"You Want REPRESENTATION With Those Taxes?"

Back in the good old days, taxpaying citizens who voted had influence.

But ever since Tony Earl and Henry Maier jammed MMSD down the throats of suburbanites, the 'take-your-money-without-a-thank-you' crowd has been growing.

And they are vultures of opportunity: when the (D) Party controls all the levers in Madistan, these folks crawl out from their caves to suck a little more blood, unelected, un-accountable...

The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority called Monday for the Legislature to turn the authority into a permanent agency that would oversee all public buses and commuter trains in a three-county region, funded by a sales tax of up to 0.5%.

...The Legislature created the current RTA to plan the KRM line and to recommend how public transit should be operated and funded in the three counties. At the same time, a Legislative Council study committee is discussing how similar authorities should be set up statewide, in light of a push for commuter rail in the Madison area and transit funding problems in the Fox Valley.

RTA Chairman Karl Ostby said he hoped Doyle would include the recommendations in his 2009-'11 state budget. Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said the governor supports the KRM and the idea of an RTA funded by a sales tax, but it was too early to comment on other details.

And if you think that "KRM" actually means just Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee, you're nuts.

By the way, a special Quisling-Medallion goes to:

State Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) said he believed Monday's vote sent a clearer message to the Legislature than did the referendum. Stone wrote the initial legislation creating the RTA

Camp-follower extraordinaire...