Today's the first day of the shutdown, and nothing happened. Nothing at all. The House and Senate met for about five minutes, then delayed coming back and working all day until they decided to go home. When are they going to meet next? Who knows? When will this be over? Well, I'm growing less optimistic every day. They just keep right on blowing past every stop sign imaginable.
posted by MN Politics Guru @ 18:02
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2 Comments:
Looking for whose to blame for the Minnesota shutdown ?
ME.
Yup, blame me. See I wasted my vote believing that someone promoting fiscal prudence and shared sacrifices could get elected. I should have realized that Tim Penny could not win and voted for Roger Moe. Don't you agree that Roger Moe would have forced a compromise ?
Somehow, Tim Pawenty does not realize that a majority of Minnesota voters did not vote for him.
That stated, he proudly noted the good actions of the current session. Yep, he's right. The bonding bill got done ... oh, wait a second, wasn't the bonding bill supposed to be done last year. The Conceal and Carry Law was enacted ... oh, wait, didn't they do that last year .. oh, yah, the Courts ruled that was improperly enacted by the legislature, so its a redo. And surely it was a personal pleasure for GovTim to veto of the gas-tax bill ... passed by MN Republicans and DFLers.
The political axiom is that incumbents get reelected because of their name recognition and the voters' short memories. Well, I got a memory.
One serious suggestion for the legislature, next year, Dean Johnson and House Speaker Steve Sviggum should not offer their services as leaders.
In the "old" days, legislators on both sides of the aisle had the instincts to know when it was time to get the job done.
Some thoughts:
1. Legislators of the old era were farmers, teachers, business owners, etc. and "legislating" was their second job. Now, too many legislators are simply political hacks who have no understanding of the real world since they do not work in it. At all.
2. The internet is a wonderful tool, but it is also a weapon. Flames can get fanned in a nanosecond as "something" from the internet becomes a "fact" with little (or no) substantiation.
3. Being a public figure today means that you have had to live under a rock most of your life. The legislators of years past had their scrapes and scraps, but the unwritten rules of the game were such that these lapses in judgement were outweighed by one's ability to get the job done.
With the expectation of "perfection," many who might consider public office pass for the simple reason that they do not need (or want) to have their entire life bared for all to see.
4. In years past, legislators could do mortal combat during the day, but then share a drink and be human at the end of the day. From my own experiences in that era, quite a bit of public policy was debated and potential solutions discussed over beer and peanuts. Today's era of demanding that each and every legislator "toe the line" or face immediate and vile consequences from every direction has fostered polarization. The intimidation factor IS there and a lot of younger legislators with ideas on how to solve problems stay muzzled for fear of reprisals from within--and outside--their own party.
5. Save for an experienced chief-of-staff, TPaw has a bunch of policy wonks working for him who are more concerned about their own outcome than the people. Leaders are only as good as the people around them. Draw your own conclusions.
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