Blagojevich's tax message: Vote Republican?

Daily Herald Chicago reporter Rob Olmstead covered Gov. Rod Blagojevich's news conference today and sent me a transcript of the governor's comments.

Reading it over, I was stunned by this passage:

“I think there’s great cause to be concerned. If Speaker Madigan and the House leadership pick up a veto-proof majority … then they’ll be in a position to easily override a veto.”

That sounds an awful lot like the Democratic governor is urging voters to shun Democrats this fall so his intraparty rival – Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan -- doesn’t get any stronger.

During Wednesday’s news conference, Blagojevich claimed Madigan is scheming to raise taxes soon. Madigan’s spokesman denies it.

Blagojevich has twice been elected on a vow to veto a state income or sales tax increase. Madigan’s Democrats already control the House, but not by a wide enough margin to ensure veto overrides.

Looks like the governor wants to keep it that way. Somehow I don’t see the GOP using the governor in this fall's elections, at least not as an ally.

What about the guy already calling for tax hikes?

But there’s also what the governor chose not to say Wednesday.

That alleged tax increase allegedly coming down the pike would only land on the governor’s desk if both the House AND Senate approve it. The Senate is also in Democratic hands and Democrats already have a veto-proof majority.

Senate President Emil Jones Jr., also a Chicago Democrat, has long been an advocate for higher taxes.

But the governor has yet to express “great concern” over Jones, the super-majority Senate Democrats and tax increases. That’s because Jones has been his political ally in the almost annual political/fiscal/ego battles with Madigan.

Amazing statement No. 2
Blagojevich was adamant that House Democrats are planning a tax increase.

“If they believe that the way to have balanced budget is to raise taxes on people, then they ought to be straight with the people, they ought to tell us now, they ought to do it before the election and not after the election. They shouldn’t do to the people of Illinois what the county board did to the people of Cook County: get elected to office and then sock it to the people with the largest sales tax increase in Illinois history.”

Blagojevich forgot this example: Run for governor on an anti-tax platform, get elected and then propose the biggest business tax increase in the state’s history.

If you don’t know who did that, Google “Illinois GRT”.