"Divisiveness destroys success, and too much is at stake for us to surrender to the pitfalls of partisanship. There is no glory in gridlock, but the rewards of working together - of joining forces on behalf of our fellow Oklahomans - are truly without limit." Gov. Brad Henry - 2007 State of the State Address It seems Governor Henry's Democratic colleagues in the legislature heeded his words until he bribed them Monday with a $100,000 fundraiser. Henry today used his line-item veto to strike down $6.8 billion in new state spending, saying legislative leaders employed a "flawed, closed-door process to craft a flawed budget product that did not represent the best interests of Oklahoma taxpayers." The governor is employing curious logic to say a bi-partisan budget agreement doesn't "represent the best interests of the people," especially in light of the current political climate where bi-partisanship is as rare as bull with udders! One would think 149 legislators would have some idea of what is in the best interest of the people. The governor's chutzpah continues: “I do not use my veto authority lightly...I had no other choice but to strike down the spending bill.” Rep. Trebor Worthen (R-Oklahoma City), asked House Democrats yesterday to sign pledge cards committing their votes to uphold the agreement. "House Democrats have formed their own gridlock gang to keep this responsible state budget package from becoming law. They need to quit playing games and throwing temper tantrums and commit to uphold this agreement. The majority of House Democrats voted for this measure when it originally passed the House last week. Then they stood behind the governor today at his press conference, as if to say that they're now against the agreement. The taxpayers of this state expect them to stand up for responsible government and not play partisan games." On Tuesday, the governor distributed his own pledge cards to House Democrats in an effort to gauge support for his efforts. Worthen said that by voting for HB 1234 originally, only to later threaten to help the governor veto it later, House Democrats are being dishonest and appear to just want to have the limelight thrust their way. "Instead of offering constructive criticisms and trying to help find solutions to budgetquestions, House Democrats are standing in the way of a responsible state budget, just because they don't feel like they had enough say in the process. The worst part of it is, they are preventing state government from meeting the April 1 Fund Education First deadline. When we passed this budget bill last week, we met the deadline, but by vetoing this measure now, the governor and his gridlock gang of House Democrats are holding up funding for teachers and education."

Labels: Brad Henry, Budget, OK Legislature, Rep. Trebor Worthen

Posted at 3/29/2007 10:38:00 AM