03.16.11
The Show
The “drama” over the last week or so in relation to the Rainy Day Fund (RDF) was what will now be referred to as The Show. Anyone who was willing to listen already knew that Gov. Rick Perry was going to acquiesce on using the RDF to cover the current budget deficit. State Sen. Steve Ogden said so over a week ago. What transpired between then and yesterday was The Show.
Perry and the wing nuts on the right, including the tea party, just needed enough political cover before they “officially” gave in. It should be completely expected that the same thing will happen this Summer, during a Special Session, when they agree to use the RDF for the coming biennium to finally pass a budget. Another round of will he or won’t he, with every group bowing down to Perry, imploring him to agree to spend the RDF, to keep from making heinous budgets cuts, will transpire. The Show must go on.
Once The Show is over, the RDF will be used. Fees and taxes, will be raised. Cuts will have been made too. But before this can be agreed upon, we must sit through The Show. As the saying goes, politics is just show business for ugly people. The GOP understands this, and knows that The Show is necessary. It will take time for Perry, Dewhurst, Straus, Ogden and Pitts, to run through the script, wear down enough new members, to get things done.
Political cover is what The Show is all about. What Ogden said in that recent talk show appearance likely still holds for the coming budget. All Perry and the wing nuts need is several months of Op-Eds, blog posts, TV and newspaper stories, etc… to highlight how bad things will be if a “cuts only” budget is passed. Then, and only then, will Perry and the wing nuts begrudgingly accept “reality” and do what they knew they were going to do months before.
Until then, enjoy The Show.
Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round Up « Doing My Part for the Left said,
March 21, 2011 at 6:04 am
[…] WCNews at Eye On Williamson makes clear that the recent “drama” surrounding whether to spend some of the Rainy Day Fund was done for political cover, better known as The Show. […]
Eye on Williamson » Texas Blog Round Up (March 21, 2011) said,
March 21, 2011 at 8:49 am
[…] WCNews at Eye On Williamson makes clear that the recent “drama” surrounding whether to spend some of the Rainy Day Fund was done for political cover, better known as The Show. […]
Eye on Williamson » House Appropriations passes budget - tea party blamed for cuts said,
March 23, 2011 at 11:48 am
[…] Today the House Appropriations Committee kicked their proposed budget out with only Republicans voting for it. Which is fitting since it’s only a bill a Republican would vote for. Appropriations Chair Rep. Jim Pitts is blaming the tea party for this budget. With the money spent on the current biennium from the Rainy Day Fund (RDF) it leaves the shortfall over the next biennium at $23 billion. Of course this is all part of The Show. […]
News Roundup for March 26, 2011 « TexasVox: The Voice of Public Citizen in Texas said,
March 26, 2011 at 10:53 am
[…] WCNews at Eye On Williamson makes clear that the recent “drama” surrounding whether to spend some of the Rainy Day Fund was done for political cover, better known as The Show. […]
Eye on Williamson » The Show and the cooling saucer said,
April 28, 2011 at 10:40 am
[…] budget is passed. The Senate will likely do it’s job, it will just take a while longer. The Show is, after all, about political cover. And we’re likely still months away from a budget […]
Eye on Williamson » Koch-baggers are wilting in the heat of session said,
May 19, 2011 at 11:40 am
[…] all seems ludicrous and as we’ve written about before, (see The Show), pointless. It’s pretty clear that whether it is done in a week, a month, or 18 months from […]