It apparently took the building anger of Minnesotans to convince lawmakers and the governor to end a partial government shutdown. That anger was laced with embarrassment during and after the July 4th weekend.
It was enough for some Minnesotans to suggest all incumbents should be tossed out. At the very least, they have some explaining (not excuse-making) to do.
The tipping point came over the long July 4th weekend when the state's highway rest stops and tourist information centers were barricaded and locked. Travelers were inconvenienced and upset. Minnesotans were embarrassed when visiting relatives and friends found basic roadside services were unavailable.
In a state once known for good government and top-notch public amenities, the rest stop shutdown over a holiday weekend was an appropriate symbol of gridlock brought about by political gamesmanship.
Of course, the suspension of other routine state services also began to pinch. Young people could not get driver's licenses. Contractors could not get permits to move heavy machinery. Road projects and other state-funded construction that depend on summer weather lost days of work. Thousands of state employees began a collective seethe as they were furloughed for an indefinite time.
ADVERTISEMENT
Minnesota did not collapse. Lawmakers provided funding for essential services with special legislation. And in one of the more cynical ploys to come out of St. Paul in a long time, they found a way to keep state parks open for the holiday weekend - a failed attempt to blunt the ire of their constituents. Savvy Minnesotans detected the stunt and got madder.
Meanwhile, the budget process was near collapse. Bickering and finger-pointing between legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Pawlenty were akin to schoolyard taunts. Even with the temporary agreement that was cobbled together late Saturday and ratified Monday, the Legislature still is in session and is working to complete final budget work by Thursday.
Pawlenty, specifically, has a lot to answer for. He's the state's leader. He's in the best position of any politician to use the bully pulpit to move public opinion and thus the Legislature. Yet, he stonewalled behind his foolish "no-new-taxes" pledge, and then tried define his revenue generators as "fees" rather than what they are: taxes.
Politics always is part of legislating. Lawmakers bring party politics and sincere ideologies to their work. But by its nature, lawmaking requires compromise. That factor was missing in the legislative equations in the regular session and a special session. The resulting partial government shutdown suggested the governor and several legislative leaders were too quick to sacrifice the peoples' business on the altar of rigid political agendas.
Throw 'em out? A radical solution, to be sure, but an option that should be considered.
Minnesotans can expect the finger-pointing to escalate. Individual lawmakers will go home and try to spin the embarrassment they created in St. Paul. A few already have done partisan dances for the TV cameras in which they tallied up winners and losers.
A toss-the-incumbents-out movement might be just the right message. After all, they screwed up. They should be held accountable.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum
ADVERTISEMENT
management and the newspaper's Editorial Board.
