Leo Rosten's definition of chutzpah lives and walks in the verdant fields of West Central Minnesota, leaping from the mouth of Prinsburg New Republican Tim Miller.
That old definitive anecdote--the man who murders his parents, then pleads for the mercy of the court because he's an orphan--haunts Tom Cherveny's story in the West Central Tribune, Miller to seek re-election to House 17A. Cherveny reports:
In his announcement, Miller said he has heard “loud and clear from the voters that they want someone who is willing to work with both sides and to stop the partisan bickering.”
He said he want voters to know he is there to serve them and not his own interests or those of special interests or the party. Miller added that he has been willing to make tough decisions on behalf of his constituents. . . .
In December 2018, Representative Miller and three other Republican lawmakers demonstrated that they couldn't even get along with their fellow partisans.
Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst reported in Renegade House members split from GOP caucus:
A quartet of rural members of the Minnesota House say they will split from fellow Republicans and form their own caucus to oppose the incoming DFL majority.
Oh, that sort non-partisan bickering. Bakst continued:
Reps. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa, Cal Bahr of East Bethel, Tim Miller of Prinsburg and Jeremy Munson of Lake Crystal notified House leaders Friday of their intentions.
In a message to his Republican colleagues Miller wrote, "I have come to the conclusion that the attitudes and actions by the HRC (House Republican Caucus) leader and some of his supporters have become too hostile toward me and has made it impossible to properly serve my District first and the State of Minnesota second. Those are my priorities."
"As we move into session my hope is that all of us Republicans will work together to defend the people in our districts from radical liberalism," Miller's message continued. "I for one will certainly not be working against any of you."
Of course, just as forming one's own caucus means working together as Republicans, branding the DFL as "radical liberalism" is so not partisan bickering.
In January, Peter Callaghan had more in MinnPost's Are the ‘New Republicans,’ the Capitol’s newest caucus, any different from the old Republicans? including Miller's fantasia on how Democrats wanted "to take your children." Totally not partisan bickering.
The editorial board of the West Central Tribune used the inner-party Republican-on-Republican bickering in Tim Miller should reconsider his caucus move. Go check out the details at the paper.
There's another House District 17A coverage in the same issue of the West Central Tribune. Cherveny reports in Appleton man seeking DFL nod to challenge Miller:
An Appleton man who wants to work for rural economic development is seeking the Democratic endorsement to challenge State Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, for the District 17A seat.
Benjamin Dolan, 32, is seeking the DFL endorsement in the district through electronic balloting in the coming week. . . .
The candidate said he feels that Miller holds ideals that aren’t representative of what’s needed in the district now and moving forward. He said the incumbent was among the only four House members to vote against the first aid package for the pandemic, which provided much-needed support for the district, said Dolan.
An overwhelming bipartisan vote for the bill? That's the sort of partisan bickering that puts Miller in the front ranks of leadership in the Minnesota House.
News reports of the vote characterized it as a respite from partisan bickering. At MPR, Bakst reported in Minnesota lawmakers send $330M COVID-19 bill to Walz:
House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Zimmerman, echoed Winkler’s sentiment about pushing toward a common goal even with great uncertainty ahead.
“Unlike the partisan bickering in Washington, we here in Minnesota are working together because that’s what we do,” he said, adding, “We will overcome the COVID-19 crisis.”
Over at MinnPost, Callaghan reported in Minnesota Legislature passes COVID-19 response bill:
Once the votes were completed, with the only no votes [in both chambers] coming from members of the House New Republican Caucus, the bill was signed by House and Senate presiding officers. Then lawmakers returned to their districts and homes.
Perhaps it's just bickering that those guys like. It certainly takes chutzpah for Miller to run as an opponent of partisan bickering.
MinnPost's Who’s running for the Minnesota Legislature in 2020 lists a second DFL candidate for House District 17A: Robert Wright. A resident of Hector, Wright's registered with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board here. There's more about Wright on his Facebook page. He explains his reasons for running in this post.
Photo: Representative Tim Miller, Mr. So-Not-Partisan Bickering Guy. Image from Facebook. Cropped
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