Just look at what some of our nation's Republican reformers have accomplished at the state level. In Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal took on his state's long history of corruption and enacted comprehensive ethics reform that restored integrity to state government--while at the same time closing a $341 million budget shortfall and giving $1.1 billion back to the hardworking taxpayers across his state over 5 years.
In Indiana, Governor Mitch Daniels inherited a 2-year deficit of $800 million, and left Indiana with a $500 million annual surplus and $2 billion in reserves, without raising taxes.
If we believe in local government, then the last thing we want to do is decimate the ability of local officials to effectively serve their citizens. We want local communities to keep our streets clean, keep our citizens safe, and give our children the best possible education.
Taking testimony from the public, opponents of Act 10 called a "citizen's filibuster." Using social media, the unions put out a call for people to come to the capitol and testify. They turned out more people than had ever been seen at a bill hearing.
The Democrats moved to a new hearing room and continued to hear "testimony" throughout the night and into the morning. And once the protesters had spent one night in the capitol, they figured they could do it again the next night, and the next. They never left. The occupation had begun.
On Feb. 16, more people showed up and joined the camp that was forming in the rotunda. The ranks of the occupiers grew with each passing day. While protesters chanted "Kill the bill!" outside my office, I remarked to reporters gathered inside, "Everyone has a right to be heard.
| |||
| Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform: | |||
|
Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015: GA:Chambliss(R) IA:Harkin(D) MI:Levin(D) MT:Baucus(D) NE:Johanns(R) OK:Coburn(R) SD:Johnson(D) WV:Rockefeller(D) Resigned from 113th House: AL-1:Jo Bonner(R) FL-19:Trey Radel(R) LA-5:Rod Alexander(R) MA-5:Ed Markey(D) MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R) NC-12:Melvin Watt(D) SC-1:Tim Scott(R) |
Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R) GA-1:Jack Kingston(R) GA-10:Paul Broun(R) GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R) HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D) IA-1:Bruce Braley(D) LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R) ME-2:Mike Michaud(D) MI-14:Gary Peters(D) MT-0:Steve Daines(R) OK-5:James Lankford(R) PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D) TX-36:Steve Stockman(R) WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) |
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R) AR-2:Tim Griffin(R) CA-11:George Miller(D) CA-25:Howard McKeon(R) CA-33:Henry Waxman(D) CA-45:John Campbell(R) IA-3:Tom Latham(R) MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R) NC-6:Howard Coble(R) NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D) NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R) NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D) NY-21:Bill Owens(D) PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R) UT-4:Jim Matheson(D) VA-8:Jim Moran(D) VA-10:Frank Wolf(R) | |
|
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!) | |||