Sunday, September 17, 2006
Cat Tax – Thirdly, Potential Political Implications
9/17/6 - See also Cat Tax – First, My Motivation for Looking at the Issue
and Cat Tax – Second, Speculations on Why It Has Been Proposed
I’ll grant there may be some cat owners who are can’t wait to write another check to county government.
Don’t include me.
It probably won’t be enough to get me to run for county board, but you never can tell what will get someone else to the tipping point between fuming at home and running for office.
Next time around, candidates won’t even have to run in a Republican primary.
In the 8th congressional district, it is almost a certainty that Moderate Party congressional candidate Bill Scheurer will be get 5% of the vote.
That means there could be a whole new party on the ballot in the fall of 2008.
“Moderate Party.” That has a nice neutral sound to it, doesn’t it?
In fact, there might be two new parties challengers could chose from.
The Green Party candidate for governor polled 6% this past week.
If enough people are fed up with both Rod Blagojevich and Judy Topinka (look for my ”Judy, Judy, Judy” piece, inspired by her television ad with the running dogs), Rich Whitney might get 5%, allowing people to run on the Green ticket for partisan offices anywhere in the state.
The McHenry County Defenders had a membership in the range of 500 the last time I looked. In some Republican primaries, its members have been quite active and successful in electing favorites.
And, there might be some bird lovers who don’t want wild cats out there stalking song birds.
The GOP, it should be noted, can’t even fill 200 precinct committeemen slots.
That’s not to underestimate the brand loyalty of to the Republican Party name, just something to chew on. It’s not exactly the sign of a vibrant party infrastructure.
And, I haven’t even mentioned how any opponent could get the names and addresses of those forced to register their cats and use them for a campaign mailing piece.
I can just envision the "Cat Tax" piece.
It could be added to the list of other taxes that incumbent county board members have voted for. Or supported publicly before taking office.
Not to mention the huge salary hike vote.
Yes, one could put together quite a mailing.
And not including farmers' cats among those who must get rabies shots makes little common sense. Aren’t outdoor cats the ones most likely to catch rabies?
I see no reason for a responsible cat owner (with an electronically tagged cat) to have to pay to create a larger bureaucracy in Woodstock...oops, Crystal Lake.
And, lest I forget. The dominant media in McHenry County also opposes the idea.
Or does he/she own a cat?
And the NW Herald editorial answers the question about rabies:
and Cat Tax – Second, Speculations on Why It Has Been Proposed
I’ll grant there may be some cat owners who are can’t wait to write another check to county government.
Don’t include me.
It probably won’t be enough to get me to run for county board, but you never can tell what will get someone else to the tipping point between fuming at home and running for office.
Next time around, candidates won’t even have to run in a Republican primary.
In the 8th congressional district, it is almost a certainty that Moderate Party congressional candidate Bill Scheurer will be get 5% of the vote.
That means there could be a whole new party on the ballot in the fall of 2008.
“Moderate Party.” That has a nice neutral sound to it, doesn’t it?
In fact, there might be two new parties challengers could chose from.
The Green Party candidate for governor polled 6% this past week.
If enough people are fed up with both Rod Blagojevich and Judy Topinka (look for my ”Judy, Judy, Judy” piece, inspired by her television ad with the running dogs), Rich Whitney might get 5%, allowing people to run on the Green ticket for partisan offices anywhere in the state.
The McHenry County Defenders had a membership in the range of 500 the last time I looked. In some Republican primaries, its members have been quite active and successful in electing favorites.
And, there might be some bird lovers who don’t want wild cats out there stalking song birds.
The GOP, it should be noted, can’t even fill 200 precinct committeemen slots.
That’s not to underestimate the brand loyalty of to the Republican Party name, just something to chew on. It’s not exactly the sign of a vibrant party infrastructure.
And, I haven’t even mentioned how any opponent could get the names and addresses of those forced to register their cats and use them for a campaign mailing piece.
I can just envision the "Cat Tax" piece.
It could be added to the list of other taxes that incumbent county board members have voted for. Or supported publicly before taking office.
Not to mention the huge salary hike vote.
Yes, one could put together quite a mailing.
And not including farmers' cats among those who must get rabies shots makes little common sense. Aren’t outdoor cats the ones most likely to catch rabies?
I see no reason for a responsible cat owner (with an electronically tagged cat) to have to pay to create a larger bureaucracy in Woodstock...oops, Crystal Lake.
And, lest I forget. The dominant media in McHenry County also opposes the idea.
Neither is needed. Both are government intrusions.Has a Libertarian taken control of a Northwest Herald editorial writer's mind?
Or does he/she own a cat?
And the NW Herald editorial answers the question about rabies:
Is rabies among cats a problem in Illinois? No. The last reported case was 10 years agoThe editorial’s final sentence:
Government should butt out.For more McHenry County Blog, click here.
Labels: Green Party, McHenry County Board, McHenry County Republican Cat Tax, Moderate Party
