Taxes On the Record

Well, well, well.

LANSING -- Republican state Sen. Tom George, a mild-mannered doctor who often gives upbeat talks on the Senate floor about healthy lifestyles or Michigan history, was uncharacteristically angry when he stood up to talk this week.

The target of his ire was the fact that a Democratic staff member, during a politically sensitive vote giving immediate effect to an expanded sales tax on services, had taken photos of the voting board even though it wasn't a recorded vote.

"It was a serious violation that can only be interpreted one way -- as an attempt to collect information which, when taken out of context, could be used in a political attack on any member of this chamber,'' the Texas Township lawmaker said this week.

The most important vote of the session wasn't a recorded vote?

Then there's this.

Days after voting for a tax increase to avert a state government shutdown, three Republican senators from southwestern Michigan are facing angry reaction from anti-tax activists and are now potential candidates for recall.

But state senators Ron Jelinek, Tom George and Patricia Birkholz also say they're getting a flurry of supportive calls and e-mails, as well as thanks from some fellow Republicans for helping to resolve the months-long budget crisis.

"I've had Republicans from both (the Senate and House) thank me, and these are people who voted 'no''' on the tax bills, said Jelinek, whose district includes Cass and Van Buren counties.

...

George, Kalamazoo County's senator, says he's getting more positive than negative response, both in terms of calls and e-mails to his office and in the reaction he heard Tuesday while visiting a Senior Expo in Kalamazoo.