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Bartling, Hawley: Exclusion of Democrats Hurts Open Democracy

When I asked Rep. Julie Bartling (D-21/Gregory) what disappointed her most about the 2015 Legislative Session, she cited the Republican leadership’s ongoing exclusion of the Democratic minority from meaningful dialogue:

Rep. Spence Hawley (D-7/Brookings) agrees that the GOP’s exclusive partisanship hurts all South Dakotans by allowing too many decisions to happen behind closed doors:

Of course, Republicans aren’t going to up and invite us Democrats into the process on their own just for niceys. Their corrupt, complacent, calcified cronyism (a description that could only come from the Constant Commoner) forbids such action. The only way to get the Republicans to open that door and involve Democrats and all citizens will be to kick some of those Republicans out and replace them with more Democrats. Fill every slot, and run to win!

9 Comments

  1. Deb Geelsdottir 2015-03-17 20:03

    They made excellent points. I especially liked Rep. Bartling’s comment that she represents SD citizens too, indicating that she believes the people of Gregory deserve to be considered as well as the citizens of any Republican district.

    That reminded me of the opposite, when creepy little GWB was president. His supporters, maybe it was Rove, said he only needed to be concerned with those who voted for him. He was the president of the conservatives of America.

    Apparently SD’s Republican majority believes they are the legislature of SD’s conservatives. Oh, I should more accurately describe the Republicans in SD’s legislature as the representatives of ALEC. In fact, very few SDakotans have any real representation in the SD legislature.

  2. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-03-17 20:09

    When we Democrats retake the majority, I hope we can be as magnanimous and broad-visioned as Bartling and Hawley are asking the Republicans to be. Yes, elections matter, and winning power comes with perks. But as shown by their repeal of the Daschle Rule and their perversion of petition reform, Republicans are using their power for their party’s gain, and that’s not cool.

  3. leslie 2015-03-18 01:05

    really no different than the whole passel’s behavior with EB5, beginning to end (oh, it may not be over)

  4. Heckifino 2015-03-18 08:09

    Are these two speaking about Jolene’s Law Task Force SB71. If memory serves me correctly they were the two legislators who voted to continue the study of child sexual abuse in South Dakota.

  5. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-03-18 08:40

    Hawley and Bartling are speaking more broadly about the GOP leadership’s exclusion of the Dem caucus from decision-making, but the House State Affairs hearing on SB 71 would exemplify the problem they are talking about. The Senate had passed SB 71 unanimously, but the GOP caucus decided to kill the task force for likely political and possibly personal reasons.

    Your memory is functioning correctly: Hawley and Bartling cast the only two votes to save the task force in House State Affairs

  6. leslie 2015-03-20 20:07

    Tsitrian-consider covering Dem event w/Joe Lowe-CH at prarie edge 3/26?

  7. larry kurtz 2015-03-20 20:11

    omg, women have taken over Madville 2.0: is this the revolution?

  8. larry kurtz 2015-03-20 20:12

    prolly more like 3.something, tho, init?

  9. larry kurtz 2015-03-20 20:14

    cory, you going to the prairie edge summit?

Comments are closed.