Michele Fiore, the Bundy-loving, Culinary-hating loose cannon, is making a play to oust Paul Anderson as majority leader of the new GOP majority, sources confirm.
Fiore, who was led around by Citizen Outhouse's Dan Burdish last session, is aligned with those who oppose the governor's coming agenda, which will be to propose a tax package with reforms to fund education and other needs. She sees Anderson, considered a reasonable up-and-comer, as too close to the Pat Hickey side of the caucus. Fiore helped Ira Hansen depose Hickey as GOP leader.
Fiore apparently argued that it was too much for Anderson to be majority leader and chair of Ways and Means. (In the past, majority leaders have chaired prominent committees.)
Anderson, I'm told, said he was willing to give up being leader if Fiore would relinquish chairing the pivotal tax committee, which clearly worried the governor and others, including the Senate GOP caucus, sources tell me.
Fiore rejected the deal and hopes to have a revote for leader this weekend, I'm told.
I'm also told that some in the caucus believe Hickey is working on what's called a "nuclear option," which would involve getting the 17 Democrats to vote with five dissident Republicans to oust Hansen. But Hickey, I'm told, is not part of any such effort, although I hjave heard rumblings of that insane scenario, which would destroy the session at the outset.
(I recahed out to Fiore. No answer yet.)
This is the shape of things to come, folks. This session will be full of potential coups, nasty divisions and crazy stuff.
You could have seen this coming:
Michele Fiore, the Bundy-loving, Culinary-hating loose cannon, is making a play to oust Paul Anderson as majority leader of the new GOP majority, sources confirm.
Fiore, who was led around by Citizen Outhouse's Dan Burdish last session, is aligned with those who oppose the governor's coming agenda, which will be to propose a tax package with reforms to fund education and other needs. She sees Anderson, considered a reasonable up-and-comer, as too close to the Pat Hickey side of the caucus. Fiore helped Ira Hansen depose Hickey as GOP leader.
Fiore apparently argued that it was too much for Anderson to be majority leader and chair of Ways and Means. (In the past, majority leaders have chaired prominent committees.)
Anderson, I'm told, said he was willing to give up being leader if Fiore would relinquish chairing the pivotal tax committee, which clearly worried the governor and others, including the Senate GOP caucus, sources tell me.
Fiore rejected the deal and hopes to have a revote for leader this weekend, I'm told.
I'm also told that some in the caucus believe Hickey is working on what's called a "nuclear option," which would involve getting the 17 Democrats to vote with five dissident Republicans to oust Hansen. But Hickey, I'm told, is not part of any such effort, although I hjave heard rumblings of that insane scenario, which would destroy the session at the outset.
(I recahed out to Fiore. No answer yet.)
This is the shape of things to come, folks. This session will be full of potential coups, nasty divisions and crazy stuff.
Good for journalism, bad for the state.
Comments: