This Year's Top Priority for MOGOP Leaders: Wasting Time on Federal Legislation

House Floor Leader Steve Tilley and
Senate Majority Leader Kevin Engler

Because members of the House and Senate apparently don't have any other pressing matters to address, Republican leaders in both chambers have decided to focus their first few weeks "debating" federal health care and clean energy legislation.  From the News Leader:

State lawmakers say reforming their own ethics, creating jobs and balancing the state's cash-strapped budget are top priorities this year.

But they won't likely focus on those issues in the first weeks of the session, which began Wednesday.

Republican leaders in both chambers intend to bring up "several" non-binding resolutions reacting to federal climate change and health care legislation being debated in Congress, said Senate Majority Leader Kevin Engler, R-Farmington.

And The Star:

In comments to the press Monday afternoon, Senate Republican leaders Charlie Shields and Kevin Engler indicated the chamber will spend part of the next couple weeks debating resolutions opposing federal health-care and energy-policy legislation.

The House is likely to do the same. A joint press conference of House and Senate Republicans is scheduled for Wednesday to detail their plans.

My bold prediction: Exactly 100% of the Republicans will vote to say how much they hate the health care and energy proposals, if they don't understand them, haven't read them -- and even if the legislation they're hating hasn't been finalized year.