Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Your Full-Time Part-Time Legislature.

According to today's New Haven Register, tomorrow's scheduled special session of the Connecticut General Assembly may not be the last one. State Senator Toni Harp (D-New Haven) claims that they may take up items left off tomorrow's agenda during another special session.

"Special" sessions are special alright. Just like those olympics we all know. Democrats adjourned with a do nothing policy on the state budget while facing a deficit, and now there has been a scramble to add item after item after item to the scheduled special session which was initially intended to prevent a sunset of the real estate conveyance tax.

Now majority Democrats have agreed to include postponing the gross receipts tax increase on gasoline scheduled to take effect July 1st.

This new special session would address the minimum wage bill that Governor Rell rightly vetoed, ethics legislation including pension revocation for convicted corrupt officials, and health care.

The legislature was supposed to adjourn May 7th. And so it did, but more and more this "sine die" adjournment that is constitutionally mandated has become nothing more than a technicality. Last year, the legislature managed to go into session almost every month after its June adjournment for one thing or another.

There are a couple reasons for this. While incompetence and an inability to get the job done are certainly central to this due to the vacuum of intelligent leadership of legislative Democrats, these frequent special sessions are paving the way to a full-time legislature, something many Democrats desperately want.

Gone would be the citizen who embarks on a part-time avocation to improve their community and the state, while we usher in the full-time political class who have life-long political vocations. If you think your legislature is peopled with lower and lesser elements, it is a moon-cast shadow compared to the scum you will get should these positions go full-time. They will pay just enough to get by, but not enough to attract quality candidates.

We will be placed on a proverbial torture rack operated by ignoramuses who have nothing better or more productive to do than to constantly fiddle with the buttons, knobs and levers of government at their leisure.

3 comments:

mccommas said...

Wasn't it Mark Twain that said "No man's property is safe while the legislature is in session."?

Consent of the Governed said...

You mean they won't be canceling the special session because of the heatwave?

And you thought all those clowns were going to be knocking on doors this summer in order to get re-elected....public money in the new campaign finance scheme was supposed to free up these folks from the rigors of fundraising so they'd have time to go out and actually talk to "their peeps"

Not happenin'.... and they'll obviously find any excuse not to have to go talk to the electorate face to face.

The King said...

Perhaps we are blessed when this group of incompetents meet. Little good ever comes out of this anti-business, pro-tax crowd.

Now that Governor Jodi got handed an overridden veto, perhaps she can muster a little fight against the opposition party. It would be a nice change to be represented in some form or another.

What's outrageous is the lack of overall outrage over anything, including the gas tax.