Experts Expound

“The budget, what else? The negotiations have blown up with a bang. So what happens now?”

Severe and painful cuts.

Brown now has to do what he should have done in the first place – start collecting signatures for a ballot measure. He essentially wasted three months negotiating with and sucking up to Republicans, who were never going to give him the votes to put tax extensions on the ballot in the first place. The Republicans overplayed their hand, but Brown overestimated his gift of gab in romancing Republicans.

What happened last year?

This is a very boring stalemate. Let’s bring back Dick Floyd, Steve Peace, Gil Ferguson, Delaine Eastin, Tom McClintock and Willie Brown.   They were at least fun to watch. These people are boring.

Everybody gets burned in this. Brown looks foolish for having negotiated so long with little result, apparently unaware that the Reeps were stringing him along nuntil the special-election window closed. Republicans appear afraid of the public and more willing to listen to John and Ken than real people.

Partial cuts, partial smoke and mirrors to “balance the budget” while special interests circulate a tax increase initiative.

An all-cuts budget – with Dems cutting prisons and the few other things Reeps care about. Brown was right to call their bluff. They’ve freely chosen irrelevance. It’s about time someone gave it to them.

It’s clear the governor’s been negotiating with the wrong people. He should be at the table with Ken and John – the bloviating talk-show hosts who, along with Grover Norquist, have surgically removed the spine of all but the two Republican senators who didn’t sign the pledge not to let voters decide the fate of tax extensions. What happens now are more cuts. Let’s see which Republicans have the stomach for an additional $12 billion slice out of government spending. As was suggested last week, start with every discretionary nickel earmarked for their districts.

No more playing nice.  Every option must be on the table now.  

Andrew Acosta, A.G. Block, Mark Bogetich, Barry Brokaw, J Dale Debber, Peter DeMarco, Mike Donovan, Jim Evans, Kathy Fairbanks, Jeff Fuller, Rex Frazier, Ken Gibson, Evan Goldberg, Deborah Gonzalez, Sandy Harrison, Bob Hertzberg, Jason Kinney, Greg Lucas, Mike Madrid, Nicole Mahrt, Steve Maviglio,  Adam Mendelsohn, Barbara O’Connor, Bill Packer, Kassy Perry, Jack Pitney, Adam Probolsky, Tony Quinn, Matt Rexroad, Matt Ross, Roger Salazar, Dan Schnur, Will Shuck, Ralph Simoni, Sam Sorich, Ray Sotero, Garry South, Kevin Spillane, Robin Swanson, Angie Wei, Rich Zeiger