A Senate Republican asks MNGOP to stop calls
Republican state Sen. Geoff Michel of Edina said today that he thought the MNGOP's decision to direct constituents to rarely used phones in the Minnesota Senate was "a mistake."
On Tuesday, several DFL senators said they were contacted by constituents on phones within the chambers. Those phone numbers are unlisted and are mostly used for internal Senate business. Michel said he didn't think that should occur:
"As a member of the Senate Republican leadership, we did not know that was happening, we did not ask for that to happen. I think the party made a mistake and we would ask them not to do it."
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Michel said he understands that the phones are paid for with public tax dollars but stressed that there are several ways for constituents to contact members of the Legislature. He said he didn't know who gave the MNGOP the phone numbers and wasn't willing to investigate it further.
"We have so much more important things to do. Right? We really do. We have 1.2 billion things we have to do before we start worrying about phones."
The issue was raised again this morning when DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller complained about the calls during his weekly meeting with reporters. He said members received at least fifteen calls from citizens from outside of the Senate.
"As Majority Leader of the Senate, it doesn't matter whether I'm a Democrat or Republican, decorum is very important and it is simply outrageous to provide private numbers for that kind of political purpose."
Minnesota Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton said he hasn't made a decision on whether they'll continue the tactic but strongly defended the action.
"It says 'State' before Senator and they're a little closer to the people than the guys in Washington so they shouldn't mind it if the 'unwashed masses' give them a call and say 'Hey, we don't appreciate it that you're putting us another billion dollars in debt.' If they can't take that kind of heat from fifteen citizens, what the heck are they doing up there?"
Sutton said no member of the Senate has personally asked him to stop the calls. He also said "It's not up to him (Michel)" when told of Michel's request. Mark Drake, a spokesman for the MNGOP, won't say how the party got the numbers.