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NEW DFL LEGISLATIVE TACTICS: THREATEN THE GOVERNOR
By Michael B. Brodkorb | May 7, 2007
"'We've got a governor who's never won a majority of the vote yet but acts like he's got a mandate,' said Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, a longtime foe. 'He better recognize there's a DFL Legislature and start looking for compromise.'
But it was the DFLers who blinked last week, removing domestic-partner benefits from a government finance bill and pulling a controversial insurance provision from a crime measure, both in the face of Pawlenty's veto threats.
Calm in his belief that his proposed 9.8 percent increase in state spending over two years would satisfy most Minnesotans, Pawlenty has said he has no intention of allowing the $500 million income-tax increase DFLers want or other large tax boosts." Source: Star Tribune, May 7, 2007
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Topics: Uncategorized | 23 Comments »
23 Responses to “NEW DFL LEGISLATIVE TACTICS: THREATEN THE GOVERNOR”
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May 7th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Hey Rukavina… how did Hatch’s campaign turn out last year? Oh yeah, he f’n lost… The state re-elected Pawlenty to goal-tend you silly liberal morns from completely ruining the state.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:05 am
The governor dropped social issues completely.
The Democrats brought domestic partner benefits and slashed pro-life programs.
The governor compromised on tax relief (none) and spending (more) back in January.
The Democrats sat on their a** for three months, then proposed a tax increase. Maybe they could learn a thing or two about compromise.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:14 am
I’d also remind Rukavina that T-Paw kicked Moe’s ass by nearly 15 percent in 2002. He’s got whatever mandate he wants to have… and he sure has hell has the mandate to hold the line… his 56 percent approval rating mets that out.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Is that the politician who got a DUI a few years ago? His name sounds familiar.
If I have the wrong person, I apologize. If it is the guy who got cited for drunken driving, the guy is a moron and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
May 7th, 2007 at 10:08 am
How do you sustain the Governors new programs with one time money? 9.8% and use the surplus is all well and good, but what happens the next go around to the programs that used the surplus dollars for support? I certainly think there are things that should come out of the DFL budget bills, and I would think that this would happen in negotiations. But how does one negotiate if the other person refuses to discuss anything?
May 7th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Hey Rukavina…
Even the French are starting to get a clue!
May 7th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I think that was the mayor of Duluth who got the dui.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Titus,
The operative phrase in your comments is 9.8%. If government cannot function with a 9.8% increase, there is something fundamentally wrong and we need to scrap our system entirely and start over. How many households get 9.8% raises?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:25 am
I’m still worried when it sounds like Pawlenty will “[veto] other LARGE tax boosts.” Since the DFL is proposing dozens of tax increases, some large and some small, does this mean Pawlenty will sign off on some, when it is obvious from the surplus that we’re already taxed too much and should be getting a CUT? Where is it written that government can never get by with less?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Remember it’s 9.8 percent over two years, so effectively, it’s a 4.9 percent annual increase… Still, that’s well above inflation, and well above what taxpayers are getting for salary increases.
I would say that government is running rather optimally right now. A tax hike would be stupid policy. … but I don’t think tax cuts are warranted either, at this point.
The current projected $2 billion surplus is perfect for financing some needed, one-time expenditures, paying off debt, etc. Anything that represents a permanent spending increase should be vetoed the second it hits T-Paw’s desk.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Where are the questions about reducing the size of government? Where are the innovators with new ways to privately provide services now delivered by public employees for less cost and better service to taxpayers?
When the leftist spinsters get off the “we must have more money” mantra they could come to the conclusion like any of us in teh real world would, that there must be radical reforms in the status quo of grow, grow, grow the governmnet in order to get more effective production out of public bureaucracies.
Where is the teacher union on reforming education?
May 7th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
drew…your question about education and the teacher’s union makes me laugh.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
You know I’ve been getting laughs at how the DFL majority thinks the governor is out of touch
* On the bond they said we might pass a smaller version by taking out some of the governor’s programs. Lets see he proposed $70 million roughly. Where did that other $260 million plus come from?
* The governor is behaving like a two year old. I get the impression that the DFL has been acting like a child that says I want this! I want that! Which means the governor is the responsible parent saying no!
* We will make it difficult for the governor to veto the bills by putting something he wants in everybill. The bonding bill shows how that idea turned out.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
May 7th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Pawlenty doesn’t have time to compromise, he’s too busy campaigning for McCain.
May 7th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
The DFL has made it pretty clear it’s not interested in compromise, or even passing realistic legislation.
So far this year, they’ve done everything they said they wouldn’t do during the campaign. And they’ve done nothing they said they would do.
The DFL has no mandate to push the shit they’re pushing. T-Paw has them in the vice.
May 7th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Is anyone watching the legislative session today? The DFL is perverting the legislative process beyond recognition. I hope the media is watching. The Speaker refuses to make a ruling, Republican amendments are struck down on blatantly partisan moves that contradict each other. Theere is a set of DFL rules and a set of GOP rules.
I hope the media is watching and reports on this. How much did we hear in the last election — or just the last week — about cooperation and bipartisanship?
If the media is truly a public watchdog, this will get reported far and wide. If it is ignored, the media is nothing but a bunch of story tellers narrating the tale they want the public to hear.
May 7th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
The Guv made it clear he isn’t interested in negotiating. He vetoed the entire bonding bill, even though he could have singled out projects to let go forward. This needs to be remembered if the legislature is called into special session: the governor with his line-item veto pen could have had exactly what he wanted, but he threw the baby out with the bath-water because he wants to do it his way.
May 7th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
When the people elected DFLers they should have known that every stupid project some hairbrained idiot could come up with would pass the House and Senate.
Thank Heaven that we have someone able to say no.
May 7th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Otter, if he has to veto 80 percent of the legislation by line-item, it’s best to send that lump of crap back to the DFL outhouse from whence it came. It was a good use of the veto.
May 7th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
No Chris it is not simply the 9.8% or 4.9% per year, it also clearly includes the spending of the budget surplus. The Governor has been saying this, as have others like Rep. Seifert. How do we sustain programs that are funded by using surplus dollars this go around? The Governor has many new programs included in his budget that USES the surplus dollars to make budget.
May 8th, 2007 at 9:27 am
otter:
The governor will negoiate when it will. He vetoed the whole bill instead of picking items that he wanted because he was sending a message we can’t afford bill after bill that has outrageous spending in it. The governor’s bill was something like $70 million, the house and Senate had bills like $255 and $280 million and wound up with $334. When the negoiate spending goes up. That isn’t the negoiations we need.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
May 8th, 2007 at 9:50 am
He vetoed the whole bonding bill to show that stupid spending will not be tolerated. Had he line-itemed, the DFL would just send him massive spending bills and let him do all the hard work. The full veto actually is bringing about more cooperation and more compromise, because they know he is serious.
It’s also worthy to note that the DFL has not yet tried to override his veto on the bonding bill, because they are frightened to show that they will lose. Cowards. Even the fools in Washington brought up an override they knew would not succeed.
Still waiting for the media to inform Minnesotans about the abuse of the legislative process done by this legislature.
Still waiting…
May 8th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Titus,
There is never enough spending or programs in liberal land. That is the problem. You people think you can tax and spend our state into prosperity. But instead, you’re hurting working people by taking their money for programs they don’t need or even want.