TIM JAMES: Senate Democrats 2010 Agenda 'Manifesto for Failure'

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim James said in a statement Monday that the Senate Democrats have created a "manifesto for failure for the 2010 legislative session."

Last week Senate Democrats announced a 2010 agenda that includes removing the state sales tax on groceries, expanding unemployment benefits and investing $1 billion in road construction.

James said in his opinion the Senate Democrats 2010 agenda makes electing a conservative Republican majority in that body even more urgent.

“Disguised as a prescription for working families, leaders of the Alabama Senate’s majority want to mortgage our children’s future while turning over control of state government to Barack Obama. In short, the Senate Democrats’ prescription is bad medicine for the people of Alabama," he said. “Working families suffer when politicians hike income taxes, as Democrat leaders in the state Senate aim to do.

“The unemployment benefits the Senate Democrat leaders refer to in their plan were part of a Barack Obama bait-and-switch scheme that gave us federal dollars in return for a massive unfunded mandate. It puts a severe strain on the State of Alabama’s unemployment compensation fund while squeezing small businesses to pay higher unemployment insurance premiums.

“After years of corruption and scandal, the people of Alabama want transparency in their state government. Yet the Senate Democrats turn a blind eye. They, in essence, are mocking the law-abiding people of Alabama when they claim there is no outcry for open, honest and ethical state government in Alabama.

“It’s up to us, as conservative Republicans, to take the debate to these politicians and challenge them, face-to-face. They owe the people of this Great State an explanation why we need higher taxes, scandalous government as usual, and an unconditional surrender to Barack Obama.”

-- posted by Markeshia Ricks