Let's Make This Perfectly Clear.

The legislature did not pass a budget, the GOP did. Dayton did not shut the state down, the GOP and the Democrats did. The GOP did not compromise, the Democrats did not compromise. The GOP does not have a mandate. It is not the legislature verses Dayton. This whole thing boils down to GOP versus Democrats and the will and good of the citizens of Minnesota be dammed.

Both parties violated the spirit of the Minnesota Constitution. The citizens of Minnesota spoke when they voted, and they said negoiate compromise, because we are evenly divided. Here are the votes.
STATE HOUSE:

• Republicans candidates: 1,036,019 votes (50.99%)

• DFL candidates: 995,853 votes (49.01%)

Republicans won by just under two percentage points.
* * *
STATE SENATE:

• Republican candidates: 1,021,633 votes (50.41%)

• DFL candidates: 1,005,132 votes (49.59%)

 

Hardly a mandate, yet the GOP remains arrogant and talks like they have a mandate from the people. They don't. The Democrats as a result have there back up against the wall and they are not compromising either.  When all is said and done this will cost the taxpayers 100's of million of dollars, not only in state expense because of the shut down, but, lost wages, revenue, tourist trade, and the list goes on. The legislators need to get back to work and settle this thing, not along party lines, but along the will of the people of Minnesota. 

The GOP has the most to lose. The backlash could cost them all there gains by a huge margin in 2012. Whoever is giving them there political advice had better revise it and start listening to the people. The same holds true for the Democrats. There needs to be give and take. The GOP needs to realize this is not us against them and that they are slowly loosing there backing. They have already angered the sportsmen of Minnesota by breaking there promise to them and they have a long memory. Know they angering the poor by refusing to tax the rich, and now the majority of people in the state are against the gay marriage bill. Their Senators have created a backlash with people like Hackbarth calling a citizen and a union communist and murderers, and they won't talk about reprimanding Hackbarth. They have fallen into the Democrats trap by making the Democrats victims, and they don't see it. Also most people are smart enough to see that you can't balance a 6 billion dollar deficit with cuts alone, there has to be some new revenue, but they refuse to look at any.

The Democrats on the other hand are also angering people by wanting to raise taxes and we don't know if their proposed tax on the rich will affect low income people. Dayton made a huge mistake by promising never to shut down the state. People will remember that. 

Both sides need to remember that as legislators they are not negotiating for the party they are negotiating for the will of the people, and neither side has done that. They all need to read the following from the Constitution of the State of Minnesota.

ARTICLE I
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 1. Object of government. Government is instituted for the security, benefit and protection of the people, in whom all political power is inherent, together with the right to alter, modify or reform government whenever required by the public good.

Sec. 2. Rights and privileges. No member of this state shall be disfranchised or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the state otherwise than as punishment for a crime of which the party has been convicted.