Senator Fitzgerald the Mighty Sausage Maker?

Senator Scott Fitzgerald’s analogy of comparing politics to sausage making will be familiar to those who have had the unique experience of listening to Senator Scott Fitzgerald at one of his “District Listening Sessions.”

The senator has publicly stated something to the effect of, “Legislating is a lot like sausage making. It is a very messy process and you don’t really want to know what goes into it.  But the end result produces a good product.”

Someone else sent me the following on this: “My favorite Fitzgerald quote is “Legislating is like sausage making. You don’t really want to know what goes into it.” I heard him speak these remarkable words at a Watertown listening session before the recall began. The fact of the matter is yes, Senator, we do want to know what goes into it and who is writing it. And since this past January the most destructive legislation that has been passed was written by the American Legislative Exchange Council of which Fitzgerald is a member. And the Senator himself has used the most manipulative tactics to shepherd these bills into law. Things like conference committees, extraordinary sessions, violation of open meetings laws, running fake candidates to prolong their majority, manipulating redistricting maps and the process for redistricting itself, requiring other legislators to sign confidentiality agreements about legislation, assigning his staff to work on state business from a private law firm’s office and using their personal gmail accounts to avoid public record laws, and the list goes on. Now that we all see what has been going into his “sausage making” how could anyone, of any political background, find it palatable?”

I actually recall Senator Fitzgerald telling this analogy to my wife and I when we met with him in his office at the Capitol last year.  Then I heard him say it again at the Watertown listening session as did the person above.  When he said it to my wife and I, he also added that “sometimes you have to limit debate on bills and just push the legislation through into law, then let people get use to the changes over time.  Eventually they will come to realize that the law makes sense and it is for their own good.”   I would show you copies of the quote from the notes of the senator’s own staff, but they would not provide me with copies of their meeting notes that I requested.  In fact, when I pressed them on my interest in the open records request, the senator’s staff told me that they “purged” those notes.

I have many thoughts and deep concerns over Senator Fitzgerald’s political ideology that embodies the necessity to purposely avoid public transparency, and to hastily expedite the legislative process by limiting, (if not eliminating) public input or legislative discussions on key bills.  I believe that the mining bill failure was a great example of Senator Fitzgerald’s leadership style in action.  Those who followed that bill know that the senator had a heavy hand in its failed outcome because of choices that he made when things were not going his way.

Sausage making should be left to the professionals who respect all aspects of their craft, including customer service.  When it comes to legislation on the other hand, I will choose someone who listens to their constituents over a slick career politician any day; especially a career politician who carries the water of out of state special interest groups with deep pockets.

I firmly believe that June 5^th will show that I am not the only Republican looking for a senator who is a true legislator and a statesmen (or stateswoman) of the people, not a fake sausage maker in disguise. 

Sincerely,

Gary