Little not ready to "give up" on Senate coup

Here's Sen. Little's full statement, emailed to reporters today:

“When I voted for a leadership change two weeks ago, I was voting against a system in the Senate that wasn’t working. The state budget process, its secretive nature and the end result, is probably the clearest example of what has gone wrong this year.

“Immediately following the leadership vote, I voted for rules changes that would empower all members, regardless of the party or the region they represent. For me that’s what this struggle is about. And it is not something I want to give up on.

“The stalemate is very frustrating. The last thing I want is an impasse that holds hostage bills important to the communities I represent as well as those of others.

“Both sides could go back and forth for days, weeks and perhaps months arguing procedure, parliamentarian rules and constitutional questions. But we are elected to consider and vote on legislation. We need a resolution.

“My colleagues and I have proposed binding arbitration to settle this issue. It is my hope that my Democrat colleagues will agree to arbitration and that at the end of this, we can get the work done that we are here to do and reach a compromise that includes long-overdue reforms to make the operation of the Senate more fair and open.”