Dan Walters, columnist for the Sacramento Bee, published an article Thursday in which he pointed out state Democrats’ habit of blocking Republican bills in Sacramento–only to introduce the same bills under their own sponsorship and claiming credit for the ideas. The latest victim, he says, is a Fourth of July bill that was first introduced in 2013, but which Democrats hijacked to help a vulnerable member–and again in 2014:
Except for changing the date and one number, House Resolution 36’s lengthy language is identical to House Resolution 21, which was passed a year ago.
And therein lies a tale.
Last year’s tribute to Independence Day was introduced by Republican Assemblyman Eric Linder of Corona, but at the insistence of the Assembly’s Democratic leaders, it was amended to make Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, a co-author.
Quirk-Silva won her Orange County seat in 2012 by narrowly defeating a Republican incumbent in a district generally regarded as pro-GOP. She faces a very tough re-election battle, and her partisan colleagues want to help her return.
This year, Quirk-Silva introduced House Resolution 36, which copies – plagiarizes? – the language from Linder’s 2013 measure, so she’ll get full credit for election-year patriotism.
It’s obviously a small matter, but it exemplifies a long-standing practice – majority Democrats taking over Republican bills that might have political heft….
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.