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STAR TRIBUNE: “6 GOP LEGISLATORS STRIPPED OF LEADERSHIP POSITIONS”
By Michael B. Brodkorb | February 26, 2008
"Less than 24 hours after six rogue Republican House members voted to override a veto of a $6.6 billion transportation bill, they were stripped of leadership positions, a swift – and unusual – recrimination that was intended to 'stitch together' a fractious House Republican caucus." Source: Star Tribune, February 26, 2008
Click here for the complete story.
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"Seifert said he would not be recruiting candidates to run against members of his own caucus but also said the rogue members should not expect help.
'There are a lot of members of my caucus who don't have confidence in following someone who wasn’t willing to follow me on the floor. It doesn’t mean that I’m taking an ax to them or anything of that sort,' Seifert said.
Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Ron Carey said the party will support the endorsed party candidate but expected contentious conventions in the House districts where the members strayed.
'These are people who are good Republicans who left the reservation on this issue. This was a critical watershed issue, this is the largest tax increase in the history of the State of Minnesota. To have Republicans not stand against the largest tax increase that’s really baffling. It should have been an easy vote for these Republicans to have taken.'" Source: Star Tribune, February 26, 2008
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Topics: Marty Seifert, Override Six | 11 Comments »
11 Responses to “STAR TRIBUNE: “6 GOP LEGISLATORS STRIPPED OF LEADERSHIP POSITIONS””
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February 26th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Our roads and bridges are rapidly declining, and the transit system in the metro reached its designed capacity decades ago. I applaud those who were willing to do the right thing and invest now in our infrastructure instead of waiting and paying billions and billions more later.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Anybody who supported spending $1 billion on the choo choo boondogle instead of fixing the bridge is a murderer IMHO, and not just because that money could have been used to repair the bridge, but because the train itself has also killed several people in accidents.
I see we’re going down the same road again with another $1 billion (at least) for the central corridor. How many falling bridges will it take before we quit wasting money on choo choos that nobody uses?
Drivers already flood the general fund with taxes and fees and have gotten very little in return for the billions they’ve already given. Maybe the MEA teachers and administators who received a big chunk of that cash should work on building roads during their summer break to even things back out?
February 26th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
The state takes in billions. If roads and bridges are really that important, then cut something that is less important. By claiming we need a tax hike, Dems are saying everything else in the budget is more important than roads and bridges.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
There is no room for a conscience in the party. You can’t have your own opinion. You vote the party line and that is it. You must be a zombie or else. Grab on to the elephant’s tail in front of you and keep on eye on that rear in front of you. It’s the party’s way or the highway. Your either with us or against us. Or else. This is how you lose seats, not gain seats.
Go Twins.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
When Republicans vote for what amounts to the largest tax increase in state history, something is really wrong. This is not what their constituents wanted. This is not what the people who got them elected sent them to do. In fact, it is the exact opposite.
I expect that none of these 6 will be re-endorsed or reelected, and they should not be.
To take an optomistic view, I see this as an opportunity to put more conservative candidates up for election from the Republican side. It’s time delegates see that incumbency isn’t everything. When an incumbent strays too far, we have to pull them out and replace them.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Why did all democrats vote for this bill. They were forced to or bought off. Either way they are the ones in lock step. There is no individuals in the democrat party. They are sheep.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:52 am
there is no such thing as “the democrat party,” koolaid drinkers.
February 27th, 2008 at 3:28 am
Kleindropper-there is no more MEA (Minnesota Education Association). It merged with the Minnesota Federation of Teachers (MFT). The new state organization is called Education Minnesota.
Insofar administrators belonging to Education Minnesota, I don’t think that there are any.
However, teachers might like to work building roads during the summer recess if they are not at a year round school.
I’m not sure what you meant by “to even things back out” however, it sounds as if you want teachers to voluntarily work building roads in the summer in Minnesota for free.
Furthermore, people who supported the light rail are murderers because money wasn’t spent to fix the I-35 bridge, and also because pedestrians, people on bicycles, people in cars, have hit on the tracks because they have been on the tracks at the same time that a light-rail train has been moving on the tracks.
So putting things together. Teachers are to work on building roads in Minnesota during the summer probably for free. In this, your humble opinion, things will even back out a bit because “they [teachers and administrators] got a big chunk of that cash.”
In the off-season road construction time, do you also think that regular road builders should be aides in the classroom for free?
February 27th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Fact 1: The light rail was built before the bridge collapsed
Fact 2: It took money to build the light rail
Fact 3: The 35W bridge collapsed.
Fact 4: The money spent on light rail could have been been spent on the bridge
Fact 5: The bridge collapse caused 13 deaths
Fact 6: So far, 5 people have been killed by the light rail.
Fact 7: The annual general fund budget is $17+ billion dollars.
Fact 8: The state education monopoly receives 50% of this annual budget. Transportation receives .7% of the general fund budget.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Teachers on road crews! I love it!!
Killer trains, more killer trains. Must thin the population.
17 billion for 5 million people. Not near enough! Rape wallets for roads.
More money for social programs that attract every thug, gangsta and illegal in the Midwest!
Tax Grandpa out of his car. Hey, he shouldn’t be driving anyway!
I love sarcasm.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I always find it puzzling when libs talk about the fact that republicans are evil because they (R’s) don’t want to pay their “fair share” of taxes and that every bad thing that happens under the sun is their fault (come on conspiracy theorists- Molnau is as responsible for 35W as Bush is for 9/11). Government = common good and therefore those opposed to TAXES are really against the common good. Republicans want children illiterate and hungry, senior citizens without healthcare, the families of illegals ripped to shreds through deportation, and bridges falling into the water. Right? And when these 6 caring individuals vote their conscience they are demonized by their party! The humanity!
What these 6 turncoats did was show a blatant disregard for the tenants of conservatism.
True Republicans view tax payer dollars as a limited resource that must be prioritized. Democrats think “tax all you want… they’ll make more”. This transportation bill is in essence ignoring the fact that infrastructure was NOT a priority for many years and rather than rearrange our priorities based on the very sad facts, we will simply raise taxes and CONTINUE in our disregard- to think voting for the bill was the “tough choice” is a cop-out. It just lets us avoid the issue. There will never, ever, ever, be enough tax money out there to satisfy the Dems.
People should have a say in their taxes and the reason that Republicans are perfectly justified in crying for the blood of the 6 is that they felt that the 7 county metro areas should not have their say in the form of referendum. If they had negotiated that point- stood up for the taxpayer they wouldn’t have to say “I voted for this bill because I think it is in the best interest of my constituents”- the constituents would have spoken through their vote. The reason they didn’t is because they knew it WOULDN’T PASS.
Republicans are not mad as hell at these 6 for “voting their conscience” we are mad because in doing so they abandoned the basic precepts of the party.
*sigh* sorry for the tirade. I am angry.