Wednesday, February 9, 2011

DEMOCRAT Governors Echo Christie

More and more DEMOCRAT governors from around the country are beginning to echo New Jersey's trailblazing Republican Governor Chris Christie.
Remember, Christie came into office little more than a year ago with a bold, new, no-nonsense message: cut runaway government spending, pull back, balance the budget, rein in bureaucratic growth and eliminate waste.
Now, look at what the others are saying:
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D – New York): “Cuomo said the years of routine, multibillion-dollar deficits and unsustainable spending are over. “New York state is functionally bankrupt,” he said in his budget presentation to lawmakers, urging them to resist pressure from lobbyists and special interests. “In a down economy, this is a death spiral.” … Cuomo proposes a 2.7 percent cut to the overall budget, including federal funds tied to state spending. That would be $3.7 billion less than the 2010-11 budget. … Besides addressing a $10 billion deficit projected for the coming fiscal year, the spending cuts would reduce huge projected deficits in future years. … Cuomo's spending plan presented Tuesday addresses the projected deficit for the coming fiscal year without new or higher taxes …” (Michael Gormley, “Cuomo's NY budget calls for spending cuts, layoffs,” The Associated Press, 2/2/2011)
Governor Jerry Brown (D – California): “But let’s not forget that Job Number 1 – make no mistake about it – is fixing our state budget and getting our spending in line with our revenue.” (Edmund G. Brown Jr State of the State Address, 1/31/2011)
Governor Martin O’Malley (D – Maryland): “Balancing budgets, cutting spending, reducing the size of government—all of these things are an important means to a much larger end.” (State of the State Governor Martin O’Malley, 2/3/2011)
Governor Jay Nixon (D – Missouri): “With the cuts included in my budget tonight, I will have reduced government spending by more than $1.8 billion since I took office. I'll have cut state payroll by over 3,300 positions. All across state government, a leaner workforce is doing more with less. These decisions are never easy, but they are necessary.” (Missouri State of the State Address 2011, 1/19/2011)
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D – West Virginia): “Christie's determination to rein in spending has made him a rising star among Republicans. …West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) struck a similar note in his recent State of the State speech, as he touted the state's ability to overcome the budget deficits of the past few years. His new budget proposal “contains no tax increases,” he said.” (Michael A. Fletcher, “Governors from both parties plan painful cuts amid budget crises across the U.S.,” Washington Post, 2/7/2011) Governor Dannel Malloy (D – Connecticut): “We must establish our means and live within them. … In the coming weeks and months, you will hear a lot about reducing the size of government, from the size of my office, to the number of state agencies. And not just cutting for cutting sake, but re-conceiving government so that better decisions are made and implemented faster. … To get there, together, is going to take courage, conviction, and shared sacrifice. … And I believe that in our hearts, we are willing to make sacrifices if, if, we understand where we’re going, what’s at stake, and that shared sacrifice is really shared — that there’s a fairness factor. But this is not sacrifice without payoff. This is sacrifice with a purpose.” (Connecticut State of the State Address 2011, 1/5/2011)

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