Livingston touts budget cuts, loses Porsche keys

(PNI) Not helping his case … Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, joined the budget battle this past week by proposing his version. He's suggesting 5 percent across-the-board cuts from House Speaker Andy Tobin's proposed budget.

"Your family has cut. So should we be different?" Livingston asked via Twitter.

He also wants to separate the Medicaid expansion vote from the budget debate. Livingston is a staunch opponent of expansion.

But he didn't help his argument when shortly after announcing his proposal, he began asking for help finding his lost Porsche keys.

The state Democratic Partytook to mocking him via Twitter.

With sense of humor still intact, Livingston sent a tweet Friday morning to Democrats thanking them for their concern for his lost keys and announcing they'd been found. Now if only he could find votes for his budget …

Into the wild blue yonder…It's the kind of drama that crops up when time gets short and vote counts get tight: Fire up the state plane and rush a lawmaker back to the Capitol.

The Governor's Office was reportedly ready to do that last week, when it looked as if Rep. Sally Gonzales, D-Tucson, couldn't get to Phoenix fast enough for a Medicaid vote. She has been at home, as her brother is gravely ill. But like a good Dem, she wants to vote for Medicaid expansion, and Gov.Jan Brewer was willing to provide quick transport, if needed. If not the state plane, perhaps the state helicopter could be deployed to fetch Gonzales.

We'll see if the rapid transport will be needed this week, when a vote is (again) expected, if Gonzales' family situation continues to keep her at home.

The feds made me do it! …Congressman Trent Franks, R-Ariz., hates the federal Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare." So much so that he's signed onto a bill to repeal the part of the act that allows Medicaid expansion.

But in the vein of "hate the sin, love the sinner," he is casting no aspersions on Brewer for pushing the state to expand its health-care program for the poor.

"I refuse to offer any criticism whatsoever toward Governor Brewer or other Arizona elected officials for advocating a different position on the expansion component after being forced into an impossible conundrum by a totally irresponsible Federal Government," Franks said in a statement.

Given some of the harsh words directed the governor's way in the Medicaid debate, is it too much to think some legislative conservatives might follow Franks' lead?

Quote/tweet of the week

"It's go time."

--Rep. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, on the coming week, which should feature critical Medicaid and budget votes.

Compiled by Republic reporters Mary Jo Pitzl and Alia Beard Rau. Get the latest at politics.azcentral.com.

Copyright 2013 The Arizona Republic|azcentral.com. All rights reserved.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Posted

View the original article here