The bill previously approved by the House to give “local control” to fluoridation of water — to end use of fluoride in many localities, in other words — failed to pass the Senate Public Health committee this morning after the usual debate pitting medical experts against the anti-fluoride crowd.

The bill was co-sponsored by three of the most extreme teabaggers in the Senate — Linda Collins-Smith, Scott Flippo and Gary Stubblefield.

So there is at least ONE bill that Republican hegemony can’t push over the finish line. And this isn’t exactly a committee noted for its progressive tendencies. Members on the Republican side, including Stubblefield and Flippo,  are Cecile Bledsoe, Missy Irvin, David Sanders and John Cooper. Irvin and Bledsoe are married to doctors and Bledsoe’s son is surgeon general of Arkansas. So maybe that helped. Democrats on the committee are Stephanie Flowers and Keith Ingram. Five votes are necessary for committee approval.

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