris
April 6, 2007 10:25 AM | Link to this
As the author of the RLC’s Action Alert, I’ll say that it was done without the Senate Leadership’s knowledge.
Casey unlocked the door, and the disaffected fiscal grassroots ran through it screaming hallelujah!
Of course now that we’re here, we aint leaving till we get satisfaction. :)
By Paul
April 6, 2007 10:34 AM | Link to this
Mark my words, Cagle looks like he is standing his ground, but he is just frozen in the headlights of an oncoming truck. He will jump out of the way at the last minute and he will let the Senate, RLC and AFP get squashed.
By Jim J
April 6, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this
I love the smell of Republicans eating each other in the morning.
By Lyle
April 6, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this
This is a very badly executed publicity stunt by Cagle and his amateur team. Glenn Richardson, Mark Burkhalter, Jerry Keen and Ben Harbin are the responsible ones, putting their efforts into a sound budget, not publicity stunts. The liberals are taking delight in Cagle’s efforts to divide the GOP, but Cagle is already feeling the heat from the real base. Cagle was not elected, he got lucky when Reed collapsed. Cagle does not have the intestinal fortitude for this battle. Cagle will fold and Glenn will “get ‘er done” for Georgia. Then Cagle should surround himself with pros and cut out the third rate antics. Governing is serious business.
By Barbara Scruggs
April 6, 2007 12:47 PM | Link to this
I agree with Lt. Governor Cagle. The suupplimental budget is for emergencies and more specific education due to increase in students. “Go Fish” is really pork. Bass fishermen/women need to fund their own tournaments, etc. Georgia needs to get out of the business ofhall of fames, golf courses, hotels, etc. These are not the govenment interests, just someone that thinks government is a “banker in the sky” for their projects.
By Oliver B.
April 7, 2007 4:49 AM | Link to this
These People can always and I mean ALWAYS talk the talk but they never and NEVER could walk the walk. They are the inventors of POKE!!!!! They could not wait get in a leadership position so they could dish out poke. Nothing sweeps clean like a broom and that’s we need in 08. Nothing more and nothing less!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!