Troopers Ordered to Remove 300-400 Citizens from Public Hearing on Federal Deductibility
- Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 20:09
- Iowa, Top Story
- 1,330 views
- 43 comments
Just an hour into the public hearing on House File 807, Speaker of the House Pat Murphy ordered State Troopers to remove all citizens who were not scheduled to speak from the House chamber. Murphy’s decision came after Rep. Paul Shomshor warned the people who gathered that if they continued their outbursts, the galleries would be cleared.
Speaker Murphy’s decision to remove the people who had taken the time to speak out or listen to this debate was shocking and something never seen before.
While the crowd at times was rambunctious, it also quieted down quickly for the next speaker. Instead of evicting hundreds of concerned taxpayers from the State Capitol, Murphy and Shomshor should have simply kept warning the audience about their behavior and continued with the forum. Doing so would have taken more time off the clock preventing some of the scheduled speakers the opportunity to speak, but would have prevented what is now a huge news story.
This is the second time this session that Speaker Murphy has shown a lack of political acumen. Earlier this year, Murphy held the voting machine open over an entire weekend when the prevailing wage bill came up just one vote short. Now Murphy overreacts at public hearing and draws attention to the fact that hundreds of people flocked to the Capitol in opposition to the Democrats’ proposal.
Murphy’s actions have galvanized the opposition to House File 807, while at the same time drawing more attention to the issue. Republicans already had Democrats admitting that this bill is not revenue neutral as they originally said, and Republicans also were effective in pointing out that even a family that earns $40,000 will see their taxes increased by removing federal deductibility.
Check back for more coverage on federal deductibility tomorrow.
About the Author
Craig Robinson has written 700 stories on this site.
Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.
43 Comments on “Troopers Ordered to Remove 300-400 Citizens from Public Hearing on Federal Deductibility”
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Having just read what O. Kay says about the “meltdown” and about Mr. Failure himself perhaps acting nazi-ish, seems to have been an appropriate response to an unruly mob.
Federal Deductibility will become the rallying cry for change at teh state house….Thanks to ITR for carrying the water and getting people organized and motvated for change.
I think it is good that they got kicked out. THIS MADE THE NEWS AND MORE IOWANS WILL HEAR ABOUT WHAT THE DEMS ARE TRYING TO PULL – OR TAKE AWAY.
How many Democrat Legislators were in the Chambers? Were any of their members actually there to see this all unfold?
Renee Schulte mentioned on Twitter that they stand and clap for Cookies everytime someone brings treats,,, I wonder if they will not allow that anymore?
And someone else mentioned that the D’s don’t hesitate to stand and cheer for Chet when he comes to the Chamber to give a speech. I guess the Speaker is into “Selective Rulings”,, which must be sort of like Selective Listening.
Another stupid, moronic display by Pat Murphy. Instead of simply letting whatever clapping and what not continue..and simply ignore it, Murphy chose instead to take the confrontational approach. Instead of having the political wisdom to simply keep his mouth shut and let it go and pass the bill if he had the votes on Thursday..he instead lit a powderkeg tonight…that won’t be soon forgotten by Republicans across the state.
No wonder why the Democrats couldn’t get the prevailing wage bill passed..with Pat Murphy as their leader, its a wonder the Democrats are able to accomplish anything in their agenda.
This was NOT and unruly mob. People showed their approval or disapproval by clapping or hissing in a generally orderly way. No different from when Culver gives speech at the Capitol. It certainly was not unruly. Amazingly, this is now posted on the Drudge Report with a link to the KCCI video.
I love me some hypocrisy. If this was about local control, and CCI was acting like the mob last night, you guys would be screaming for them to get booted from the house.
HYP
O
CRITES
It was not the applauding, which they were warned about as well, but the fact that the mob kept booing “taxpayers” who wanted to speak. Nothing like going to do your civic duty and getting intimidated by a mob of anti-tax zealots. Like Mr. John Death said today, looks like we have a gucci riot on our hands.
This crowd was rude and ridiculous, and it got what it deserved. Sorry, but it’s true. And Craig’s assertion that Dems should have just kept warning them over and over again is kind of stupid, too.
Once again proving yourself to be nothing but a shill.
Well, Stevie Wonder, this is what you need to know:
Speaker Murphy has a double standard. (who would have ever guessed?)
When Chet goes to the Chamber to give his State of the State Address, the D’s Cheer, Whistle, Stomp their feet, and generally behave like they just came in from the Back Forty. They are never chastized for their lack of decorum. All the years Branstad was in office, the R’s NEVER behaved so poorly in the Chamber. Yes, they stood and applauded,, but they didn’t behave like a bunch of high school kids at a pep rally.
The fact of the matter is that Ed Failure made an ass of himself and so did Speaker Murphy. With these two doing battle who knows what will come next.
Sandy… I was there. Don’t try to spin this. Your side acted like children at a high school wrestling match. Very undignified. You were warned to follow the rules, you declined, you got kicked out. Simple as that.
I think if they had just cheered, it would have been tolerated. But the booing and hissing showed a complete lack of class.
And your side Steve, was lucky we didnt show up with pitchforks and torches! I just wonder who the people are going to thow out of the People’s House come November of 2010. To quote Howard Beal: “I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANY MORE!”
Angry Mob Member,
I love faux populism as much as the next guy, but let’s get real. This is useless tax deduction that benefits the wealthy disproportionately. 80 percent of the benefits from federal deductibility go to the wealthiest 20 percent of Iowa taxpayers. The restructuring of the tax code makes it more progressive.
Again, we have a Gucci Riot on our hands.
That’s the kind of arrogant drivel that I have come to expect from people like you Steve. I own a small flooring installation business. Its just me working there and I clear maybe $55,000 a year. Is that rich? Im going to be crippled by this! This is unfair and it’s the kind of thing that will upset small business owners like me so badly that your democrat cronies may just have a real revolt on their hands. Tell your members to hunker down. The public back lash is coming. Me personally, Im so angry I can hardly think straight. Any Democrat in a district that can possibly swing and is stupid enough to follow Steve and the deadbeat wards of the state he represents would be stupid to vote for this. The people will throw them out on their ears in 2010.
Dear Mr. Steve….right or wrong,
You’ve called last night a “Gucci Riot”. Can you please tell us how many Gucci items you saw last night? Quite frankly, I only saw everday, average Iowans that spanned the age spectrum from 10 years old to 90.
Perhaps you were at a different hearing than I was. I was at the hearing on HF 807, Eliminating Federal Deductibility. Were you really there?
Stevie Wonder: When I presented you with FACTS, you call it spin. Man Up, Honey. You won’t get by with changing the subject with me!
Look at the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance numbers. It is in the register today. This tax is idiotic and would raise taxes on people making $10,000 or less. Are they rich, the whole thing is a sham and the people of Iowa know it. See for yourself http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090401/NEWS10/904010375/1001/NEWS
Sandy,
Once again, conservatives see only the words that make them feel good. So, feel free to continue living in your rose colored world where Democrats are evil and a rowdy mob is actually a well-behaved group of patriots.
If it makes you feel better, I’m all for it. But deep down, I know you understand what actually happened last night. So let’s not fool ourselves too much.
“The poorest 20 percent of Iowans in 2008 paid a total income tax rate of 10.5 percent while the richest 20 percent paid between 8.4 percent and 6.3 percent, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research group in Washington, D.C.”
What a fair system. Man, we should really keep this up.
I’m not fooling my self.
FACT #1: The people are OUTRAGED
FACT #2 Murph has a Double Standard I know what happened last night, I listened to it,,, until Murph cut the mic so the listening public wasn’t allowed to hear the outbursts. Did the outburst violate the decorum rules of the House? Yes. Does Murph allow his fellow D’s to ‘behave like jr hi kids at a wrestling match’ when a D Governor enters the Chamber to give his State of the State Address? Yes.
To make one thing clear: In 2003, the same Sandy Greiner who posted above chaired a public hearing on ambient air quality. She made it very clear what the rules of the House were to both sides. CCI was there, but they did not act like ITR did last night, primarily because Sandy was in charge and they knew the rules.
In fact, I testified in favor of the resolution (which Sandy supported as well), but she cut me off before I was done because my 3 minutes was up. She applied the rules evenly, was always in control of the hearing and everyone had their say. If she was in the chair last night, this would not have happened.
For poor or middle class people, this whole thing is a tempest in a teapot, because even those who see an increase will only see a tiny increase. (To Angry Mob Member: If this sinks your ship with your $55,000/year income, you have WAY bigger problems than this tax. Or you need a new accountant.) Those with larger federal tax liabilities have more to lose with losing that as a deduction. Steve Right is right: it’s a Gucci Riot.
What everyone is missing here is the House Rules apply when the HOUSE IS IN SESSION! They were not in session last night, it was a public hearing, for the People of Iowa to petition their government (I believe that is one of our rights as an American citizen, at least that’s what we’ve taught our children.) During a public hearing, the Speaker can make up the rules as he goes…he didn’t like hearing what he needed to hear and he certainly didn’t want anyone else hearing it either, so he invoked a rule he made up on the fly.
I agree with the above comment — Sandy Greiner would make one hell of a speaker. Or hell, a minority leader now. Republicans need one of those. We also lack a candidate for governor. And hell, we lack a candidate to run for congress in sandy’s district other than mr cancer coffin. Sandy, pick an office. I am with you.
Sandy for governor. Having her in the legislature would be a waste of talent and ability. Not sure the idiots there would make her leader anyway.
If steve wrong had actually been there last night, or even listening (which he obviously wasn’t) he might have noticed that the gallery was cleared by Murphy when they cheered Greg Baker after he finished his speech against the bill.
They were not cleared for booing, as stevie suggests.
I mean, there’s enough audio and video out there stevie, do your homework.
I cannot run for Governor because 18 years ago when I was collecting signatures for my very first run, I promised the guys at the local tavern that when I was elected Governor I would hold the world’s largest Rocky Mt. Oyster Fry on the lawn of Terrace Hill.
I have too much respect for the office to really do something like that, and I am not one to break promises. So mark my name off the list for Gov.
Lt. Governor?
Is Steve Right asking for a Flat Tax? At least that’s what I’m reading from him. Fair to all? I’m guessing that’s not what Stevie wants is it?
Oh hell sandy that makes me WANT you to run for governor!!!
Count me in Sandy
Frankly when you see people like Pat Murphy and Ed Failor both behave like children it is sad and disappointing as an Iowan. Then when you look at a guy like Kraig Paulsen that is absolutely lost you feel even worse. We need more Republican leaders like Sandy Greiner that command respect, exert leadership, and inspire others. Sandy, we need you back in the game. Your team really needs you.
what’s the latest on this? are they still going to have a vote tomorrow?
Is there a place where I can go and see the whole hearing? KCCI’s video clearly didn’t show what I would call a rambacous crowd. “Gucci Riot”, what in God’s name were you looking at?
good question landshark. anybody know?
As I recall, Sandy Greiner ran for National Committeewoman last summer, but did not win (although I voted for her). I appreciate her commentary on this blog on this important issue. Maybe they are just anonmyous bloggers, but why aren’t we hearing from our Nationalcommittee people on this issue, which is a pretty important one for Iowa Republicans??
Don’t you people understand that gucci riot refers to a “designer riot”, one not spontaneously developed but planned and “set-up”? Nothing to do with the affluence of the participants.
Oh yes..it was “planned and set up”… Hmm..so we have redefined the word “riot” to mean someone who either claps or boos? Is that like Chester today saying the people who were removed were “public safety concerns” ?
The video makes last evening look a little like a grey Panthers meeting. These were not spring chickens, but they sure got riled up by the Ds!
steve right-can you provide us with a link to that tax analysis, and also the internal methodology that produced it. Does that include the regressive cig, gas and sales tax that the Labor/Socialist/Democrats have inflicted on Iowans, because those taxes do hurt those at the bottom of the economy when they are collected in addition existing high income and property taxes.
http://tinyurl.com/cwzbqu
are you going to let him get away with that, mr sporer? engage! call him a liar! a jack booted nazi liar! fight!
Iowa Fiscal Partnership ? that’s where you get your data ? LOL ! that’s an arm of the left leaning Iowa policy project. get out of here with that nonsense. here is a responce from an unbiased tax professional
http://www.rothcpa.com/archives/004626.php#004626
The text of the bill to repeal the deduction for federal taxes on individual returns (HSB 284) is out. First impressions:
- The repeal is effective for 2009. That means taxpayers who have a big balance due on their federal returns from 2008 get a really raw deal. On the other site, it looks as though if you have a refund coming, it won’t be taxable.
- $63,350 is the new $125,000. The promoters of the repeal say it will only affect “households” with incomes over $125,000. Wrong. The top rate, and the tax increase, kicks in at $63,350. The “$125,000″ figure apparently assumes two-earner couples with each earner getting at least $63,350. Iowa’s rate structure taxes each earner separately.
I haven’t had a chance to analyze how much tax cut, if any, results from the rate cuts at the lower brackets. Otherwise the “middle class tax cuts” are pretty lame:
- An increase in the income cap for the tax-credit for pre-school enrollment, from $45,000 to $50,000.
- An increase in the personal tax credit for blind and elderly from $20 to $40
- Increase the earned income tax credit from 8% of the federal credit to 9%.
It is a tax increase at much lower income levels than advertised. It will be interesting to see how it will fly.