So the Democrats line with the state's projected surplus is they support giving our money back “when we can afford to." If that line sounds disturbingly familiar, it’s probably because our Republican Lt. Governor, David Dewhurst, was singing that song back in 2007.

Conservatives wanted the '07 $14.3 billion surplus returned immediately to taxpayers. But not Mr. Dewhurst. He offered the contorted case that since he couldn’t be certain the economy would be strong, the state needed to keep the money. Yep, there’s always an excuse for not giving us our money back…

Now we're looking at a $10 to $15 billion surplus in 2009.

Mr. Dewhurst hasn’t yet said if he’ll side with conservatives seeking real tax relief and meaningful budget reform, or again stand with the tax-and-hoard-and-spend crowd.