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Today s republican party. here they are. garret lamp is a firefighter in orlando, florida and michael weinman is a retired police officer from columbus, ohio. and he s also the director of the government affairs for the fraternal order of police in that city. former rnc chairman michael steele standing by. he will join us in just a moment. we re just looking for straight answers as always. garret, you were a life long republican. tell me what happened. what changed you? well, i just feel like i did not leave the republican party. the republican party left me. i registered to vote as a republican back in high school. worked on several campaigns in the last 20 years. and as a father of three, i m just i m still a morally conservative person but when it comes to raising my children and my three boys, my wife, you know, i wake up on sunday morning and i ll take my family to church. i m pro life and pro god but ....
Rights. it got me really re-evaluating my position in the republican party and how i felt about the republican party. well, what have they done that has turned you away, michael? senate bill 5 here in the state of ohio completely eliminated workers rights. it was quite unbelievable how it happened. you know, we didn t see anyone campaigning on it. the primary sponsor, senator jones, we endorsed her. we endorsed a number of republicans, you know, pretty much fraternal order of police here in ohio. its membership is about 70% republicans, conservative republicans. these were our friends and before we knew it we were losing our rights as workers. let s bring back former rnc chair michael steele back into the conversation. what do you say to these two gentlemen who have both stated tonight that the republican party has left them and they ....
And, you know, collective bargaining versus not. that s a great point, michael. but what is the balance when you want to fundamentally change collective bargaining in america? that s both what these gentlemen are concerned about and they feel like they ve been under attack as middle class americans. it s not the democrats. it s the republicans. it s a legitimate well, republican leadership that s in place and where these issues are coming up, you know, i can t speak for what s going on specifically in florida and ohio, you know, i ve got my own issues here in maryland with the democratic governor but my point is this. if i could, ed, real quick. yeah. i think it s important that these gentlemen, and they ve made it very clear, their frustration and concern, and i think the governors in both of those states are going to be paying much more attention as we get to future budget discussions. garrett and michael, does chairman steele, former chairman steele, his response to what ....
My position in the republican party and how i felt about the republican party. well, what have they done that has turned you away, michael? senate bill 5 here in the state of ohio completely eliminated workers rights. it was quite unbelievable how it happened. you know, we didn t see anyone campaigning on it. the primary sponsor, senator jones, we endorsed her. we endorsed a number of republicans, you know, pretty much fraternal order of police here in ohio. its membership is about 70% republicans, conservative republicans. these were our friends and before we knew it we were losing our rights as workers. let s bring back former rnc chair michael steele back into the conversation. what do you say to these two gentlemen who have both stated tonight that the republican party has left them and they gave reasons? what is your response to this? what s happening? first off let me just say i ....
As a fireman they have, and a public sector worker, public sector employee, they have decided it would be better to put the burden of the economy on middle classes backs and i don t think that s right anymore. programs have been cut at my boys school and all across the state of florida they ve decided to put the burden on my back and my brothers backs instead of corporate america. okay. so let me get this straight. it s the collective bargaining issue, the cuts in education, and are you concerned about future health care when it comes to medicare? well, i m absolutely concerned about that. okay. part of the reason is my insurance is going up every single year. you say the republican party has left you on those issues. michael, how do you see today s republican party? what happened? well, it hit us pretty hard. it was a broad side on workers rights. it got me really re-evaluating ....