From the Houston Chronicle (emphasis added):
Q: How has public service changed over the past 30 years?We tend to agree, Senator. Those pesky constituents are the ones we really hate. If only they weren't bombarded by huge advertising campaigns and brainwashed to believe falsehoods and we able to hear thoughtful and truthful debate and solutions they could make more informed voting choices. Instead, we wind up with elected officials that scared the shit out of us at the thought of not voting for them.A: Well, it's become more difficult to serve as an elected official, I'll tell you that. I can't explain exactly why that is. There are just a lot of people out there that are hard to deal with.
Q: People?
A: Constituents.
Q: Are they demanding more of their public officials?
A: I'm finding those that get so entrenched in their ways. They're being led by somebody who is not showing any real common sense on what needs to be done in a community. You know who I'm talking about, the guy that's going to take my place. (Radio talk show host Dan Patrick is the Republican nominee and clear favorite for District 7). They say cut the taxes and don't say what services yo''re going to cut to go with it. You can't have everything. And the thing that bothers me more than anything is that much of the time the system that gets cut is funding for infrastructure --water systems, sewer systems, highways. The infrastructure plus education is what gives us the economy we've got.
Wah Wah Wah, gee these grapes suddenly taste sour. Cry me a river, Senator Lindsay cause I've cried a river over all you bitches.
Oh my god, am I agreeing with Wonk?
First, I don't think it's a case of sour grapes, since Lindsay was not defeated but decided to retire and leave on his own terms.
Second, he's right. The R's are being dominated by a bunch of right wing idealogues who demand tax cuts without a thought as to what that means in terms of the governmental services they demand -- roads, bridges, traffic control, water, sewer, flood control, disaster response, courts, law enforcement., children's protective services Not to mention parks, education, environmental protection, and health care for the needy, which many of those R's apparently (and unfortunately) could care less about.
I am as upset about my property taxes as the next guy, but I also realize that government must provide basic services that are necessarily funded by my taxes. If there is waste and bureaucratic bloat, root it out. If there are programs you don't think should be funded, debate it. But what few of the Patrick crowd seem to understand is there are legitimate governmental functions that must be funded. Lindsay did understand that. I second his frustration.
/End rant.
I'm a little giggly at PinkDome's grumbliness and gruffitude today. Makes for great posts...
Pinkdome--you must have not gotten any last night, because I think you missed the point of the senator's comments.
Love Lindsay's pot calling the kettle black. Did he forget all the Houston horse racetrack handout legislation he pushed thru? I guess he prefers dealing with lobbyists - instead of those wretched voters.
Usually a pretty good sign that it is time to go when you identify the people who elected you as the biggest problem.
When Lindsay entered politics, it was a very different Republican party. The party was more pragmatic and the nuts were kept in check after their temporary takeover in 1964. In Texas, it was less about ideology (pretty much everyone was conservative) than about breaking up the good ole boy system that ran local government and offering an alternative to those who were unhappy with it. That was Lindsay's party and after 30 years of trying to get roads built, budgets balanced, court mandates met, etc., he has less tolerance for the idealogues than ever. He was never their darling anyway--his voting record was usually the most liberal of all the Senate Republicans-- and they likely would have knocked him out had he run again. His district has become especially extreme and probably buys into the "all government is evil" concept more than any other.
I like the beginning of the article--where he talks about how he could have done a lot more for the State, if only he'd been given a leadership position. Umm... Yeah. Maybe if you wanted a leadership position, you might have made an effort not to sleep through session. Or at least have the respect for the office not to do it on camera.
I thinks he's talking about the people who support Captaink Dick face. Not all constitutents of SD 7