This is what happens when you replace a Republican with a Dem.

[johnaries]

It took four years after the mess that Repuke Sundquist made, but this is from Gov Bredesen's State of the State (TN) speech last night:
Tonight, for the fourth time, I will recommend a budget that is honestly balanced without gimmicks and that requires no new taxes.

The budget I am presenting totals $25.6 billion, a decline of 2.6% from last year. The state's contribution has grown by 3.4%, but federal funds have declined by 7% due primarily to the impact of Medicare Part D, the termination of Katrina support funds, and a smaller federal transportation appropriation than originally expected.....

....First of all, we have gotten our financial house in order. We've done this together, in a bipartisan way. And we've done it the right way; we didn't tell the taxpayers to give us more money, we changed the way we operate our government we learned to live within our means.

It's worked: Our rainy day fund is not empty as I once feared, but is at the highest level in our history and still growing. Maintaining strong reserves is an important principle of responsible fiscal management. Balancing a budget is not the end goal of government, but it is a discipline without which we are hobbled. In your family life, you may dream about doing wonderful things for your children, but if you don¿t have discipline, if your credit cards are maxed out and your bank account is overdrawn, you are unlikely to realize those dreams.....

much more at link. A wonderful speech. Go, Phil!
http://www.state.tn.us/governor/viewArticleContent.do?id=736&page=0

[aden_nak]

1. One meme we need to wreck is that Republicans are better with money.

I don't know if it comes from the fact that the Republican party has more support amongst the wealthy and the corperate community, or if it's just the result of some spectacular spin. . . but seriously. 1980-1992. . . deficit. 1993-2000. . . surplus. 2001-2006. . . deficit. Why the hell aren't the Democrats flogging the ever loving piss out of that concept? It's stump simple and sound bite friendly. And the counter argument is complicated and harder to follow.

[johnaries]

2. Yep, we've proved that wrong time and again.

Love that bumper sticker, BTW!

[woodsprite]

3. It depends - If that Dem is John Conyers, then some a$$ gets kicked! n/t