Reject Republican's call for a standstill budget Just yesterday, and the day before yesterday, Governor Henry and House Speaker Hiett were assuring us that a budget agreement was near completion. Governor Henry even went on record saying that the budget was "99% complete." Today, that prediction seems to have been made thru rose colored glasses. Senate Democratic members are strongly hinting that they will shut the government down, rather than give taxpayers relief from taxes from the nearly one billion dollar surplus. Lt. Governor candidate State Sen. Cal Hobson, D-Lexington said regarding the impasse, It' a mystery to me." He later became a little more candid and suggested politics may be playing a role: This year's election is like the elephant in the living room or maybe it's a donkey, said Hobson. There's been a whole lot more campaigning than budget writing. One Senate Democratic members accused his across the aisle colleagues of causing anxiety among citizens dependent on state services. Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, D-Ardmore said, "Passing a standstill budget should be a last resort, to do so now would create unnecessary anxiety among Oklahomans who count on critical services in their everyday lives. We're still working, and we're not ready to throw up our hands." Is Senator Crutchfield suggesting that passing a temporary budget, to avoid disruption of state services, will cause more anxiety than having the government actually shut down on July 1st? If he is, it is a interesting way of analyzing the current budget impasse. Posted at 6/09/2006 09:21:00 AM