GUAM Sen. Rory Respicio is proud to say that he didn’t vote for the GRT hike in the 27th Legislature and his proposal to address the deficit at the time was a 10 percent across the board pay cut. So in Senator Respicio’s mind, all positions in the government of Guam must be the same. Hard-to-fill positions, not-so-easy-to-fill positions and even entry-level positions at low wage levels cannot be all the same. This is a socialistic tendency that middle-class Democrats and business-minded Republicans will reject.
It is easy to say this is what I would have done but to actually do something is quite the opposite.
Many of Respicio’s colleagues laid down their seats because of the unpopular but “necessary evil” that transpired then. Maybe that’s why Sen. Bob Klitzkie said of Rory: “Who is Sen. Rory Respicio?” To mean, what are his philosophies and tendencies? Is Respicio really working on behalf of the people of Guam or is he laying the groundwork for another Gutierrez run in 2010?
In the current Guam Legislature, Respicio is targeting the deficit which most would applaud. The deficit has increased over the last 10 years or so. Now what is Rory’s solution to the deficit? Borrowing? Downsizing? Tax increase? Or is it a 10 percent pay cut across the board which would invariably cause Guam to lose even more professionals? This sounds like Hugo Chavez’s Venezuelan-style democracy where a lot of poor folks receive government assistance of some sort, “screw” the middle-class, and try to make friends with the elite or at least appear friendly.
While I am it, Sen. Tina Muna Barnes with her “political” delay measure on the Ordot closure leaves me thinking that Sunshine Democrats like her might be shown the door come Nov. 2008, even if I like all of them simply because they are Democrats. That means Democrats need to win not one more seat to capture the majority but 3 or 4 more since Republicans cannot really be counted on to strengthen the middle-class.

MATT PHILIPS
Mangilao, Guam