Reynolds, Walker, Green, Belling, Sykes and the Automatic Gas Tax
by Bob Dohnal, Publisher of the Digest

November 29, 2005

During the spring Wisconsin state budget negotiations, the final result came down to one vote, that of State Senator Tom Reynolds from West Allis. Most state senators tossed in their vote early when they got bridges or other pork from the leadership, but Tom Reynolds wanted to see the GOP stand for something for once and actually eliminate some taxes. Reynolds chose to end the automatic gas tax increases.

Years ago during the Dreyfus administration, Lowell Jackson, Secretary of Transportation, in conjunction with the big donors in the road builders, was able to institute an automatic increase, adjusted for inflation every year, in the gas tax. The purpose of this tax, the building of a fine road system in Wisconsin is laudatory, but the automatic increases were very questionable policy. Many of us questioned this policy as we believed that the transportation fund would become a giant slush fund for politicans to raid. The Dreyfus people assured us that would not happen. They were wrong and we were right. The automatic tax, the envy of every special interest group in the state, has been in place since.

When Reynolds brought up the subject of the automatic gas, both Assembly Speaker John Gard and Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz promised that they would bring it up for a vote if Tom would not insist on it's inclusion in the budget. State Rep. Mark Gundrum was there and witnessed the promise. But they reneged. Since then Reynolds has been attempting to withdraw it from committee despite the almost unanimous opposition of the GOP and the road builders, including some strong supporters of Tom. This has led to some rather acrimonious discussions in the GOP caucus.

When Reynolds threatened to make a motion to withdraw the bill from committee the President of the State Senate Alan Lasee, threatened to adjourn the Senate. But, Reynolds has remained committed. A compromise has been reached whereby the bill to rescind the automatic gas tax will be sent to the Joint Finance committee for their discussion. That is where it lays.

For his efforts to help the businesses and taxpayers of the state Reynolds has been roundly condemned by other Republicans and many Democrats who have been on the receiving end of road builder contributions. Reynolds has also been the subject of a bunch of personal smears by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnists. Opponents of his stands on the minimum markup gasoline law and the automatic gas tax have stumbled over each other in their eagerness to find some obscure personal smear to leak to the gossip mongers in the Journal Sentinel. Luckily most conservatives realize that if the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel doesn't like you it must be good for them. The left wing does not like Reynolds because of his conservative stands and his Christian religion..

Enter the Wisconsin Conservative Digest. JJ Blonien, the editor, wrote an excellent article for widigest.com that was picked up as an op-ed column in the Wisconsin State Journal about the automatic gas tax. Blonien also put on the website a poll for everyone to vote for and against the automatic gas tax. 98 percent of them have expressed their lack of interest in continuing the automatic tax, a very significant vote. This has been widely circulated about the Capitol building. Other leaders have taken notice of this issue and to his credit, County Executive Scott Walker has come out with a four point program to control gas taxes and still build roads that benefit the auto drivers. His plan deserves wide discussion and Walker deserves our thanks for elevating the discussion. And on the November 28, Congressman Mark Green affirmed his support to end the automatic gas tax increase on Mark Belling's radio show.

Since then, radio talk show leaders, Belling and Charlie Sykes have zeroed in on the bill, Belling even going so far as asking people to go to widigest.com and vote on the tax. This has resulted in a very large vote in favor of elimination. Belling has gone as far as exposing the smears of Reynolds, Sykes has commented on the same. Reynolds has been widely vindicated of the smears of Spivak and Bice as it has been shown the perpetrators of the smear want to get Tom because of his stands against the oil industry and the road builders. (The result of the poll was 3835 (98 percent) in favor of eliminating the automatic tax increase and only 69 ( two percent) opposed.

Now the ball is in the court of the legislators. Taxpayers should call them and let them know what they think of the minimum markup law on gas and the automatic gas tax increases. At the same time they should praise the work of Reynolds and the program of gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker.

This can make a difference.