From left: Sens. Owen Hill, Ted Harvey, Vicki Marble, Greg Brophy, Kevin Lundberg, George Rivera, and Kent Lambert. Photo by Colorado Senate GOP
In a remarkable press conference at noon today in the Colorado Capitol press room, Republican Senators complained bitterly that many of their bills are being sent to the Senate State Affairs Committee, known as the "kill committee" for its longstanding role as the place majority leadership in both parties sends unwanted bills to die.
.@ColoSenGOP holds noon presser to say Dems are sending their bills to "kill" committee.Can you say majority? #coleg #copolitics
— Lynn Bartels (@lynn_bartels) January 15, 2014
What's remarkable about this press conference, especially coming on the heels of Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman's bizarre freak-out yesterday over what turned out to be absolutely nothing, is that Republicans are now complaining about one of the most routine practices in our legislature. Every majority in both the House and Senate regardless of party sends unfavored bills to the State Affairs committee. Sometimes a legislator does a really good job advocating, and they pass despite this–as they sometimes do in other committees. We've seen no evidence that any higher proportion of bills are being sent to "kill committee" this year than other years.
Either way, it does appear that this press conference to complain about a routine development is connected to Cadman's embarrassing tantrum yesterday. They are both petty, belligerent reactions, wholly out of proportion to actual events. Based on the response by even our fair-to-a-fault local political journalists, they are wildly overplaying their hand. Even relatively green reporters know better. If there is a strategy among Republicans to artificially ramp tensions to a fever pitch early in this year's session, they need to rethink it.
Because that only works if it's believable, folks.
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I'm SHOCKED!
Cons will shoe-horn anything they can into their tale of victimhood and Democratic over-reach. Facts simply do not matter, so long as the Bartels of the world will give it even the least bit of ink.
Yeah. I'm thinking that maybe if they'd introduce a decent bill once in a while, they'd have fewer going to State Affairs. So far all my rep has his name on are "gotcha" bills–designed to be killed.
Yup. In addition to "petty" and "belligerent," I would add cowardly, infantile, and amoral to the CO (and national) GOP's list of "virtues."
These craven, perennial/professional right-wing "victims" are, to lift a phrase from Sir Elton, too low for zero.
Personally, I've never understood the purpose of a "kill committee." Why shouldn't an education bill go to the Education Committee?
I would say this regardless of who is in charge today.
Look who was just talking about "naive".
Don't expect Mr. Paid Shill to be around to answer the questions raised by his drive-by.
It's probably more efficient to send a no-chance bill like the complete background check repeal to a "kill committee" than to waste the appropriate committee's valuable and limited time.
Sorry for the blatant violation of Godwins' law, but Brophy looks a lot like Hitler in that photo. You put a Charlie Chaplin stache on that upper lip and damn !
Other than that, our esteemed legislators can whine away about blowback as long as they want. It's only the taxpayers time and money.
So where did Speaker McNulty send the Civil Unions bill during the special session of 2012? State Affairs.
No matter who is in the majority (Republican or Democrat), it has been a regular practice to send bills strongly disliked by the majority to the State Affairs Committee.
What is quite distressing to me is that every single Republican senator sponsored SB094 to overturn universal background checks and to stick the taxpayer with the costs of those remaining. Have they no shame? Apparently, they just want criminals to be able to easily access firearms.
Apparently the common-sense rule of GIGO — Garbage In Garbage Out — is still the current practice, fortunately
Obviously, this happens each session. The only question is whether the media treats this as a big deal which they never did when the GOP was in charge.
I'm thinking that maybe our Republican legislators are only just now beginning to learn what an impatient, and attention demanding, bunch their new masters (and new BFFs) at RMGO are going to be . . .
If ever a photo begged for captioning…this one does…but…I just can't think of anything dumb enough.
I think you could fill a substantial book with the ridiculous notions of the group assembled in this photo.
"What do you mean Obama won Ohio?"
"As valedictorian of the 2013 graduating class of Koch Brothers U, it is my great pleasure this evening to introduce to you the runners up for the ALEC 'Can Do' Scholarship Award…"
Smart strategy on the part of the Repubs if you ask me. Write bills so bats–t crazy they go straight to State Affairs. Complain publicly to a complicit media that the majority won't even debate your bills and, QED, you've established the "tyranny of the majority" and the need to flip the Senate in the minds of the voting public.
Would have been much smarter, politically, for the Dems to take a few of those bills and poke holes in them, publicly–HOPEFULLY with complicity of the media– so as to establish the laughability of such measures. Waste of time? Yes, but smarter politics.
I dunno, Meiner. The CO GOP's pathetic crybaby routine has grown pretty threadbare and transparent since they've gone to that well SO many times now. I think even low-infos will smell this latest right-wing pantload for what it is.
You think more higly of low-infos than I do, I guess. Especially in an off-year.
All committee hearings are public. And the media does attend these hearings. Doubt the reported spin would have changed even if any of these silly "Statement" bills would have made it to 2nd reading
At least Ed Sealover did a pretty good job covering this, http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/capitol_business/2014/01/partisan-votes-kill-gop-bills—but.html?ana=e_den_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2014-01-16
See how many of your neighbors you have to ask before you get one who knows or cares about this stuff.
Not a bad idea, at all. Never underestimate the power of the rights' "Victimization Caucus".
I mean…just look at the faces of the group in the photo above.