The 61st state Legislature convenes today, and among the GOP’s goals is to live blog the session as it progresses. So far, the blog, Rotunda Report, has proven a good resource for information on Republican lawmakers, committee compositions, leadership, and even a tour of the Capitol. While I applaud the creation of the blog and its goals, in my limited experience I’ve observed many lawmakers begin the legislative session with high hopes of filing weekly columns for their hometown newspapers, blogging and other ways of communicating the issues at hand in the state house. But once the session gets rolling, many lawmakers find the last thing they have time for are such endeavors, and these good intentions often get sidelined to such responsibilities as communicating directly with constituents and the time-consuming business of crafting actual policy, then trying to pass it.
Still, I hope the Rotunda Report blog grows into a vibrant and informative forum for Republican politics. House Republican Leader Scott Sales’ initial post was certainly interesting:
We can’t talk about expectations for this session without talking about the last one. In 2007, we worked hard to pass a responsible budget. It was a hard session, and sometimes principled disagreements boiled over. But those principled disagreements happened for a reason.
We wanted the government to live within its means. We wanted to be responsible with the people’s money. We saw, in the Governor’s policies, a risk of irresponsibility and a risk to our state’s solid financial footing.
Today, revenue forecasts look worse and worse with each new development. The solid financial footing of our state is, indeed, at risk.
So now, we’re even more committed to living within our means. What do we expect this session? Simple: guard the people’s money fiercely. It does not belong to us, and it does not belong to the government. We’re stewards. We’re taking care of somebody else’s property. So this time, let’s do it right.