Almanac: At the Capitol

I was surprised to read Rep. Siefert's latest blog submission. I'm not sure what's with all the doom and gloom considering he told his local Marshall paper that he is optimistic that the legislative session can end on time.

We're awfully busy with end-of-session negotiations, so I must be brief. Here's what I offer to the blog world at this critical juncture.

The following is an exhaustive list of what minority leader Siefert and his caucus have brought in a positive manner to the 2007 legislative debate:

1. Rep. Cornish brought everyone cake on his birthday.
   
2. Rep. Finstad's kids stop by the floor once in a while (they're really cute kids.
3. With all of Rep. Siefert's random rants on the floor, I've been able to catch up on my constituent email.
4. Rep. Berns' kids visit, too, and they're just as cute as Finstad's.
5. Bipartisan support for the Education, Public Safety, Environment, and Agriculture bills.

A point of clarification, Rep. Siefert mentioned that 4 of the past 7 years have resulted in special sessions. Oddly enough, he forget to mention his party was in control at the time.

Today was my first day back at the Capitol since my car accident last week. I'm trying to start slowly which is always difficult for my overachieving hyperactive nature. Just a couple of hours did me in. It was nice to see all my wonderful colleagues who showered me with flowers. My husband joked that our house looks a like mortuary. The lawmakers were also incredibly kind and welcoming. A couple of my favorite anecdotes: Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said "I'd hug you but I'm afraid I'd crush you" (for background she's a strong farm kid and I'm a puny city girl). Rep. Brad Finstad earnestly rushed over to me on the House floor and said "on behalf of the Republican men" we're very concerned about you. Rep. Paul Marquart took time out from his appearance on Almanac: At the Capitol to send good wishes (I hear he was really excited to be on the show and a tad disappointed not to see the curly haired gal who's usually running things). Former Majority Leader Erik Paulsen sent a card and Former House Speaker Steve Sviggum called me at home. So you know this isn't all about me, I think this can help readers see that there are some really great, kind and considerate lawmakers who sometimes get a bad rap (from people like me too). It doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on anyone who was extra nice to me, but it shows there's more to this place than just politics and name-calling. It's one of the reasons I was too anxious to go back to work. A very tired, sore and aching Lahammer signing off for now.