Holy cow—is the process working? Are Republican legislators realizing they could lose their seats if they don’t listen to the people and the law?
Rep. Rev. Scott Craig just walked into Senate Judiciary and asked the committee to table House Bill 1107, his bigoted, dangerous, and boycott-brewing “religious freedom” bill to let people discriminate against single parents, unmarried couples, homosexuals, transgender folks, and anyone else not conforming to Rev. Craig’s sexual mores. Senate Judiciary complied, and HB 1107 is mostly dead.
Withdrawing HB 1107 is Rep. Rev. Craig’s third major reversal this Session. Two weeks ago, Craig withdrew his anti-refugee HB 1158 after hearing from refugee resettlement experts who said his bill was unnecessary. This week, he provided one of the two crucial GOP flips that kept the Governor’s regressive sales tax for teacher pay alive.
Rep. Craig also saw the democratic and Christian light yesterday and voted against the payday lenders’ nasty trick bill HB 1161. Next thing you know, he’ll be trouping down to the Second Floor to encourage Governor Daugaard to open his heart to our transgender neighbors and veto HB 1008, the paranoid potty bill.
I don’t know what’s gotten into Rep. Rev. Craig—or what’s gotten out!—but whatever it is, Scott, keep listening to it!
I would remind all and sundry that it ain’t over until the last gavel drops.
Rep. Craig wagers that his District 33 voters won’t see him as a wobbly-legged marionette controlled by the governor’s office, but rather as just a plain old typical politician flip flopper with an elephant by his name.
Groucho Marx said, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
Maybe it’s OK when people change their minds because they grow to see things differently and as such need different actions or responses. I think that is what I would like my students to learn at least: change your mind when facts warrant change.
Rep. Craig’s making reasonable decisions after being more informed gives hope that we will see a change in this one-party, we-know-what’s-best-for-everyone, people-can’t-make-their-own-decisions legislature.
I just keep looking at this picture of Craig and those flip flops and like looking. :) That style would work in Minneapolis ;)
I was for it before I was against it. unbelievable this state gets these guys in the legislature can we do better,
I sincerely hope people in Rep. Rev. Scott Craig’s district remember how irresponsibly he acted this session and vote him out of office. Who knows what he’ll do next?
I have a feeling the governor’s office asked him to kill it. A guy like him doesn’t just “see the light” in a week.
We need to be observant and constantly question Craig and other legislators of unconstitutional, discriminatory legislation. If need be, constitutionally -upheld peaceful assembly, and the right to not vote for or do business with those who espouse such bills, are some of the many tools at our disposal. There’s also civil disobedience.
Tiffany, I’d love to know exactly what made Craig back away from yet another (as Linda reminds us) unconstitutional bill. He offered no illuminating specifics in his statement to the committee yesterday:
Coming months—like the war against transgender students and the SDHSAA, this battle continues. Craig isn’t surrendering, just retreating. But I really don’t know what new intent he expects us to discover. The intent of HB 1107 is perfectly clear: allow folks to shield bigotry with claims of religious freedom.