From The Hayride.
Friday’s fireworks on the Louisiana House floor after the body’s fiscal hawks introduced an amendment to replace the use of one-time money with a menu of budget cuts the Jindal administration could choose from in order to close a $267 million hole made for some extremely interesting viewing, and we’re offering up some highlights from the debate here.
If you watch nothing else from the action, though, the speech of House Appropriations chairman Jim Fannin (D-Jonesboro) deserves a look – because Fannin’s appearance on the floor set the stage for everything else that went on Friday.
In the speech, Fannin ripped into the fiscal conservatives seeking to present those optional cuts – he said doing so was an abandonment of the House’s authority, and that abandonment would result in people back home in each member’s districts being hurt. That result, he said, would cause those members to lose re-election.
05/14/2012 at 6:27 am |
Voting for Jindal’s education reform is going to cause Mr. Fannin to lose his next election…………so he really shouldn’t be getting upset because his colleagues are not supporting what he wants. The way I see it is that they all need to be replaced anyway with somewhat sane p eople. If there are any sane ones left to run, that is!!
05/14/2012 at 7:20 am |
Time for new blood. We’re supposed to have term limits so ordinary citizens have a chance to participate in government. Louisiana has become a Republican state (despite having Jindal as governor), and it’s time for Democrats like Fannin to return home.
05/14/2012 at 6:56 pm |
Wait a minute, Jindal is Republican. It is time for new Democrats to step up and run for office.
05/15/2012 at 5:17 am |
Democraps you mean. This is so typical. Do what you think will get you reelected and not what you feel is right.
05/15/2012 at 6:30 am |
Whoa, hold on there! Just because Jindal calls himself a Republican doesn’t mean that he actually is one. Elizabeth Warren calls herself Indian, but she isn’t one. Jindal is only concerned with promoting the Jindal brand. In that respect, he has far more in common with Democrats than Republicans.
05/14/2012 at 8:07 am |
I was thinking this is Fannin’s last term due to term limitations …
05/14/2012 at 1:06 pm |
I also think Fannin is “termed out”. I was so pleased for the ones who put Fannin in his place and refused to take his bullying tactics.
Thankfully we have some members of the legislature who are fiscal conservatives, but the margin of passage was way too close; we need more who understand we can’t always have one time funds to raid and government MUST operate with less money. We are taxed too much.
05/14/2012 at 1:12 pm |
If they spend money to rebuild the old Texaco building in New Orleans in “low income senior apartments:, at a cost to taxpayers of $327 per square foot, they ought to all be run off. This price per square foot will buy the best homes in the area. Imagine: the State spends more than $300,000 each to set up old people to live like paupers. Amazing…
05/14/2012 at 6:58 pm |
I hope you realize that our elderly must be cared for and some day that elderly person will be you gothicarc
05/15/2012 at 6:35 am |
Anonymous, you are an idiot. Read GothicArc’s post carefully before making inane comments. He is pointing out that the state is spending exorbitant amounts of money so the elderly can live like paupers in facilities that meet minimum standards as specified by the state. For less money, the state could buy each one a fine home and set them up to live like the one percent. This is government waste personified. These elderly could be much better cared for for much less money than what is proposed in this idiotic scheme.
05/15/2012 at 11:20 am |
It’s laughable that Fannin criticizes other members for “playing games.” This is a man who has turned his back on his home in favor of making Baton Rouge his own personal playground.
Of the many games Fannin has played, several come to mind.
He accepted $2,500 from the governor’s re-election campaign. And here we thought prostitution was illegal.
He flirted with the idea of running for speaker, then backed out when he was promised his committee chair again. Who know’s what else he had to promise.
Also, let’s not forget the irony that the state can’t give money to Jonesboro because people like Fannin, the man in charge of the state’s money and the town’s representative, are protecting the mayor who’s gotten the town in the shape that it’s in.
Obviously Fannin has done such a poor job as appropriations chair that the governor’s office has been able to high-jack the budget. He’s so bad at his job, the House as a body is willing to give up their greatest power just to get it away from him.
While the long list of Fannin’s ineptitude continues to grow, in this issue Fannin may be correct. The governor has far too much power in Louisiana as it is. Now we are handing him the budget.
When you look back and wonder when Louisiana fell completely into tyranny, remember that Jim Fannin’s inability to do his job lead to the legislature (the voice of the people) losing it’s budgeting power.
05/16/2012 at 6:30 am |
Maybe Fannin and Thompson can just switch seats. Fannie can be mayor and Leslie can be the Rep….the money can still flow!!!