Mackinac and the Budget

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I was up in Mackinac last weekend for the Republican Leadership Conference. Every Two years the Republicans take over the Island and turn it into a two day party. I love Mackinac Island and the weather was beautiful. I was able to connect with several people who I haven't seen in a long time. In fact, I couldn't walk more than 20 feet without stopping and talking to somebody on the street. It was nice to feel so popular. Although, I do notice a little disconnect between myself and the rank and file Republicans as I become less and less black and white in my political views.

I did get to meet Sen. McCain Friday night and then again on Saturday. He was very gracious but he looks really old in person. Ron Paul was also there and had a boisterous crowd of followers that chanted his name up and down the streets. It was so obnoxious. Effective but obnoxious. I didn't listen to Fred Thompson's speech or meet him but I heard he bombed big time. His awe shucks country lawyer persona is already wearing thin and he hasn't even been on the trail two months. I was disappointed that my candidate Mike Huckabee didn't make it. Apparently he missed his commercial flight and doesn't have enough money to charter a flight. The perils of running a low budget campaign I guess. In the end Mitt Romney won the straw poll which was expected but I didn't sense a lot of enthusiasm for him. The conventional wisdom says that he wins the Michigan primary but don't count out Giuliani yet especially if independents think the Democrat primary is already decided and come over and vote in the Republican primary.

Now I am back in Lansing and to be honest it is not pretty. In fact, it is the worst I have seen in my 9 years here. Last night the Senate was in until 1 a.m. with the anticipation of passing a budget which prevents the government from shutting down on Monday. Negotiations are still going on but so far no compromise has been reached. One side wants to cut the full 1.7 billion dollars out of the budget and the other side wants to raise the income tax to fill the hole. I suspect the solution is somewhere in between but the anti-tax people are extremely vocal and have several lawmakers scared of a recall effort.

Personally, if the state shuts down I won't get paid which sucks but I have a vacation planned starting next Friday anyways so I'll just start my vacation early. But there are a lot of other state employees who are depending on their paychecks and many state residents who are depending on government services that simply will not be available. Just wait until people realize the casinos are closed and they can't buy liquor or lottery tickets next week. Then the average citizen will feel the pain.

That's all for now. If I am laid off next week, I'll have plenty of time to post more. Until then.