Via the comments section, The understatement of the year (so far), by Minneapolis Adam Gillette, one of the legal duo who post at Gilette-Torvik Blog, maintained by two attorneys.
After reading the Bemidji Pioneer article, Gillette writes:
Since his op-ed, Senator Carlson changed his view of the bill. He recently told a group of Minnesota teachers that he pulled the bill. He also apologized for authoring the bill. I am not sure he should have apologized for that since the Pioneer’s article makes it seem like he did not, in fact, author the bill. How does the article do that? By presenting Senator Carlson’s admission that he didn't know what the bill did. Senator Carlson said “What I was told by the League of Minnesota Cities was not to worry about it as it’s not about fair pay for women. It’s about some onerous reporting problems and it costs a lot.” So, because his interest group said that the bill he wanted to repeal was not about pay equity (despite the name of the bill), Senator Carlson just went along with what he was told. It apparently did not occur to him that the cost in question was, you know, paying women as much as men. Nor did it occur to him to check.
Gillette's sharp reading of Carlson's statement might hold special interest for his constituents.
First, Carlson was a favorite of the area's Tea Party and spoke at their 2009 rally. The speech can be seen here. Given that one mantra of the Tea Party is that lawmakers should "read the bill," it might fairly be assumed that Tea Party activists might expect their legislators to write bills as well.
More importantly, Carlson ran as a candidate who would not be captive of special interests.
Several such appeals were used in his radio ads. A sample, from his campaign's media page:
Are you tired of the government stealing your paycheck? This is John Carlson, candidate for State Senate District 4. You've worked hard to provide good things for your family and future opportunities for your kids. These are things government should protect, not take away. I'm John Carlson and I'm asking for your help to restore responsible government. We need to trim the bureaucracy … lower taxes … and eliminate wasteful spending… you work hard and your tax dollars should work for you, not special interests.
Emphasis ended in both passages. Certainly Carlson, who took no money from special interests while campaigning, is a bargain for them.
I'll let readers consider whether unequal pay for equal work is a form of theft from a woman's pocketbook.
NOTE: The bill Carlson authored was intended to repeal a number of mandates required of local government. There's still a stand-alone bill to repeal PEA in the Senate, authored by Michael Jungbauer. Steve Drazkowski is the House author of both companion bills.
Photo: Real Republican of Genius Senator John Carlson, who apologized for the self-described "Stupid" bill he has said he withdrew (and I certainly anticipate him doing so).
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