Thursday, January 13, 2005
Surplus Remarks
Shortly after Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly (D-Cambridge) launched what some called the 'opening shots' of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign Willard Mitt Romney's $150,000-a-year Loathsome Spokesman fired back, saying since 2002 the Commonwealth has 'made significant reforms in transportation, public construction and school building assistance.' (source: Boston Globe, 1/11/2004)
Which harkened back to those heady days when Romney was but a Fraud Candidate, criss-crossing Route 2, promising to clean up the mess in public construction and school building assistance.
Sure sure.
Hey, here's a cool idea. Let's go to our Wicked Big Media File and see how many times we can cross-reference Willard Mitt and the terms "public construction" or "school building assistance" during his 2002 campaign. Zounds! "School building assistance" came up once. In an Alex Beam column. About Warren Tolman. (source: Boston Globe, 9/12/2002) "Public construction" came up zero (0) times.
Glad to see that Team Reform's campaign themes are being well-respected.
As for Romney's successes in transportation, Team Reform is being sued for reneging on several transportation improvements promised as mitigation for Big Dig air pollution (source: Boston Herald, 1/12/2005), they've hiked MBTA fares to their highest levels ever, and they're cutting bus routes. And this is something they're claiming as a success?
Hey Tom Reilly, the next time you want to whack Willard Mitt in a political speech let Romney's mouthpiece have the podium instead.
Romney's $150,000-a-year Loathsome Spokesman also alleged that Willard Mitt should be rewarded with a second term because 'the state has moved from a $3 billion budget deficit to a $700 million budget surplus.' (source: Associated Press, 1/11/2005)
Really?
Willard Mitt became (fraud) Governor in January 2003. This was the middle of fiscal year 2003 - a.k.a.: the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, according to Angry Eric Kriss, Team Reform's Secretary of Administration and Finance.
The Commonwealth ended FY2003 with a $133 million dollar surplus. (source: Boston Globe, 7/8/2003) A surplus, Mr. Loathsome Spokesman.
One year later, the Commonwealth ended FY2004 with a $700 million surplus caused by a revenue "windfall" of increased tax revenues. (source: Boston Globe, 7/2/2004) This during the (ahem) worst economic crisis since the great depression. The FY04 "windfall" was so excessive that Romney used it as an excuse to renew his campaign call for a cut in the state's Income Tax. (Hmmm. Wonder if that 'initiative' will appear in Romney's FY2005 budget submission? The same one that will promise to increase local aid by 4.3 percent.)
Perhaps the $833 million budgetary surplus that the Commonwealth has realized since 2002 says less about Team Reform's fee-raising/management abilities and more about their inability to correctly forecast revenue.
Of course, one question remains unanswered that may set Tom Reilly apart from Willard Mitt. If elected, will you pay your spokesman $150,000-a-year?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Shortly after Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly (D-Cambridge) launched what some called the 'opening shots' of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign Willard Mitt Romney's $150,000-a-year Loathsome Spokesman fired back, saying since 2002 the Commonwealth has 'made significant reforms in transportation, public construction and school building assistance.' (source: Boston Globe, 1/11/2004)
Which harkened back to those heady days when Romney was but a Fraud Candidate, criss-crossing Route 2, promising to clean up the mess in public construction and school building assistance.
Sure sure.
Hey, here's a cool idea. Let's go to our Wicked Big Media File and see how many times we can cross-reference Willard Mitt and the terms "public construction" or "school building assistance" during his 2002 campaign. Zounds! "School building assistance" came up once. In an Alex Beam column. About Warren Tolman. (source: Boston Globe, 9/12/2002) "Public construction" came up zero (0) times.
Glad to see that Team Reform's campaign themes are being well-respected.
As for Romney's successes in transportation, Team Reform is being sued for reneging on several transportation improvements promised as mitigation for Big Dig air pollution (source: Boston Herald, 1/12/2005), they've hiked MBTA fares to their highest levels ever, and they're cutting bus routes. And this is something they're claiming as a success?
Hey Tom Reilly, the next time you want to whack Willard Mitt in a political speech let Romney's mouthpiece have the podium instead.
Romney's $150,000-a-year Loathsome Spokesman also alleged that Willard Mitt should be rewarded with a second term because 'the state has moved from a $3 billion budget deficit to a $700 million budget surplus.' (source: Associated Press, 1/11/2005)
Really?
Willard Mitt became (fraud) Governor in January 2003. This was the middle of fiscal year 2003 - a.k.a.: the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, according to Angry Eric Kriss, Team Reform's Secretary of Administration and Finance.
The Commonwealth ended FY2003 with a $133 million dollar surplus. (source: Boston Globe, 7/8/2003) A surplus, Mr. Loathsome Spokesman.
One year later, the Commonwealth ended FY2004 with a $700 million surplus caused by a revenue "windfall" of increased tax revenues. (source: Boston Globe, 7/2/2004) This during the (ahem) worst economic crisis since the great depression. The FY04 "windfall" was so excessive that Romney used it as an excuse to renew his campaign call for a cut in the state's Income Tax. (Hmmm. Wonder if that 'initiative' will appear in Romney's FY2005 budget submission? The same one that will promise to increase local aid by 4.3 percent.)
Perhaps the $833 million budgetary surplus that the Commonwealth has realized since 2002 says less about Team Reform's fee-raising/management abilities and more about their inability to correctly forecast revenue.
Of course, one question remains unanswered that may set Tom Reilly apart from Willard Mitt. If elected, will you pay your spokesman $150,000-a-year?
Inquiring minds want to know.
