After I wrote about tea partier Cindy Gamrat being tossed out of the Republican caucus last week, MIRS new service posted a piece that quoted a Republican source saying that Gamrat’s Facebook post wasn’t the only reason she got the boot. “There’s been a whole series of issues with Rep. Gamrat that have got Republican members complaining to leadership and others for a while,” the Republican said. “This last event is just one more in a long line.” When I read that, I updated the post.
Gamrat read about MIRS reporting and was astonished to find out that her Republican colleagues would drum up a phony excuse simply to shut her up.
Yesterday, I became aware through reading a media article that I am being accused of “a series of incidents, of leaking confidential discussions among GOP lawmakers”. I was shocked and of course very disappointed to hear about these false accusations, as no one has brought such charges to my attention publicly or privately during these alleged “series of incidents”.I have tremendous respect and appreciation for my colleagues and although we may not agree on all the issues, I have not leaked confidential conversations from caucus. My posts on Facebook focus on issues and legislation that have already been passed, have been discussed with constituents, have been discussed with other legislators outside of caucus, or that I am considering.
Gamrat, who has photographed reading her Bible on the House floor when she was supposed to be working, signed the piece, “With firm Reliance on Divine Providence, Cindy.”
Gamrat’s male counterpart Todd Courser, with whom she shares staff and office space, makes the same sorts of public statements on Facebook and elsewhere about what is going on with his Republican colleaguess and routinely criticizes them, like Gamrat, of being too liberal. He, however, has kept his caucus position, pointing out the differences in rules men and women in the House work under.
Gamrat appears to be unaware that this sort of thing is de rigueur for Michigan Republicans. They have no problem disciplining women in the state legislature when they don’t behave themselves. It seems like only yesterday that we were watching as Democrats Lisa Brown and Barb Byrum were being silenced on the House floor by Republican Majority Leader Jase Bolger for having the audacity to utter the word “vagina” during a speech. Why would Gamrat think they would let her complain about her colleagues in public and get away with it? Only 15% of the Republicans in the House are women (compared with over a third of the Democratic caucus) and they, along with the rest of the women – most of whom are Democrats – are expected to know their place and stay there.
It isn’t Divine Providence that will solve this problem, Cindy. It’s replacing the men in leadership positions in the state legislature with people who see women as truly equal and not, in effect, as children to be given time outs when they misbehave. Given the current state of affairs in Michigan and across the USA, that is more likely than not NOT going to be a Republican man.
