Gard trying to prove he can fit in with Republican Congress...

...and his caucus helped him proved it.

The Republican Congressional leaders in DC propably liked what they saw in Speaker John Gard yesterday. He sent a message to the the Republican Congress he wants to join that he is willing to do his part to kill ethics reform too by helping his caucus end any hope of ethics reform at the state level this year. The Republicans voted in closed caucus not to bring SB 1 to the floor. The bill would have merged the state Ethics and Elections boards and created a new board with more power to go after legislators.

But let's be clear, Gard didn't kill reform all by himself. If a majority of his caucus wanted reform, it would be hard to stop. Many Republican members will now try to claim that they wanted to see reform happen but those darn leaders just didn't let it happen. They will probably follow that up with a nauseating statement declaring that voters should send them back to the legislature so they can work to get it done.

The press should not let them get away with this and might want to start asking Republicans in the Assembly how they voted in caucus on bringing SB 1 to the floor. Add them up and see if there is a majority.

Is SB 1 the best solution for reform? I don't know. But Republicans shouldn't get away with saying they are for reform and then pointing at their leadership as the one that didn't let it happen. If they can't even debate the issue in the open, voters shouldn't allow the cover of closed caucus to let them claim any sort of high ground on the issue.