Sparking Long Overdue Attention

"Out of control ... it's so outrageous." Sen. Jane Orie R-McCandless

"Unequivocally, I do not support the governor's plan. It's irresponsible." Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods

"The same old story from Gov. Rendell, higher taxes and higher spending" Rep. Daryl Metcalf, R-Cranberry

"There is a chart in my office that shows the word 'no' in 50 different languages, and we may have to use every variation before this budget process is over." Sen. Gib Armstrong, R-Lancaster Cnty

Finally, he must be thinking, that No Chart is reaping dividends! Hat tips for the Trib's Brad Bumsted and the P-G's Tom Barnes for all these, by the way. Anyway, you'd expect nothing less from the R's, but the D's are a pretty hard sell:

"The Governor's tax proposals give me great pause." Rep. Joshua Shapiro, D-Montgomery

"While legislators may not all agree on all the governor's solutions to all of the state's problems, his ideas will help spark long overdue bipartisan attention to issues we can no longer afford to ignore." Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Lackawana Cnty

TRANSLATION: the massive raft of tax increases is the opening bid in negotiations. This stays, that leaves, both sides go home to claim victory, we may actually get a bus or two.

ANALYSIS: We hate sounding like we just fell off the turnip truck, but we absolutely loathe when politicians spend a year in campaign mode, telling everybody who'll listen what they stand for -- and then weeks after their victory, they get all thunderstruck with inspiration, unveilling massive proposals that are (bad) news to everybody! We resented it with President Bush and Social Security, and we resent it with Governor Rendell and tax increases.

Lynn Swann was the political equivalent of Leaping Lanny Poffo; a charismatic punching bag we all knew never had a chance to take down the Macho Man. Why not campaign on your, you know, plans for the state, and go into this with a mandate?