Home » Neufeld resisted pressure....while showing stronger loyalty to Morrison than to the unborn and his own Party
Neufeld resisted pressure....while showing stronger loyalty to Morrison than to the unborn and his own Party
http://www.kansas.com/611/story/85639.html Posted on Sat, Jun. 02, 2007 Neufeld resisted pressureTo his credit, Kansas House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, aced a key test of leadership -- the ability to say "no" under extreme pressure -- on the last day of his first session as speaker.Some conservative House Republicans had demanded Neufeld create a special interim committee, complete with subpoena powers, to investigate whether Wichita doctor George Tiller is doing illegal late-term abortions. Neufeld refused."If there was a defined goal and we knew what this committee was supposed to do, that's one thing," Neufeld told the Topeka Capital-Journal this week. "I don't think it's the speaker's job to authorize witch hunts, which is what they were asking for."Earlier in the session, Neufeld also refused to advance a House resolution pushed by anti-abortion groups to compel Attorney General Paul Morrison to file criminal charges against Tiller -- charges previously dismissed in Sedgwick County District Court on jurisdictional grounds. The misguided resolution passed the House Federal and State Affairs Committee 12-8, but Neufeld rightly kept it out of the full House, believing it would be a waste of time that would only result in another dismissal.Not surprisingly, Neufeld's actions have generated harsh words. Rep. Ben Hodge, R-Overland Park, protested first by asking to be removed from the Federal and State Affairs Committee, then by going on the Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" and declaring that "our judicial system is covering up crimes." For his part, O'Reilly resumed his irresponsible bleating about Tiller this week, presenting suspicions as facts, trashing the state's good name and declaring that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius "is not fit to serve."Lawmakers and O'Reilly need to butt out and let the process work.That said, Morrison should step up the pace of his office's inquiry into whether there is anything to charge Tiller with; Morrison said last week that the goal now is to have "a decision made before the end of the month of June." He blamed the slow start on the fact that the medical records "were literally scattered all over" and had to be first gathered and secured in his office. "We've looked at this thing inside and out, backward and forward, more than one time, because we want to be comfortable and we want to be able to articulate why we're going to do what we're going to do," Morrison told the KC Community News last week.He also said: "I'm just thankful that they're letting us do our job."Good for Neufeld for standing fast against these lawmakers' demands that he turn his chamber into a House of prosecution. Lawmakers should stick to making laws.Besides, as Neufeld said, "It's always important to remember in politics, as in the rest of life, intimidation is not a winning strategy."For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman