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DEMOCRATS PLAY GAMES WITH TRANSPORTATION BILL; CAPTIOL DEMOCRATS SHOW NO ABILITY TO WORK WITH REPUBLICANS ON TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE
By Michael B. Brodkorb | February 18, 2008
"ST. PAUL — Minnesota House leaders insisted Friday that a multibillion-dollar transportation bill speeding toward floor votes and a likely veto is the only road plan they'll consider this year.
The assessment from House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Majority Leader Tony Sertich adds pressure to Republican legislators deciding if they should break ranks with GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The bill could hit his desk late next week.
'One bill. No games,' said Sertich, DFL-Chisholm" Source: Associated Press, February 18, 2008
Click here for the complete story.
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"'This is the bill,' Kelliher said. If it doesn't pass, the House will not take a run at a second bill with a lower price tag.
House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, agreed. 'No games. One bill,' he said.
Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty has threatened to veto the bill because it increases taxes.
If he does, Kelliher said, she would move for an override vote 'fairly quickly.' Democrats hold 85 of the 134 House seats, but they need five Republican votes to reach the two-thirds majority necessary to overturn a veto.
House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, has said repeatedly that House Republicans would vote to sustain a Pawlenty veto. But Kelliher said DFLers have been courting Republicans.
'We think we have the votes to override,' she said." Source: Pioneer Press, February 16, 2008
Click here for the complete story.
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According to press reports, House Democrats plan on bringing up their massive tax-raising transportation bill this Thursday in the House of Representatives. Based on the quotes above, it's clear that House Democrats don't want to work with Republicans on a transportation bill that doesn't include massive tax increases.
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February 18th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Tax and spend, tax and spend, tax and spend…
To think, DFL’ers actually got upset by billboards around town that called them as they are, Tax and Spend liberals.
Guess the billboards were right after all.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:29 am
The strategy is simple. The Senate now has the votes to override. So the House Speaker is pulling a Nancy Pelosi by telling Republicans (some that have shown an interest in raising the tax in the past) hey you might not like this, but this is the only bill you vote on this year so vote for it or go home and lets argue you didn’t care about improving roads (I don’t think she realizes it’s a loser for the Democrats).
Or and this might be speculation. She puts this vote up, but forces the governor to call a special session to pass a compromise bill. The problem is the governor can call it, but the House and Senate control the closure. They can pass all sorts of bills (or try). Didn’t Marty say there was something like 42 business days left this year?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
February 18th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
The bill will pass. The Governor will veto. The veto will be overidden.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Wow! These people are absolute idiots. You just don’t make a 65%-35% issue, where you’re on the 35% side, the centerpiece of your legislative agenda.
If the 2 main issues of the session are immigration and raising taxes, the GOP may have a chance to pick up some house seats this fall.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
The veto will be overridden in the Senate, certainly, but in the House? What Republican is d**n fool enough to do that to himself?
February 18th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Disgusting. I lose so I take my ball and go home…that’s not leadership.
The DFL should be ashamed.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
It’s very amusing to hear all the Repubicans be upset about this tactic… it’s the same one the Governor has been using time and time again since he has been elected. Looks to me like the Democrats are giving him a taste of his own medicine.
Rep. Seifert better count his votes again, I am not sure he has enough.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
If five Republicans cross over and vote to over ride this veto, the Republican party will be toast in this state. If, as I suspect they will hold strong, they will take back many seats this fall. Don’t they read the polls? A lot of Minnesotans are finally on to these commie Democrats, now is not the time to get weak.
February 18th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Vern:
Keep in mind President Bush started using his veto and it forced the Democrats to rewrite bills. Tim’s solution is I think there are better ways than raising taxes so lets try to work it. When we’re in a recession do you think it’s a good idea to pass a tax increase that is basically regressive?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
February 18th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
The MNGOP have been calling the DFL tax and spenders for years.
Funny how our fellow Minnesotans, who know the MNGOP line, still voted for the DFL candidates.
The DFL gained 32 seats in the House in 2004 & 2006 elections, to become the majority.
Looks like Minnesotans want improvements and they are willing to pay for them.
A bill with increased spending wouldn’t look to good on the VP resume, but a veto override would look worse.
Try thinking of the gas tax as a “pay at the pump road user fee”.
There it isn’t a tax increase.
That’ll do Sheeple that’ll do
February 18th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
HCDFL:
It was asked for the candidates in the governor race will you raise the gas tax. Two candidates said no. Hatch said he might raise it. Who lost? It was Hatch.
Now as for the House gains lets keep in mind the Democrats went around saying they will make things better without raising taxes. Instead they have been racing to raise all types of taxes. They’re going get creamed in November.
Besides about 60% plus have been saying every one of their major proposals are a stupid idea. It seems the DFL isn’t representing the people they have promised to represent.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
February 18th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
HCDFL,
You won alot of seats in the suburban districts by a pretty slim margin by saying very little except we aren’t Republican and we care about the kids. Your leaders also said they “didn’t see a reason” to raise taxes. Then you went and proposed anywhere from 4-8 billion in tax increases. I’d have to go back and look for the specific amount. And currently you are pushing a “pay at the pump road using fee” that is not popular. By the way, I didn’t know sales taxes were “paying at the pump”…
Should be interesting to see those margins in the suburbs in November when we have a deficit, gas prices are soaring, property taxes are out of control because local governments just can’t help themselves, wallets of taxpayers are getting tight etc. and your people think voters want to be taxed more… Or that you think you have finally convinced them that they aren’t taxed enough. I don’t think it’s going to work. But I guess we can only wait and see. My guess is that HCGOP reclaim many of their suburban seats.
So if you manage to ram this monstrosity transportation bill through and low and behold, there are still potholes, grid lock, and not enough bike trails and trains (or anybody using them, if you build it they don’t automatically come), are you going to propose another gigantic tax jack? Is there such a thing as being taxed too much? Have you seen a tax increase you haven’t liked? Is there ever a wasted tax dollar? Do you think the government can spend hard earned dollars of wage earners better than those that put in the hard earned part?
The transportation bill is too fat. Almost any Republican House member dumb enough to vote for an override will probably have alot of idle time on their hands next year at this time. But there will probably be more than a few new GOP Reps enjoying their first session. If the bill wasn’t so bad, it might be a good thing to see.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Walter,
Please tell me when it’s a “good” time to raise taxes? According to the GOP you can’t when times are good, you can’t when times are bad, you can’t when gas prices are high, you can’t when bridges fall down, you can’t in war, you can’t when polls suggest people are against it, you can’t when people support it, you can’t in an election year, so do you have a definition of when you would ever raise a tax? Or are you a believer in the Governor’s world of “magical fees”?
Tim’s solution has been for the last few years my way or the highway. The DFL has tried to find a compromise on the transportation bill, but Tim always crafts things in a way that makes compromise next to impossible. He like gridlock, he has shown he doesn’t care if the government shuts down and his only play is hold the ball and stall until he either gets out of here on the VP ticket or get some primo federal job before the shit hits the fan.
In the end he talks a good talk, looks like a nice guy, but has only failed policies and few accomplishments to show for his time in office. As our schools fall from national leaders, the quality of our healthcare gets worse, our job climate flounders and higher eduaction get more and more unaffordable people will not remember
the Tim years fondly.
Besides Jesse, look at all the Governors before him… each one has been a leader and had vision and in the end found a way to move Minnesota forward.
Pawlenty a legacy of inaction…
February 19th, 2008 at 3:31 am
Hebee, I have a question for you. Isn’t it better to be RESPONSIBLE with the funds you do have and spend it wisely instead of tossing it every little whim?
Why waste tax education tax dollars on every little “make the kids feel good about themselves” initiative instead of actually teaching them how to read, write, etc? We won’t even talk about stupid stuff like coffee shops in the high schools and astroturf on their football fields.
The healthcare isn’t getting worse, more expensive yet, but not worse. Also, healthcare costs didn’t start going up astronomically until government decided to stick it’s fingers into the mess in the first place. So now you want even more government control on it so the prices will shoot up even more?
The job climite, especially in MN is ‘floundering’ because of too high of corporate taxes and an unfriendly climate toward business. That isn’t the fault of conservatives, that’s the fault of liberals.
All governors before Pawlenty have been leaders and had a vision? LOL! I’ll remind myself of that, especially Gov Goofy (Perpich) and his failed chopstick factory. Now that was some vision.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:07 am
All I know is that a year or so ago, we had a 2 billion dollars budget surplus. DFL has majorities in the house and the senate for a year, and the state is now rolling in red ink.
I don’t claim to know all the ins and outs and details of every bit of legislation, but Hebee, how exactly have the democrats compromised on the transportation issue? I heard Seiffert say on the radio that this transportation bill is the same or worse than last years bill that Pawlenty vetoed.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Hebee:
First of all raising taxes drive businesses to other states (South Dakota with no corporate income tax). The merger with Northwest Airlines and Delta the headquarters is going to be in Atlanta in part because of taxes!
Second, when you have funds that are suppose to be dedicated such as the motor vehicle sales tax to roads lets make it 100% roads. We were sold the lie last year 100% will go to transportation, but it was rigged where 40% if not 100% will go to mass transit. Compare with the bang for the buck on mass transit versus roads roads are the big winner.
Three, lets say you make $40,000 a year (I just made up a number). You don’t go and try to live on $50,000. You certainly don’t have the power to force you boss to hand you over $10,000 this year. And once you’re at $50,000 than you will find a way to spend $65,000 and demand another $15,000 from your boss. Why don’t you show me the state restraining spending instead of spending billions.
Four, people have an idea if you invest money you get results. We invest something like over a Billion dollars every budget cycle to the University system. Yet tuition keeps going up at rates which make gasoline prices look thirfty. Maybe the univesity system should be told for every percent more than 3% tuition goes up you loses a hundred million in state aide. That will cap the growth in tuition immediately!
So lets spend better. The problem is the DFL doesn’t want to spend better. They just want to spend more and try to pretend the rich are paying.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN