The House just voted 108 to 51 to back DeLeo’s sales tax amendment – the assuring a veto proof majority against the Governor.
As I stated before – this surprise letter from the Governor was a huge political blunder. It worked to DeLeo’s advantage and members who actually agreed with the Governor were so pissed that they turned on him and backed the sales tax because of what they felt was a blindside attack from the corner office.
It was a page from Mitt Romney’s book only this time its against members of the governor’s own party! looks like the Governor is running for office against his own Democratic Legislature.
Please share widely!
So what you are pushing is that the legislature passed a horrific regressive sales tax amendment without reforms and turned their backs on the people of Massachusetts because they were mad?
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p>Are you mad??
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p>Please tell me that’s not what you are saying, I personally have a lot more respect for members of the legislature than you do if this is your post.
I was speaking about politics not policy.
I agree with you on sales tax as a matter of policy – politically, a sales tax vote makes much more sense, its an SINGLE vote versus MULTIPLE tax votes that the republicans will hammer the Dems with in a gubernatorial election year. Imagine an AD with a Dem politician taking away a piece of a kid’s candy bar due to taxes
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p>Plus the Sales tax garners nearly as much or more than all the other revenues combined.
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p>I have great respect for the Legislature especially my Rep – that is why I was aghast at the tactics used by the Governor today. It was so Romneyesque!
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p>BTW – Don’t be so disgusted with DeLeo trolling for votes – How do you think the Governor, the Senate President and the former Speaker defeated the DOMA gay marriage amendment – by serving scones and tea? No – it was by arm twisting and political promises and earmark assurances! Let’s not be naive!
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So who is your Rep?
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p>Do you work for him/her?
Do you work for the Governor?
But you are fighting pretty hard for your Rep. Am I wrong?
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p>Are you still at the State House after a long day of arm-twisting?
I have been home since 5:10PM
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p>Had a salad for dinner with grilled chicken and I watched 24 – Jack survives his seizure and interogates Hodges who also survived his near suicide – All are on the hunt for Almeida and the CTE servers are back up!
Who is your Rep?
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p>Do you work for him/her?
Fact is, Deval’s letter may not have changed too many votes, though losing one or two was enough. I’m sure it came up in DeLeo’s conversations with members. However, a truly effective governor — one who doesn’t govern by press release and travel the country — doesn’t bleed support so massively.
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p>Maybe DeLeo and his cronies have some polling or other information that tells them that Deval isn’t to be taken seriously.
I don’t think it’s Romneyesque. That means that he’s all but given up on the state. He’s still fighting, but as we all well know it’s a difficult fight.
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p>Hopefully the 108 is nothing more than the lege marking their territory and the final legislation will be different.
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p>With the reforms Patrick has already proposed, it’s ruffled a few feathers. But it needs to get done. Not the watered down version the lege has been pushing.
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p>Maybe we need to do more, maybe we should say that we have had enough. These 108 could the poster child of what is wrong with the legislature and it’s in our best interests to hold them accountable not cheer lead them.
Today’s vote and debate were about many things, but the Governor probably factored in very little. Sure, DeLeo had to wrangle a few more votes to ensure a veto-proof majority, but this was going to pass either way.
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p>My hunch is that for most legislators, their votes were not cast to spite the Governor, nor to support the Speaker. The votes were cast because they’ve been inundated with calls and emails from constituents who don’t want programs x, y, & z cut and this is the only way to fund them.
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p>There have been a bunch of debates in recent months over taxes. The Gov proposed a gas tax and pretty much everyone outside of 95 was opposed to it. The income tax has been a political hot potato for years. There are the so-called “sin” taxes on alcohol, candy, and soda, but the revenue from all of those wouldn’t have amounted to half of what was passed today.
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p>I don’t think the Gov’s letter was a blunder. He’ll get some credit for pushing for reforms, and maybe this will ensure that the legislature passes some of those reforms before the Gov has to sign the budget. Just because they have the votes to override doesn’t mean they want to line them all up and count them.
But don’t forget the house and senate have passed a version of the so called reforms and the Governor has just attacked them at the very time he must work with teh conference committeees to hammer out better bills
Credit goes for leaders who do things, not try to do things (name the last 10 Stanley Cup Final losers – they tried hard too). I don’t like Deval but I have been wiling to bow down when he gets something done. What I now realize is I’ve been giving him credit for what he said he was going to do since he really hasn’t done anything. He has become irrelevant. This letter has made him look like a joke on par with his casino loss… Sal’s remark about the casinos (and governing in MA) “…Gov, the House always wins”.
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p>Any thoughts on true reform in MA is an even bigger joke. Nothing meaningful will happen. The budget is way of of balance and it will get balanced by tax increases not budget cuts. The Draconian threats are just that, threats. The kind Pols use all the time to ensure tax increase “…otherwise we’ll have to cut the lunch programs at the Senior Center and close all State beaches this summer…” Boo-fucking-hoo!
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p>I wrote 2 days ago that I wanted an increase in the sales tax for my own selfish reasons since it would help Republicans/Conservatives Pols in MA. Plus since paying taxes is Patriotic, maybe having a regressive tax will help lower income people fell more Patriotic since they don’t pay any other taxes. It’s a win-win.
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p>Who’s happy about this increase in sales tax… NH merchants.
Someone push your buttons today?
I was speaking about politics not policy.
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p>I agree with you on sales tax as a matter of policy – politically, a sales tax vote makes much more sense, its an SINGLE vote versus MULTIPLE tax votes that the republicans will hammer the Dems with in a gubernatorial election year. Imagine an AD with a Dem politician taking away a piece of a kid’s candy bar due to taxes
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p>Plus the Sales tax garners nearly as much or more than all the other revenues combined.
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p>I have great respect for the Legislature especially my Rep – that is why I was aghast at the tactics used by the Governor today. It was so Romneyesque!
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p>BTW – Don’t be so disgusted with DeLeo trolling for votes – How do you think the Governor, the Senate President and the former Speaker defeated the DOMA gay marriage amendment – by serving scones and tea? No – it was by arm twisting and political promises and earmark assurances! Let’s not be naive!
How about 108 legislators who are now going to become targets.
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p>Governor Patrick turned up the heat on these legislators who wanted to take the easy way out. Sending a letter and standing up for himself is not a bad move.
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p>The public respects a fighter.
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p>Legislators who are asking for the 1 vote approach have admitted they are doing this to avoid multiple votes on taxes.
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p>Some will see that as a wimpy way out.
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p>Anyway, we will see what the Senate does. They normally take the wimpy road too. So we’ll see what happens.
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p>But those 108, after having their arms twisted are going to get a lot more heat from business groups, local newspapers, emails, phone calls, radio ads, and this will go on for 3-4 months. Also, expect people to challenge them for their seats.
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p>So in closing, to those 108. Enjoy the multiple media campaigns against this vote. (“Tell Rep XXX to stand with the Governor….”)
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p>Governor, you did the right thing.
The “hold your breath and stamp your feet movement”? As a general rule, people dislike the Legislature, and like their legislator. Republicans will target Democrats for doing anything, starting with respiration. That’s just the way it works in this state, no matter who you voted on a particular resolution.
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p>As for Deval, he’s drifting dangerously near the “I believed in all the right things, and the Lege wouldn’t let me do any of them” territory familiar to the last three governors of the Commonwealth.
Yes, it worked to Deleo’s advantage — in the House. But it worked to the Governor’s advantage with the voters. I think that will matter more in big picture. (Plus I’m not convinced this veto-proof majority will hold.)
Yes the veto override # will hold because the members are now recorded on the issue – it may not come to an override vote anyway, it is still a long way off to a final budget conference committee vote.
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p>The House and Senate members are NOT FEARFUL of the Governor – his approval rating is in the gutter, more people think Romney did a better job (yuck!) and a majority thinks its time for a new governor!!!!
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p>Now I do not agree with that – however he does not have much political capital to throw around.
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p>Its not like he is fighting against taxes – his argument is that he likes taxes and wants different kinds of taxes: on a kids candy bar, someone’s diet coke, another person’s six pack of PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) and anothers gas which she uses to drive to work every day and little league and soccer practice during the week.
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p>Come on now – that is not the best kind of argument for him to win!
The bill has a long way to go — through the Senate, then through reconciliation, back to the House and Senate again, and then to the Governor. Then, even when it goes to the Governor, he gets 10 days to sign it.
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p>There is a lot of time now for negotiation — or a lot of time for the Governor to peel off one more vote.
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p>This debate is a good thing. The Governor is right that we do need serious transportation reform, ethics reform, pension reform, and long-term transportation finance solutions. And the sales tax falls more heavily on low-income people then virtually any other tax.
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p>Meanwhile, the House is right that we need to stop many of the vicious cuts that will otherwise decimate valuable public services. I’m not sure if I believe that voting for one tax versus several really matters politically — besides, shouldn’t the lawmakers be more concerned about setting the best public policy?
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p>It’s good that Beacon Hill will be debating these issues with vigor.
and it is ridiculous to claim so.
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p>What evidence do you have that a single member voted for this bill because of the Governor’s letter? You have none. Not a single member voted for this to spite the Governor.
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p>In any case, the Governor’s move was smart politically. This move will make it much harder for a challenger to attack him for raising taxes when he runs for reelection.
It seems respectful to me and laying out his intentions and reasons. Do people prefer he had held his cards closer and then sprung a surprise veto after the fact? He was doing exactly what he should be as far as I’m concerned.
I think it’s reasonable to question the governor’s motive here. He picked a fight that he didn’t care about winning or losing, I think, because he just wanted to look like he was fighting. When was the last time he mounted a media blitz on a legislative vote, and on such short notice?
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p>But that said, I think he did the right thing. I’ll take inartful stuff for the right reason over cleverly executed stuff for the wrong reason any day.