Dear Georgia Senate: Drop the power struggle, get to work
It’s put up or shut up time in the Georgia Senate. As nothing new has been put up by the malcontents, you can see where I’m heading.
I refer to the 14-month-old dispute between Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and the GOP senators who stripped him of most of his powers. Ordinarily, such an intramural power play would interest only the true political junkies. But the Senate’s cold war is getting hot enough to matter to ordinary Georgians.
Some background: Days after Cagle was re-elected in 2010, Senate Republicans resolved to change the chamber’s rules to put two of their own, Tommie Williams of Lyons and Chip Rogers of Woodstock, in charge. Cagle argued, not without merit, that a majority of Georgia’s voters thought they’d just elected him to lead the Senate. But he lost that debate.
The 2011 session moved along fairly smoothly almost until the end, when an alliance of Democrats and pro-Cagle Republicans made a move to restore the old order. It failed, as has a series of GOP truces since then. The most recent cease-fire was brokered Monday night by none other than Gov. Nathan Deal, only to be rejected about 12 hours later by a majority of senators.
Now, re-read those last four words: “a majority of senators.” Those words explain why this mess has gone on long enough.
Regardless of whose side one takes — and none of the actors are angels — the basic facts on the ground haven’t changed in 14 months: 1) a majority is needed to change the rules; and 2) a majority favors the current rules.
Period, paragraph, end of story.
Cagle and his allies had upward of nine months to assemble a majority; goodness knows they tried. If they had a majority, they would have changed the rules by now. They don’t, so they haven’t. Deal with it.
I don’t say this as a partisan of the anti-Cagle faction. I have no grudge against the lieutenant governor, nor any loyalty to Williams or Rogers. All three support issues I support. This isn’t personal.
Well, it isn’t personal for me. But it quite clearly is personal for them. And that’s where the interests of ordinary Georgians come in.
Lawmakers like to say they’re performing “the people’s business.” As long as they’re feuding in this way, they aren’t. The leadership struggle colors every matter that comes before the Senate, even ones on which the two sides agree, because every matter is a potential tool for gaining or keeping leverage. Georgians deserve to have those issues considered on their own merits.
At the same time, I’m not bemoaning the perceived lack of efficiency in the Senate. In a state government controlled wholly by one political party, a little inefficiency is no bad thing. (Republicans said these kinds of things back when Democrats were that party.)
Government, on any level, is best when changes in the law are thoroughly vetted and debated. So it also behooves Georgians if the process is slowed down somewhere along the way.
I understand Speaker David Ralston’s frustration when he complains about not having a counterpart who speaks for the Senate and can deliver its members. “We can’t have 36 different leaders, or however many they have on any particular day,” he lamented last April.
But “speaks for” and “deliver” can be statehouse code for “lords over” and “bully” — not always, but often enough to give an outside observer pause. (Let’s also note that a tougher-to-please Senate arguably gains power at the expense of the more spoken-for House, which also might bug Ralston.)
Unless facts on the ground change, the two sides would do right by Georgians to put their spat aside until sine die. And primary season.
Let Cagle and his allies recruit fellow Republicans to run against the thorns in their side (though I’d like to see how successful they’d be with a pitch that amounts to, “Vote for this guy, because he’d help put us and, er, the Democrats in charge”). Let Williams and Rogers field challengers to the holdouts in their caucus.
May it be a long, nasty primary season. Then, after November, may the winners hold the reins of power.
Until then, may all of them simply get to work.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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176 comments Add your comment
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
11:14 am
Tealiban…..I would vote for ANY of them over the Obama mess.
Tealiban
January 12th, 2012
11:15 am
Gee if only “Generic Republican” were on the ballot…. otherwise, you have some seriously flawed candidates.
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
11:17 am
UGA…WRONG again!!! Newton Leroy did not balance the Budget!!! Get back onteh Faux News website and try again!!!! I hope you did not get that kind of info from the fine folks over at UGA….
ByteMe
January 12th, 2012
11:17 am
they aren’t holding the bills up because they’re bad or letting them through because they’re good. Instead, in some (not all) cases, they are making the merits secondary to personalities.
And if they didn’t struggle over personalities, what evidence do you have that they would struggle over content??
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
11:22 am
Inside….So you like to mislead eh? Typical Democrat.
wowzer
January 12th, 2012
11:22 am
When the kids mess up:
two un-funded wars, unfunded Medicare payments, wasteful educational stupidity, energy kick-backs to enron and ken lay, tax breaks to millionaires for zero job growth, and just plain dick cheney ideas like decifits don’t matter
a grown up has to take action and pay for the clean-up.
Now I have to go back to work and pay taxes for the mistakes of the do-nothing republicans. Have a good day.
Waffle House Cook
January 12th, 2012
11:24 am
Tommie Williams is a shifty man. You can’t trust a thing he does. He voted against the Sunday Sales law – but only because he owns the main restaurant in Lyons and worked a deal with the city/county to sell liquor (satan’s spit) by the glass. He’s the only one who could sell it in town – that’s why he voted against Sunday Sales – so he could keep his liquor business going and keep other away.
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
11:25 am
UGA…what did I say that was misleading??? I asked a question and you presented an answer that was incorrect….
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
11:26 am
hmmmm lets see. Obama is going to win when 49% of americans disapprove of his job perfomance. 8.2 – 8.6% unemployment. 11% of american believe the economic outlook under this president is good. 59% of Americans say the economy is getting worse.
Yeah Obama is going to win alright! hahahaahah
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
11:26 am
Inside….Newton Leroy? hahaha.
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
11:30 am
Whats wrong with that???? …..Newton Leroy Gingrich is his name….. His mama did that to him not me….
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
11:31 am
Inside….So I guess I would take Leroy over Hussein.
JDW
January 12th, 2012
11:37 am
@Kyle, I think we are approaching the point where uncertainty and inaction become institutionalized. This is our biggest threat, far bigger than policy implementations. I don’t buy into the concept that government gridlock “keeps them from hurting us”…it hurts us more than making our mistakes and learning from them.
Lets take Texas and Pennsylvania. One typically red the other blue. Yet both have economies that outperform the national average. They both do it in a far different manner yet they both outperform. They make their decisions and move on. I tend to think Pennsylvania makes better decisions than Texas. If weather weren’t a factor I would rather live in Pittsburg than Dallas. But in both cases they are moving forward as opposed to Georgia where we have gone from outperforming the mean to underperforming.
As for trusting “the people who came up with a bad strategy would have the wherewithal to make up for it on implementation…”. I don’t. I trust the voters to unelect them when they fall on their a$$. By doing nothing they get the advantage of not having “failed” and keep getting elected.,
Jefferson
January 12th, 2012
12:16 pm
Simular to the US house where the speaker can literally cry because he has no control.
DawgDad
January 12th, 2012
12:26 pm
“Government, on any level, is best when changes in the law are thoroughly vetted and debated. So it also behooves Georgians if the process is slowed down somewhere along the way.”
Try selling that to your colleague Jay Bookman. Had a minor blog-spat yesterday with him and others defending Pelosi’s “you have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it” approach with Obamacare
getalife
January 12th, 2012
12:43 pm
Hello cons.
dd,
You lost so stop crying.
willard’s ad taking the President’s words out of context like ya’ll did with Peolsi back fired and now the left will do the same.
His words will be taken out of context like he loves to fire people.
Good for the goose………
Sweet karma.
getalife
January 12th, 2012
12:46 pm
btw con, it took two years to pass health care.
Did you want four years dd.
Get over it, you lost.
Georgia, The "New Mississippi"
January 12th, 2012
1:00 pm
If the Wall Street Republicans win Georgia loses……..
If the Wal-mart Republicans win Georgia loses…………
So What is your point Kyle ???
DawgDad
January 12th, 2012
1:10 pm
“Get over it, you lost.” [Re: Obamacare]
Yes, we did. On that we CERTAINLY agree.
GT
January 12th, 2012
1:10 pm
What is the duties of the Lt. Gov. now that he does not preside over the senate?
GT
January 12th, 2012
1:16 pm
Dawg 99 Obama is going to win because your party can’t run a candidate that is not a certified fruitcake. A survive of woman want to get married is 75%. Then they show these ladies the eligible bachelors and it drops to single digits. The GOP will be running candidates that not even their own party will vote for.
Don't Tread
January 12th, 2012
1:20 pm
“A survive of woman want to get married is 75%”
…what?
The Snark
January 12th, 2012
1:20 pm
This “power struggle” is an embarassment. It is a handful of people putting their person ambition above their responsibilities.
Kyle, I appreciate that you’re trying to find a silver lining in this, saying it’s a good thing to slow down the legislative process … but I can’t help but think you wouldn’t have come up with that rationalization for a Democratic Senate.
Tealiban Party
January 12th, 2012
1:32 pm
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
11:26 am
hmmmm lets see. Obama is going to win when 49% of americans disapprove of his job perfomance. Yeah Obama is going to win alright! hahahaahah
Funny, most of the polls don’t reflect your opinion. Obama up by as much as 7% over Romney. And the trajectory is only getting better for President Obama. Too bad Mr. Generic Republican hasn’t jumped into the race yet.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html
Dumb and Dumber
January 12th, 2012
1:49 pm
Hey JDW you forgot that centerpiece of GOP transportation planning under Governor Perdue: The I-85 HOT lane. The ONLY transportation accomplishment in metro Atlanta of 8 or 9 years of one-party rule.
Oh and UGA 1999, your posts once again show why hiring UGA grads with poor reading comprehension skills is risky. You respond to a post about the Georgia Senate with the usual blather about Obama. Keep up the good work and don’t list UGA on your resume if you apply to my firm.
Linda
January 12th, 2012
1:49 pm
Inside@10:50, Obama presented his 10-year budget a year ago & it was voted down in the Senate 97-0. Want to know why?
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
1:55 pm
Tealiban…..yeah but wait until Romney debates Obama and the GOP gets fully behind one candidate. Those numbers will change radically.
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
1:55 pm
Dumb….HA, no need to brother. Trust me I will never have that need.
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
1:56 pm
OK Linda…Your turn…..When was the last time a Republican balanced the budget????
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
1:59 pm
Inside……Newton Leroy Gingrich….You keep asking a question that has already been answered.
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
2:07 pm
OK…UGA for the last time…..Gingrich did not balance the budget anymore that Gore created the internet…..Now, how about you give up the Right wing Kool-aid and come sit at the adult table….You might just learn something….
Jefferson
January 12th, 2012
2:07 pm
GOP has got to change to win nationally, read the answer lies in the middle.
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
2:08 pm
Inside Out……So you are going to say that Clinton did. However the House is responsible for the budget Tell me how you justify that?
td
January 12th, 2012
2:18 pm
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
2:07 pm
OK…UGA for the last time…..Gingrich did not balance the budget anymore that Gore created the internet…..Now, how about you give up the Right wing Kool-aid and come sit at the adult table….You might just learn something….
Then please tell us who balanced the budget in the 90″s?
Lee
January 12th, 2012
2:18 pm
The way I see it, as long as the politico’s are fighting each other, they’re not passing laws and getting in my business. The real trouble comes when they reach a “consensus”, which is Latin for Bend Over, Here It Comes Again (BOHICA).
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
2:21 pm
Damn UGA….sit down and shut up!!! Adults are speaking here!!!! And for the record Clinton is not the answer!!! That was just a slick bit of trickery with the numbers…The Federal budget has not been in balance since Ike did it in 1957……. My point being that No one…Republican or Democrat has been able to do it in 50 plus years….Your talking points concerning Obama and the Budget / Deficit are without merit and should not be a part of current discussions…
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
2:24 pm
Uh oh…..looks like Inside out is getting upset. Poor thing, he cannot make a valid point so he gets upset. It is ok Inside Out, grab your blankie and start sucking your thumb. Everything will be ok shortly. Maybe it is time for you to take a nap!
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
2:24 pm
Inside…..Tell us all this….what happens when the debt exceeds the GDP?
Middle Class
January 12th, 2012
2:26 pm
The longer they fight, the longer we can hang onto our money.
Each time you hear someone suggest the tax base should be broadened, remember this IS “Their Plan” for funding the next big tax cut, designed to disproportionately benefit those who make the most, and hurt the middle class. By eliminating your mortgage interest deduction, they say they will be able to lower the tax rates across the board. If your mortgage deduction shelters a large percent of your income (as it does, the lower your income, within the definitions of middle class), then you will be slammed with a net higher tax increase.
On this front, may the “power struggle” last forever.
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
2:28 pm
TD…The Budget was never balanced in the 90’s…. The value of our publicly held debt was in surplus, But the value of our intragovermental debt increased…. When you strip away all of the “funny math” we actually ended the Clinton years with a debt of somewhere in the heighborhood of 18 billion dollars…..Now that is closer than any Republican has come since Ike, but still not balanced….
@@
January 12th, 2012
2:29 pm
Politicians are odd creatures. And to think, it’s the voter, who instills them with this misconception that they’re all important.
Some watchdog group should sponsor a “caulk” fight, forcing them to go shirtless…wearing nothing but spandex tights so their manliness can be on full display. May the best “caulk” win.
schnirt
Linda
January 12th, 2012
2:32 pm
Inside@1:56, Congress can not balance a budget without a budget. Congress is required by law to pass a budget. The last budget passed was in 2009.
It has been the Republicans who have historically & consistently been in favor of a balanced budget amendment & they came close in the ’90s several times.
It is apparent that you want to give Clinton credit for passing a balanced budget, but let me remind you that a budget is passed months in advance of any given fiscal year. It’s almost obsolete at the end of the fiscal year because revenues & expenses can vary.
Unfortunately, during Clinton, more debt was added to the national debt each & every year he was in office.
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo4.htm
Don’t forget that the Republicans have recently tried again to pass a balanced budget amendment.
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
2:33 pm
Linda…I never said Clinton balanced the budget….Your buddy UGA presented that….
td
January 12th, 2012
2:35 pm
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
2:28 pm
Say I accept you definition, then who was responsible for doing the budgets, getting the appropriations bills completed that got us to the point you stated?
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
2:37 pm
Inside…..HAHA Thanks for proving my point!
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
2:38 pm
Kyle….you may want to look at Inside Outs last post…..
Inside Out
January 12th, 2012
2:40 pm
LOL…..Poor UGA…Tattling is sooooooo Third grade!!!! LOL
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
2:43 pm
Inside…..pot meet kettle.
Linda
January 12th, 2012
2:48 pm
Inside@2:22, Is that all you have to say?
You claim the debt was $18 B after the Clinton years, whereas the Treasury Dept. figures it at close to $5.7 TRILLION. I quoted my source. Where do you come up with your info?
UGA 1999
January 12th, 2012
2:50 pm
Linda….he cant.