You know, normally I'm quite pleased to watch Republicans pound on each other and demonstrate how poor they are at governing. But the current Virginia budget impasse is getting to the point where it's truly alarming. The latest development, courtesy of the Free-Lance Star, is this:
Senate budget negotiators abruptly ended budget talks yesterday, infuriated by the House negotiators' attempt to discuss transportation funding.[...]
The senators, who have said they will not discuss transportation until a budget deal is finalized--something they say is what the House asked them to do--were infuriated by the House's inclusion of transportation. They left their 10th-floor office and stormed down to the ninth-floor offices of the House, and told the surprised delegates there that they were going home until next week.
Great, huh? Well, it gets worse:
The dust-up virtually ends hopes that a tentative deal could be reached by early next week, in time for Gov. Tim Kaine to promise national bond rating agencies that the state will have a budget deal soon.And it also casts doubt on the chances that a budget deal can be reached before the current budget expires July 1.
Wonderful. A possible government shutdown and Virginia's AAA bond rating possibly in danger thanks to a Republican civil war over raising taxes to pay for Virginia's transportation needs? Can anyone please explain to me how this situation is ever going to be resolved, short of throwing all those bums out of there and replacing them with Warner/Kaine Democrats in 2007? Hey, now there's an idea! :)
Man, these anti-tax nuts are almost like fundie zealots in their hatred of taxes. This is why I just don't get Republicans.