This could backfire…
There have also been repercussions within the House Republican caucus for those GOP members who voted to override. Rep. Rod Hamilton, R- Mountain Lake, voluntarily gave up his lead role on the agriculture committee. Rep. Bud Heidgerken, R-Freeport, lost his GOP lead spot on the K-12 finance committee. But Heidgerken said he didn’t get a choice.
“I was told that if I don’t fall in line, this is what is going to happen,” he said.
Minority Leader Marty Seifert of Marshall said the House GOP caucus will review leadership positions as well as the staff resources available to its members later this week.
Seifert insists the six lawmakers are still his friends, but he said they’ll all likely face tough challenges to their party endorsements for re-election.
I can also confirm that Rep. Tingelstad has given up her position as ranking Republican on the Capitol Investment Finance Division.
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This is the ugly part of politics. I wish the Republicans were not doing this.
It won’t make a conservative all of a sudden have liberal feelings, but it could definately make moderates take a look at the other side of the ticket to see if that candidate could represent their views just as effectively.
It also drives moderates off the ticket, which is bad in general. As much as the extremes are the one with the microphone, it is the moderates who make but the single largest voting bloc.
This goes to show the cracks in the MNGOP that have been building over the years. “You vote the way we tell you, or you’re history!”
Both Ron Carey and Marty Seifert are exacting revenge on the 6 House Republicans for going against MNGOP Party idealogy. That is nothing more than being bullies on their part.
This Bill was not an easy one to vote on. But to be punished for what they believed was the right thing to do will further damage the MNGOP more than it will help replacing those House members come November.
I disagree, I think the GOP caucus is well within their rights to change the lead assignments on committees. These leads are meant to be “leaders” of the caucus, and if they aren’t considered to be representing the caucus position, then they shouldn’t hold that role. Why would a caucus have representation by people who don’t agree with them?
PS- Zack, I think you mean Capital with an “A” rather than ‘O’. I know.. SO persnickety..
That’s going to be a small tent.
It’s a question of who they’re supposed to be representing on those committees, however. They’re not caucus representatives. They’re ostensibly representing the people of their district. As such, they shouldn’t be subject to what amounts to a byzantine public flogging and loss of clout — clout they’ve developed over the course of, in some cases, multiple years of loyal service to public and party.
It’ll be interesting to see if Kelliher can follow through on her vow to “not permit punishing dissident Republican members.” Margaret is quite the badass, after all.
HaHaHa… couldn’t happen to a better bunch of Rightwing Whackjobs… vote for your constituents wishes and the GOP hits you back. Shows exactly what to expect from the party of Senator Wide Stance Larry Craig. The GOP only cares about itself not the voters and this proves it.
The Override Six have been removed from their leadership positions within the House Republican Caucus.
What’ll be ugly is Sondra Erickson as minority lead on K-12 Finance. She makes Mike Huckabee look positively liberal.
I think it is funny that the worst thing the GOP could come up with to punish the “Six,” is to take away their lead minority status on committees. Which has always seemed oxymoranic too me, anyway.
It’s a question of who they’re supposed to be representing on those committees, however. They’re not caucus representatives. They’re ostensibly representing the people of their district. As such, they shouldn’t be subject to what amounts to a byzantine public flogging and loss of clout — clout they’ve developed over the course of, in some cases, multiple years of loyal service to public and party.
It’ll be interesting to see if Kelliher can follow through on her vow to “not permit punishing dissident Republican members.” Margaret is quite the badass, after all.
And I’ve got to agree with John. I think Sondra Erickson would waterboard high school malcontents if she could. God only knows what she’ll want to do with the funding equations in committee.
Examining funding equations wouldn’t be all bad.
They examine them every budgeting session. But the schools are still making up for the ground lost in the last recession. So too much tweaking in the wrong direction will lead to one hell of a bloodletting.
Put a pair of glasses on Marty Seifert and he looks like Karl Rove.
Rich,
Well put and I agree with you. I wish it were like that. But, unfortunately, it’s called politics for a reason. Being part of a caucus means you get certain benefits, which also means you are
beholden to them.
and PS, Margaret IS THE MOST badass ever. She’ll take care of those guys, come on over, in the DFL caucus, there’s room for everyone.
Let’s see how Margaret proposes to close the budget gap this year.
If she gets serious about wringing out efficiencies, I’ll gain a ton of respect for her.
If she falls back on the default of raising income taxes for those who already fund most of government’s activities, she’ll be just another liberal.
Actually, let’s see some of the Republicans propose how to close the budget gap this year. They’re the ones always talking about prioritizing, they just never say how.. So tell us all what we should cut from school and public safety budgets… any ideas? health care? Which parts?
Let’s use the dollars better.
I bet there would be close to $1 billion to wring out of the healthcare system alone by way of eliminating waste and fraud. Change laws and technology so you can actually detect fraudulent billing as it occurs in areas like home health. Establish parity with surrounding states on the one issue of Medicaid eligibility, so we are not supplying the healthcare for our neighbors’ castoffs. Do more preventative care through innovate private programs which are already wildly successful.
That is just a start.
The answer to every deficit doesn’t have to be “raise income taxes”.