Posted: 02/22/10 11:58
by Dave Mindeman
Marty Seifert explains his GAMC position on Twitter:
seifertmn: Voting no on GAMC over-ride. DFL had chance to work w/Governor to dismantle program & find solution in conference committee. Veto was right.
Now, Seifert was a Republican who voted YES on the original GAMC bill. Emmer voted NO. When the Governor decided to veto the bill, the Republicans who voted YES are in strategic, appease the far right, CYA mode.
Seifert's original vote was the right one. This was not a large spending bill. It was a standalone temporary fix for a segment of the Minnesota population that really needs the help.
Yet in the extremist Republican bubble we are currently in, any spending...even needed spending is dumped. Nothing is worthy. Nothing is acceptable. It is ridiculous.
So, Republicans who did the right thing, now look for the excuse. Seifert has settled on the "there should have been a conference committee" tag line.
Are we really supposed to buy that? Did Seifert really expect a conference committee to change anything? There simply wasn't a lot of room for negotiating. Sure, the Governor would want more cutting -- but this bill already pared off as much as it dared. The hospital providers are taking a huge hit from their past level of reimbursement; yet, they support the bill because it is better than nothing.
Not good enough for Pawlenty of course, but should have been good enough for reasonable people.
Way to go Seifert. Try going into a general election explaining this flip-flop. You might have lost some delegates by sticking with your vote, but at least you could have claimed some integrity.
Now, you get neither.
