House Republicans purge the infidels

A lot of DFLers were surprised that the six Republican state representatives who supported the transportation bill stuck with the coalition in overriding Gov. Pawlenty’s veto. But the roads need to be fixed and I suppose these six finally got sick of the “no new tax, unless it’s a fee” games played by Pawlenty and his legislative allies.

Well, now these six representatives are being stripped of their caucus positions, committee leadership spots and, in all likelihood, their Republican endorsements for re-election. (See MPR’s “Pawlenty, Republican leaders circle the wagons” and “Gas tax increase not playing well in Anoka“). I am not surprised that die-hard GOPers would be upset with this group breaking ranks, but I am surprised that they’re basically excommunicating the whole lot of them despite the Republicans’ status as an almost feckless minority in the House. If these six somewhat moderate Republicans were to switch parties or lose to more conservative opponents (who would be prime targets in the Fall), we would see a DFL legislature that can and would override Pawlenty all the time until he leaves office. I just don’t get it.

At this rate, the House Republican caucus of 2009 will include Rep. Marty Seifert, the Monopoly guy and Skeletor. That’s a pretty bad ass group, but they won’t be able to stop universal health care, a stronger education system or tax reform. And that’s good news for DFLers, independents and moderate Republicans. You know, most Minnesotans.

The folks at http://www.mnpublius.com/ have done a great job covering this topic with multiple posts in just the past day. They found some interesting quotes from the affected GOP reps.

Comments

  1. I made the Bob Dylan Fudge Bars from your recipe in today’s Duluth News Tribune. They were excellent! I even made homemade frosting for them. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will you be on the PBS cooking show?

    Keewatin reader

  2. I wasn’t aware the Republicans had a surplus of votes in the House to discard their members.

  3. The only way that the Republicans are going to go from here are up. So…keep dreaming.

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