THE ISSUE: The Statehouse stalemate.
OUR VIEW: House members have set an example for the country — just not a good one.
We had high hopes a new day had dawned in the Indiana House of Representatives.
Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, promised during organization day Nov. 16, 2010, to reach across the aisle in bipartisan cooperation this legislative session. In an effort to walk the talk, he announced plans to name two members of the Democratic caucus to committee chairmanships and pledged to end the practice of “blackballing” bills sponsored by members of the minority party.
In stark contrast to what we’ve grown used to from Washington, Bosma said the Nov. 2 election results were not so much a vote in favor of Republicans as they were a sign that voters wanted something different. What they want, he said in November, is for politicians to “end the partisan bickering, end the overreaching and work together.”
Yet, the Republican majority did overreach. It pursued legislation that negates local gun ordinances, effectively allowing firearms at city council meetings and libraries. It proposed a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage, when such unions already are banned by state law. It pushed a “right-to-work” bill that would prohibit agreements between labor unions and employers making membership a condition of employment.
A majority of House Democrats fled to Urbana, Ill., over right-to-work legislation Feb. 22. Bills have since died. Democrats refuse to return, and Bosma will not negotiate a reconciliation.
The Legislature now has just six weeks to pass a two-year budget and redraw congressional and Statehouse districts.
If Bosma and his colleagues had finished this session with the bipartisan spirit he professed four months ago, they would’ve set an example for the rest of the country.
They have. It’s just not a good one.