FISCAL LAPDOGGERY IN THE LAND OF LINCOLN

9/9/11

So Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (no relation), in a naked attempt to have the legislature come up with more money for him to spend on his various friends and constituencies, proposes closing seven mental health, disability, and juvenile justice facilities, thus giving 1,938 state workers their pink slips while disingenuously bleating that the closures are all the fault of the evil legislature that refuses to give him everything he wants, even when he roles around on the floor, stomps his feet, and holds his breath until he turns blue.

A legislature, and a state GOP, with even a modicum of courage, would have called the Governor’s bluff and said something like “Great, Governor. Good to see you doing something to get this budget under control before the Land of Lincoln goes the financial way of Bangladesh. We’ll see you those reductions and raise you another several hundred million dollars.”

But, of course, our lily-livered GOP did nothing of the sort. Whining that, of the seven facilities to be closed, six are in Republican districts, they argue AGAINST the spending cuts, putting the small government GOP in the curious position of opposing the admittedly disingenuous attempts at frugality by the biggest spending governor in our history.

I don’t know if closing these facilities was the best way to cut the budget. Further, I strongly suspect that the facilities slated for closure were selected for political, rather than humanitarian, or hard-headed budgetary, reasons; everything Governor Quinn does, he does for political reasons, making him not at all unique among most politicians, and certainly most politicians in Illinois. Finally, I know, or at least strongly suspect, that Governor Quinn (no relation) has no intention of really shutting these facilities down. But these are cuts to the budget that the Republicans and, not incidentally, Speaker Mike Madigan, profess to want so much to cut. So why not quickly ratify these closures while proposing more? Not only would the budget be cut but the Governor’s bluff would be called, putting him in a very uncomfortable position politically.

By whining about actual cuts proposed by a governor who sees expanding omniscient government to the point of omnipotence, the GOP in this case is adding even more credibility (as if more credibility were needed!) to the arguments of those of us who see the Republicans for the hypocritical frauds that they are, piously professing their opposition to the growth of government while always working to preserve and expand government spending and even government interference in people’s lives, when, on its face, such government involvement can line their pockets of those of the people who finance their phantasmic flights of fancy.