Oops, I did It Again...

Deep Throat was right. As with most anything in life, all one needs to do to reveal what motivates a person’s actions is to follow the money.

For Republican State Senator Mary Lazich though:

Lazich voted for the budget as a member of the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee. But she said she now thinks state spending in the document is obscene and totally unacceptable.

her colleagues are struggling to follow her judgment. Speaker John Gard was right to confront Lazich. How could the vice-chairman:

It is an honor to serve on the Joint Finance Committee, considered to be the most powerful legislative committee in the country.

dedicate months and months, and possess every opportunity as a majority party member to express her disgust, fail in such spectacular fashion?

Lazich will not only fail to receive any credit among conservative voters for crashing the budget, but she will take heat from those same conservatives for voting on a budget that she admits not knowing the fiscal impact, at an hour when most working people are heading-off to work.

Lazich’s explanation:

Lang informed me that the Joint Finance Committee budget spends $88 million more than Governor Doyle’s budget, and spends $787 million beyond state growth. It is imperative to note that these figures were unavailable to members of the Joint Finance Committee several weeks ago when we voted at 6:15 in the morning on the budget.

Lazich has placed herself in an inescapable political box. One has to wonder if this is not the result of someone who has spent their entire adult life in government; from a city council, to a county board, to the state assembly, and now the state senate.

But back to the money; Majority Leader Dale Schultz will take Senator Lazich on a long walk around the Capitol Square, explain her misdeed and then, here it comes, money will be promised.

Lazich is either really good at this game, or really bad. A few months ago she rolled on colleague Scott Fitzgerald; said he had her vote for majority leader. She told the whole state he had her vote, but he didn’t. Schultz did, and he later saved her bacon with the JFC appointment after she resigned as assistant majority leader.

Lazich’s colleagues now will be forced to spend campaign resources to protect her incumbency. Lazich will give Schultz her vote; she owes him. But she will extract something in return, perhaps campaign assistance when the recall starts.

The good news is as of tomorrow, Republicans have achieved a spending freeze;

Although Friday is the first day of the next state budget, state government can continue to operate under current spending levels.