Promises, promises: Ernie Leidiger exchanges votes for next year's conservative slant

How did Kurt Zellers' whip his caucus to vote for a $35.6 billion budget, despite many members' pledge to spend "not a penny" more than $34 billion?

By promising guys like Ernie Leidiger--best known outside his district as the guy who invited homophobic preacher Bradlee Dean to pray in the Minnesota House of Representatives--that a "conservative slant" will rule next year's legislative agenda.

The Chaska Herald reports in Legislators share viewpoints on 2011 marathon:

Since the end of the state shutdown, [freshman Representative Ernie] Leidiger has come under more scrutiny for telling his constituents that he would vote against the budget bills because they would increase state spending.

However, the vote tally shows Leidiger voted for the bills, with the exception of the bonding bill.

In the aftermath, Leidiger claimed in an e-mail to the newspaper that he and 15 other conservative GOP House members indeed planned to vote against the budget bills until Republican leaders promised them a conservative slant on next session's agenda.

"The conservatives stayed together and were assured conservative policies would prevail in the future," he said.

The Legislature is adjourned until Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012.

Sean Olsen at the Brick City Blog has more on Leidiger's vote in Ernie Leidiger learns to love the K-12 school shift.

Olsen also checks out that vote against the bonding bill in Ernie Leidiger votes against creating 15,000 jobs:

Leidiger was one of only 16 representatives to vote no on the bonding bill.  Most Republicans, including Chaska’s Rep. Joe Hoppe and Chanhassen’s Sen. Julianne Ortman, recognized the value of this bill and voted in favor of it.

Undoubtedly, Leidiger will cite the issuance of more debt as his rationale for opposing the bill.  But Leidiger — on the same day — voted for over $1.3 billion in debt that is really harmful to Minnesota’s economy.  Leidiger voted for a $700 million shift in K-12 education payments that puts the state IOU to its schools at $2 billion.  Leidiger also voted to issue bonds against future tobacco settlement revenues.  To raise $640 billion in revenue for this biennium, the state is going to have to spend between $800 and $900 million dollars.   These moves are debt of the worst kind — they hurt our schools and create holes in the state budget in future years without providing any of the long-term benefit of the infrastructure projects.

Photo: Ernie.

Comments

[Dog Gone]

There was a conservative slant on the 2011 agenda session; and that didn't work out for Leidiger and his party, not here, not anywhere.

See:http://penigma.blogspot.com/2011/07/go-jo-left-right-by-numbers-recent-poll.html

[Brickcity.wordpress.com]

I know there are a lot of Carver County folks -- Republicans included -- who are regretting their support of Mr. Leidiger last fall. One almost -- almost -- gets nostalgic for the antics of Paul Kohls, and his "sell the Metrodome for $1" and TABOR nonsense.

Thanks for the mention. --Sean