Dear Supporter of H 3047,
Thanks for your passion on this issue. You obviously share my belief that a representative democracy cannot, by definition, properly function if the governed are not able to hold accountable those who govern on their behalf. And you are right to be frustrated that that H 3047 has not to date had much traction in the Senate — especially when an essentially identical bills in the Senate has 23 co-sponsors. The sad reality is that many legislators will sponsor a bill because they know they are popular with their constituents, and then will proceed to do everything they can to derail the bill behind the scenes. And that certainly is the case with S 11 (the companion bill to H 3047). That said, there are co-sponsors — specifically, Shane Martin, Kevin Bryant, Mick Mulvaney, Mike Rose, Phil Shoopman, Greg Ryberg, and Lee Bright — who are true believers when it comes to increasing transparency and accountability. They strongly supported me when I made the recall motion and, I am positive, would have voted to have it recalled. I made the decision to withdraw my motion after I received assurances from Senate leadership — from both Republican and Democratic leaders — that H 3047 would receive a fair subcommittee hearing next week and that, if it didn’t, we’d be right back on the Senate floor with another pending recall motion. In no way did I feel abandoned by my allies in this matter; they had my back 100 percent. In any event, it is time to move onward from here and focus on next week’s subcommittee meeting. I am hope that you and other reformers will be there. Your presence makes a big difference!
Tom
