Gamrat Expelled - Courser Avoids Historical Shame By Resigning

State Representative Todd Courser resigned early Friday

Courser /Gamrat

morning rather than be expelled by his colleagues.

Republican Rep. Todd Courser announced his resignation, effective immediately, and was escorted out of the chamber. His decision came amid a marathon overnight session in the House over whether he and Rep. Cindy Gamrat should stay in their jobs.

Courser yesterday tried to save his position with a rambling speech to the Michigan State House and then tried to act as preacher again before being shut down by the House Leadership as Courser was asked to keep comments to the resolution.   For the record Courser is an attorney, not a preacher and pretending to be one after the lies and scandal he was involved in, it probably wasn’t the smartest move on his part.

"I just felt like it was the appropriate moment to do it," Courser told reporters after he resigned at 3:30 in the morning. "I put everybody through a whole bunch — across the state, my own family, the constituents, the people in this room. ... Whether it was the third vote or the fourth vote or the fifth vote, they were going to eventually get me."

Representative Gamrat was expelled after a 3:30 am vote.  Republican House Speaker Kevin Cotter kept all locked in house chambers until a vote was completed.  A first vote was done at 9pm on Thursday Sept 10 and there was not enough votes to expel either one of them.   A re-vote was ordered until the vote Cotter and the Republicans got the vote that they wanted.

Gamrat said she plea bargained with the committee and was promised that if she testified against herself, she would receive censure only. However the investigative committee is denying that fact.  Her attorney has shown a copy of the plea agreement to WXYZ Channel  7 in Detroit.  Will she fight further on her being expelled?

Democrats have called the investigation a sham, called it rushed and self-serving, and they questioned why two "whistleblower" aides to Courser and Gamrat were allowed to be fired by GOP leadership, since the speaker's office knew of problems in the lawmakers' combined office. They said the matter should be looked into by law enforcement and the former aides subpoenaed to testify to lawmakers.

Many have also questioned as to the timing of this expulsion.  With every vote needed to raise the gas tax, Courser and Gamrat were solid no votes.   Senator Patrick Colbeck previously stated that this gas tax increase was to cover the medicaid expansion under Obamacare and not really there to fix the roads.   There is also the question of the Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and major Republican Political Donor  Ron Boji's new Senate building deal which has all real estate experts scratching their heads as to why the building was purchased well beyond the actual market value.

Unfortunately the master manipulator, who invokes God and Jesus just about every time he opens his mouth, fooled many with his preacher like ways, is the one that is getting away with this basically unscathed in a historical aspect.  For he will not go down in history as being expelled but as resigning.  Others have resigned their posts for various reasons, most recently State Rep Tim Melton of Auburn Hills.   Tim Melton resigned to take a private sector job in California.