If a critic were to call the work of Arizona lawmakers an utter failure, it might be hard to argue with them.
A critic might say they were sent to the capitol to make the tough choices and balance the budget. And they have failed to do so.
A critic might say the decision about raising taxes is theirs, not one for a dog-and-pony voter referendum. And they have failed to act.
A critic might say a plan to cut income taxes three years from now is just a smokescreen designed to placate their conservative constituency and get them through the next election cycle.
A critic might say they've done most of the public's business in private.
A critic might say Republicans control both houses of the legislature and the governor's office and still can't get the job done.
A critic might say time has run out. We're now into overtime, and we still haven't satisfied the requirements of the state constitution.
But critics come in relatively small numbers. Their votes don't count any more than the rest of us.
And if we choose to ignore the critics, we cannot ignore the facts. Lawmakers and the governor are legally required to pass a balanced budget and they have not done so.
They are legally required to cut it to match revenue, or raise additional revenue to match the budget. They have not.
Instead, they have stalled, sued, postured and bickered within their own party. They have chosen to wash their hands of the toughest decisions in order to pass the baton back to the very people who called upon them to lead.
We don't need critics to remind us of what hasn't been done. The record speaks for itself.
