BACK IN THE USSR
Senator Steve Kelley is big baby. Hey Stevie - if you can't take criticism, then get a new job.
Someone should remind Kelley that we don't live in Russia, but in America. In the land of the free and the home of the brave, we can criticize legislation and legislators without the fear of reprisal.
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Top senator demands apology for 'gutless' comment
A top state senator wants an apology or the resignation of the Department of Education's spokesman over a remark calling a group of lawmakers ''gutless'' for not saying how they'd pay for a proposed school spending plan.
DFL Sen. Steve Kelley, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said agency spokesman Bill Walsh's criticism of a plan announced Friday was ''inappropriate and unacceptable.''
Kelley raised his concerns in a Tuesday letter to Education Commissioner Alice Seagren. Kelley asked Seagren to repudiate the remark and have Walsh publicly apologize or step down.
Seagren said Wednesday she would meet with Kelley to personally clear things up. She said Walsh's comments were inappropriate; she declined to say whether he'll be punished or asked to make any formal apology, calling that an internal matter.
''This is a little bump in the road and I intend to take care of it,'' Seagren said
The uproar stems from a bipartisan bill that would direct $750 million more to public education - significantly more than Gov. Tim Pawlenty recommended. But sponsors, including Kelley, sidestepped questions about where the money would come from.
Walsh told reporters, including one from The Associated Press: ''It's gutless to say 'We want more money for education and this much more' without saying how to pay for it.''
''Mr. Walsh could certainly have clarified that the proposal was inconsistent with the governor's priorities without belittling the elected officials who support this legislation,'' Kelley wrote.
In his letter, Kelley said that Walsh's remark could damage a relationship between the department and the Legislature. That relationship was in tatters last year when the Senate fired Seagren's predecessor, Cheri Pierson Yecke, on a party-line vote. Source: Associated Press, March 2, 2005
Someone should remind Kelley that we don't live in Russia, but in America. In the land of the free and the home of the brave, we can criticize legislation and legislators without the fear of reprisal.
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Top senator demands apology for 'gutless' comment
A top state senator wants an apology or the resignation of the Department of Education's spokesman over a remark calling a group of lawmakers ''gutless'' for not saying how they'd pay for a proposed school spending plan.
DFL Sen. Steve Kelley, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said agency spokesman Bill Walsh's criticism of a plan announced Friday was ''inappropriate and unacceptable.''
Kelley raised his concerns in a Tuesday letter to Education Commissioner Alice Seagren. Kelley asked Seagren to repudiate the remark and have Walsh publicly apologize or step down.
Seagren said Wednesday she would meet with Kelley to personally clear things up. She said Walsh's comments were inappropriate; she declined to say whether he'll be punished or asked to make any formal apology, calling that an internal matter.
''This is a little bump in the road and I intend to take care of it,'' Seagren said
The uproar stems from a bipartisan bill that would direct $750 million more to public education - significantly more than Gov. Tim Pawlenty recommended. But sponsors, including Kelley, sidestepped questions about where the money would come from.
Walsh told reporters, including one from The Associated Press: ''It's gutless to say 'We want more money for education and this much more' without saying how to pay for it.''
''Mr. Walsh could certainly have clarified that the proposal was inconsistent with the governor's priorities without belittling the elected officials who support this legislation,'' Kelley wrote.
In his letter, Kelley said that Walsh's remark could damage a relationship between the department and the Legislature. That relationship was in tatters last year when the Senate fired Seagren's predecessor, Cheri Pierson Yecke, on a party-line vote. Source: Associated Press, March 2, 2005
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