State Rep. Marilyn Lane has stepped forward to call for a
modest, measured approach to the Todd Courser/Cindy Gamrat sex scandal. Her
view: Let the voters decide.
Far from calling for the two disgraced lawmakers to
resign, Lane said on Michigan Public Television’s “Off The Record” this weekend that she’s not convinced that a valid reason exists to oust Republicans
Courser and Gamrat through the expulsion process.
state’s disintegrating roads, not the “personal lives” of two lawmakers who
apparently committed adultery and then tried to cover it up.
As the two culprits continue to shun calls for their
resignation, Lane said it’s up to voters in Lapeer County (Courser’s district)
and Allegan County (Gamrat’s district) to decide their fate, not a special
committee that was formed last week by the House.
districts are) forgiving and they understand and maybe they’re OK,” said Lane,
a former Fraser mayor. “Maybe they’ll vote them back in.”
3-day session in the House last week ended with no decisions on road funding
and no legislative action at all, except for the creation of the panel to
decide if expulsion of Courser and Gamrat is appropriate.
The aptly named Lane is the lead Democrat on the roads
issue in the House and she views the Lansing buzz about Courser/Gamrat as a “distraction”
while a plan for financing infrastructure improvements remains frustratingly
elusive.
In fact, in response to a question from “Off The Record”
host Tim Skubick (a fellow Fraser native), Lane agreed that the House GOP used
the vote on the special committee as a “smoke screen” to cover up the lack of
movement on the most important issue facing the state – crumbling roads and
bridges.
on the findings of its investigation into allegations that Courser and Gamrat
improperly tried to engage their staff in a cover-up. If so, that could
constitute a violation of state law in the form of misuse of tax dollars.
But, as Lane noted, the Business Office lacks subpoena powers and the results of their probe may be limited. The Fraser
Democrat said it would take an investigation by Attorney General Bill Schuette
to determine if the Courser/Gamrat discussions with staff about a “false flag”
diversionary cover-up amounted to a crime.
Why has nobody written or editorialized about the farce of the House Business Office conducting an investigation of this magnitude? Not only does it lack investigatory powers but the director of the office is hardly trained nor experienced to do such investigations. However, the answer isn't an investigation by the attorney-general as that would provoke a constitutional crisis due to the separation of powers.