It’s time to revisit SB255, Kevin Avard’s telecommunications surcharge. He sponsored it at the behest of Senator Twitley’s beloved far-left New Futures. It’s not dead. It had been in suspended animation since Regina tabled it on March 27, but it came out of hibernation on Monday afternoon in the Budget Committee of Conference, just a few minutes before adjourning for the day.
In my previous article, I discussed the possible backlash one might receive for denouncing a bad bill that’s being packaged as serving the greater good. There’s also gaslighting that’s in a defender’s playbook. We’ve seen this with housing bill madness. If you say you enjoy living in a 55+ community, Cornerstone might call you “anti-young family.” If you support keeping zoning, its abolitionists will call you anti-property rights or anti-liberty. If you want us to stay out of overseas wars, particularly in today’s Middle East, you might get accused of antisemitism.
Dear readers, I’m telling you to recognize what’s going on and reject it. Regina doubled down in committee by telling her peers how many users of the suicide hotline are veterans, not just any ordinary veterans, but “her fellow veterans.” I am NOT anti-veteran. I could easily ramble about veteran family members, veteran friends, veterans I’ve voted for, but let’s be clear that one is NOT to be called anti-veteran for rejecting new and/or more taxes. However, the committee is loaded with veterans whose buttons just got pressed by Regina. Senator Gray, Queen Sharon, Jess Edwards, and Chairman Weyler are the ones that immediately come to mind, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others. Maybe they could ask the VA for some money. Maybe not.
Kudos to Rep Erica Layon for calling a spade a spade. After she mentioned the “the new cell phone tax,” Regina informed the rest of the committee that it was the suicide hotline and went on to explain how it was funded. “Currently, it’s covered under ARPA funds, but those end at the end of the year,” she said before making her pitch involving veterans.
I found a nice little sound byte from A Christmas Story when Grover Dill says to Ralphie after watching him beat up the school bully, “I’m telling my dad.” What makes it special is threefold. My dad likes that movie as it’s a family favorite, he’s also a veteran, and he’s an accountant. I can’t wait to observe him shaking his head and pointing out that only an idiot would use one-time-only funds to fund something with ongoing operational expenses. Regina was a member of Senate Finance last term, so she should have had this item on her radar if she had such a passionate interest in it then as she does now.
She told the rest of the committee that “it’s well worth increasing the fee.” As Chau Kelley would say, “there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.” Regina has become a Democrat, and that’s certainly conduct unbecoming of a majority leader.
