LLOYD GRAY: Gunn’s week a mixed bag
Legislators left Jackson last week at the conclusion of their 90-day regular annual session without a basic bit of business taken care of: Reauthorization and funding of the Medicaid health care program.
There was the requisite partisan finger-pointing, which is par for the course these days, but ultimately the stalemate boiled down to Democrats’ reaction to Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn’s use of a time-honored tactic prevalent long before Democrat or Republican meant much at the Capitol.
Gunn sees it as his role to “protect” the membership of the House, that is, to keep them from having to cast politically volatile votes when either the outcome is known ahead of time or the leadership opposes what those clamoring for a vote are seeking.
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
4/7/13
Magnolia Tribune
