State Treasurer Dan Schwartz and State Controller Ron Knecht have come under fire for proposing an alternative budget to that of Gov. Brian “America’s Worst Governor” Sandoval (R&R-Advertising) despite the fact that Sandoval himself, in a Reno Gazette-Journal story about his budget proposal and Billion Dollar Tax Hike shortly after this year’s State of the State address challenged dissenters to do just that.
“I have put my marker out there in terms of where I want the state to go and where we have to invest when it comes to k-through-12, higher education, health and human services and public safety,” Sandoval said during an interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal on Wednesday. “And for those who don’t want to do that, then they need to do the same thing.”
So Schwartz and Knecht called the Governor’s bluff and did exactly what the Governor’s challenged people to do…and suddenly Schwartz and Knecht are the bad guys?
Remember, this whole tax hike fiasco is Sandoval’s fault. He knew what he was going to do during the campaign. But he hid his plan from legislators and the people of Nevada and then sprung it on us almost three months after the election was over.
And if not for the distraction of Sandoval’s obscene Billion Dollar Tax Hike, Republicans in Carson City right now would pretty much all be rowing in the same direction. The only major schism in the GOP today is over the Governor’s absurd quest to break his promise about getting rid of the “sunsets” and trying to pass a new gross receipts tax every bit as harmful as the one voters rejected by 79% in November.
He’s not America’s Worst Governor for nuthin’!
THE DAILY GRUBER
Despite all the misleading propaganda and false arguments being put forward by Gov. Brian “America’s Worst Governor” Sandoval (R&R-Advertising) and his GOP enablers in the Nevada Legislature, the bottom line is this: The governor’s Billion Dollar Tax Hike is a clear and unambiguous violation of the official Nevada Republican Party Platform.
For those Republicans in Nevada who continue to defend the indefensible Billion Dollar Tax Hike for no reason other than the fact that Sandoval has “R” after his name, allow me to refresh your memories of what a real Republican in Nevada is supposed to stand for, as adopted by the elected delegates to the Nevada Republican convention…
“We strongly support those in public office who resist higher taxes and fees, and seek to reduce the size, cost and scope of government at all levels.
“Residents of the State of Nevada are not under-taxed and state government is not under-funded. Our current budget crisis is the result of years of overspending. Government cannot tax the state or the residents into prosperity.
“We support the current Nevada constitutional prohibition on personal income tax, and the same prohibition must continue to apply to business. Gross receipts taxes and selective taxes on specific businesses will ultimately drive business away from our state.”
The “bad” Republicans aren’t the ones publicly opposing and criticizing Sandoval’s Billion Dollar Tax Hike. The “bad” Republicans are the ones who are supporting it – either publicly or through their silence.
