I always used to worry that if someone was trying to pull a fast one on me, that they’d hide their intentions well enough that I might go along only to be burned later. I’ve found that I usually don’t have to worry about that, because given enough time most people just can’t resist telling everyone else how clever they are. Case in point: Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson.

At first he tried to say that the GlennTax (known to its three supporters as the GREAT Tax) wasn’t a power grab against local government.

Then he said, well maybe it’s just a little check.

Now, the cat is out of the bag, and even he isn’t trying to pretend like it isn’t what I and other people have been saying it is all along: an attempted coup against local governments.

Witness this quote from The Stache in this OnlineAthens forum (h/t Jmac):

These “government officials” simply want to keep their power to raise your taxes regardless of whether you can pay them rather than doing what is in the best interest of you, their constituents. The GREAT plan does not take away their taxing ability but rather takes away their ability to continue to raise taxes with no oversight. Even if the officials who raised taxes are voted out of office, those tax increases will never be reversed.

Local officials like to claim we are taking away local control. They think local control is allowing local governments, year after year, to raise taxes whether or not their constituents can afford it. It most certainly is not. There are few things more essential to the Republican philosophy than maintaining a government close to the people. Local officials simply are playing a word game. I think local control is letting citizens decide, through a vote, when the system needs to change and letting them decide each and every day at the cash register how much they pay in taxes.

The snark quotes surrounding “government officials” ought to tell you all you need to know about his view of local governments’ sovereignty, but he keeps going.

The plan “does not take away their taxing ability but rather takes away their ability to continue to raise taxes with no oversight.” I can’t even follow the “logic” here.

(Hey, look Glenn, I can use snark quotes too. See how I implied there that your explanation lacks any basis in logic without actually saying that by putting quotation marks around “logic”? I can keep going: “integrity” … “marital fidelity” … “sanity” … “residence in the district you were elected in” … “male genitalia” … “fresh breath”)

So… local governments are free to tax as long as the Legislature is in charge of approving, collecting, and redistributing those taxes to local governments. It’s just a little oversight, relax guy!

His attempt to redefine local control is a flimsy and idiotic rationalization. I mean, I guess if I were House Speaker I could say that people should be able to vote to install a monarchy, right? Oh, oops, that’s already what he’s trying to do, bad example. I know, let’s make a constitutional amendment outlawing constitutional amendments.

Moron.

Oh, and DuBose Porter, you’re a fucking wimp for not calling him out on this bullshit.