Six House Republicans who joined in the override are feeling the first repercussions.
House Minority Leader Marty Seifert said all have been removed from leadership positions, most of them as the main GOP member on a committee. He said caucus leaders are expected to stay in line on key votes and he considers the punishment fair.
"We're not going to throw people out of the caucus," he said. "We're not taking their secretaries away."
The six are: Reps. Jim Abeler of Anoka, Ron Erhardt of Edina, Rod Hamilton of Mountain Lake, Bud Heidgerken of Freeport, Neil Peterson of Bloomington and Kathy Tingelstad of Andover.
Seifert said he isn't recruiting Republican candidates to run against them. State GOP chairman Ron Carey said several will face contentious endorsing conventions and may not have party backing in the next election.
"This is the way we get treated if we vote our districts, vote our conscience and vote our feelings that we are doing the right thing for the state," Erhardt said.
Heidgerken also said he's upset at being punished for one vote.
"You check my voting record, I've always stood for the principles of the Republican Party," he said. "If they want to come down on me for doing right, I have a hard time with that. The message they're sending to me is we don't want independent-minded people."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
