E.J. Dionne had a great column today that highlights the contrast between the Republican and Democratic approaches to balancing budgets. It’s the difference between what I call “performance governing” and “governors who perform.”
For many of the governors in the other party, it’s all about slash and burn. You get a lot of bombast and conflict but not a lot of real solutions at the end of day.
At the DGA, we have Democratic governors like Jerry Brown, Dan Malloy, Pat Quinn, Mark Dayton, and Neil Abercrombie. They may not get national headlines, but every day they show how it’s possible to balance budgets and move forward at the same time.
Let us know what you think. Follow @democraticgovs on Twitter for more “From the Chair’s Desk” posts.
Jobs. Opportunity. Now.,
Martin O’Malley
Chair, Democratic Governors Association
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No glory for governors trying to do the right fiscal thing
By E.J. Dionne Jr.
Thursday, March 3, 2011;
If you want to get national attention as a governor these days, don’t try to be innovative about solving the problems you were elected to deal with – in education, transportation and health care. No, if you want ink and television time, just cut and cut and cut some more.
Almost no one in the national media is noticing governors who say the reasonable thing: that state budget deficits, caused largely by drops in revenue in the economic downturn, can’t be solved by cuts or tax increases alone.
There is nothing courageous about an ideological governor hacking away at programs that partisans of his philosophy, including campaign contributors, want eliminated. That’s staying in your comfort zone.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/02/AR2011030205530.html
Tags: From the Chair's Desk
