July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
What's the long term solution
Editorial
The biggest challenge isn’t how to get Indiana House Democrats back to the Statehouse.
It’s how to prevent having the minority skeddadle out of state become a matter of routine.
That’s what truly worries House Speaker Brian Bosma.
“It would be tragic if this became the ‘new normal,’” Bosma said this week.
Longtime House member Jeff Espich of Wells County — known for his willingness to deliver a partisan punch — takes it a step further. “If that becomes the norm,” he said, “they have destroyed government.”
By “they,” of course, he means Democratic leadership in the House.
By “government” he means the process of governing ourselves with democratically elected representatives.
That’s the issue — beyond Right to Work, school vouchers, and State Rep. Bill Davis’ H.B. 1216 — that has thoughtful members of both parties waking up late at night.
For his part, Speaker Bosma believes that if the standoff ends soon it’s possible that efforts at bipartisanship will prevail.
Bosma points to the fact that, in a rare move, he appointed minority members to key committee posts when he became speaker.
He notes that prior to the walkout there had been a large emphasis on bills sponsored jointly by Republicans and Democrats.
Espich, chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has read through Democratic proposed amendments to the GOP version of the budget and is willing to sign off on about a dozen of them.
But if the two parties are going to get past this, they’re going to have to behave like grownups.
The Democratic minority has made its point and won some significant concessions; but triumphalism won’t go down well.
Republicans — some so angry about the Urbana hiatus that they can’t see straight — are going to have to bite their tongues occasionally.
And, ultimately, once cooler heads have prevailed, there’s going to have to be a look at legislation to change the rules of the legislature.
From 1867 to the 1970s, Indiana had an “anti-bolting” law on the books. That’s going to have to get a second look. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
It’s how to prevent having the minority skeddadle out of state become a matter of routine.
That’s what truly worries House Speaker Brian Bosma.
“It would be tragic if this became the ‘new normal,’” Bosma said this week.
Longtime House member Jeff Espich of Wells County — known for his willingness to deliver a partisan punch — takes it a step further. “If that becomes the norm,” he said, “they have destroyed government.”
By “they,” of course, he means Democratic leadership in the House.
By “government” he means the process of governing ourselves with democratically elected representatives.
That’s the issue — beyond Right to Work, school vouchers, and State Rep. Bill Davis’ H.B. 1216 — that has thoughtful members of both parties waking up late at night.
For his part, Speaker Bosma believes that if the standoff ends soon it’s possible that efforts at bipartisanship will prevail.
Bosma points to the fact that, in a rare move, he appointed minority members to key committee posts when he became speaker.
He notes that prior to the walkout there had been a large emphasis on bills sponsored jointly by Republicans and Democrats.
Espich, chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has read through Democratic proposed amendments to the GOP version of the budget and is willing to sign off on about a dozen of them.
But if the two parties are going to get past this, they’re going to have to behave like grownups.
The Democratic minority has made its point and won some significant concessions; but triumphalism won’t go down well.
Republicans — some so angry about the Urbana hiatus that they can’t see straight — are going to have to bite their tongues occasionally.
And, ultimately, once cooler heads have prevailed, there’s going to have to be a look at legislation to change the rules of the legislature.
From 1867 to the 1970s, Indiana had an “anti-bolting” law on the books. That’s going to have to get a second look. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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