The Day After

The Minnesota legislative session closed last night at midnight and as I predicted some months ago, when all was said and done, nothing was said and done. In one of the worse cases of partisan politics I have ever seen, neither side of aisle gave one inch to the other side. The legislative session was one of the biggest wastes of taxpayer’s money, at a time when Minnesota has a huge deficit, that I have ever seen. Both sides did a terrible job of communicating to the voters, and even the Star Tribune did not see fit to give the final days any headlines in the newspaper.

I am not sure what the Democrats did, as they even had there constituency crying out for information. It was claimed that they spent thousands of dollars for copying costs, but put nothing out to the public. The Dems claimed throughout the session that GOP would not compromise, but didn’t give the public anything more than their word for it. Governor Dayton allegedly left the capital early last night and was not available to sign or veto any bills. There was so much name calling going back and forth I can’t remember if the Dems got a bill passed or not.

Then there is the GOP. I have to admit at the start that I have been a lifelong Republican, and even had the opportunity in my younger days to have provided security for then former President Eisenhower,(picture on this blog). That having been said, I also have never been as embarrassed to admit that I am a conservative as I have these past few months. The GOP in Minnesota let the last election go entirely to their heads, and instead of being the party of change as they said during the elections, they were the party of name calling, stubbornness and non-compromise. It seems as though the GOP leadership was going to cram there agenda down the throats of anyone who got in their way.

Ignoring the budget deficit, the GOP first rammed through the voter ID bill, which supposedly solves a problem with fraudulent voting, which nobody in MN knew existed except the GOP. They then, against the wishes of the majority of MN voters, managed to pass the Gay Marriage bill, that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and put an amendment vote to the public. From all accounts, this appears headed for defeat at the next election. The GOP claims to have solved the budget problem without raising taxes. This however, is about as far from the truth as Pawlenty wants to be during his campaign. The truth be told is that the cuts made by the GOP will only force local governments and school boards to raise real estate taxes and fees. I guess the GOP doesn’t count that as taxes. Whenever a family has to pay additional fees for their kids to play football or play in the band, that is the direct result of budget cutting at the state level, which, if passed as is, will certainly result with the GOP budget. The GOP also turned their back on a large voter group when the senior leaders killed the No Retreat bill. Gun owners are sure to have a long memory at the polls in 2012. Traditionally, the GOP has had the backing of the NRA, but I am sure many NRA members are going to think twice at the polls. Today the GOP leadership is traveling the state to gain support for their agenda. I am curious to see the voter’s reaction.

The next step in the process is the special session. I certainly hope that the GOP name calling stops and both sides take the session seriously. The need to settle down and solve the budget crisis in a bi-partisan manner and both sides need to stop acting like a stubborn child.