- The single smartest move yesterday was that the Republicans brought most of their caucus to the Capitol to show they were ready to work. This has forced at least some news outlets to admit that nothing can happen until Gov. Dayton calls the legislature back into session. You could see the pain on the face of KARE news anchor Mike Pomeranz last night as he had to tell his viewers that the governor refused to call the legislature back into session. Having to report Dayton's refusal blows away one of the key talking points that Dayton and his allies have been using, which is that the legislature won't do its job. At this point, Dayton isn't allowing the legislators to do their job. More on that in a moment.
- Continuing with something we've noticed here before -- at one point in KARE's newscast, as they were coming back from a commercial break, they had live footage of Dayton speaking. Oddly enough, there was no audio, but we were treated to about a minute of the governor grimacing and looking profoundly uncomfortable. As is often the case, Dayton has trouble communicating his message unless it is properly prepackaged.
- Dayton's rationale for not calling the lege back into session is that, supposedly, he needs to have a complete budget deal before he'll bring them back. It goes along with the same line he's been offering all year, which is that he doesn't want a "piecemeal" solution. This is nonsense, of course. What Dayton wants is for the legislature to rubber stamp his agenda. He won't agree to an incremental approach because the minute he does so, his agenda is on the table. More importantly, if the lege goes back into session, he loses control of the situation.
- I was amused at one claim made in a television ad concerning the shutdown, in which someone who is dressed as a MnDOT worker talks about there being no guard rails on the roads. So are we to assume that, prior to the shutdown, MnDOT took down all the existing guard rails? Or that, once this matter is resolved, if Dayton doesn't get his way any future road construction won't include new guard rails, because MnDOT won't be able to afford guard rails because those rat bastard Scrooge McDuck Republicans want Minnesotans to be DEAD DEAD DEAD?
Friday, July 01, 2011
Shutdown
It's on. A few thoughts:
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5 comments:
I was amused at one claim made in a television ad concerning the shutdown, in which someone who is dressed as a MnDOT worker talks about there being no guard rails on the roads.
Definition of irony: On my drive in to the radio station tomorrow to rip Gov. Dayton over the shutdown, I am injured in a one-car accident because the ditch I drove into was not surrounded by guard rails.
everything i saw in MN was pretty flat. you can go off the road, and really end up nowhere but road level in a field of corn.
unless the guard rails are supposed to protect the corn, then i'd understand.
the other six months of the year, just pile up snow. you dont need rails.
Gino, you wouldn't want to pile up the snow because that would make it hard. Better to just go flying into the Marshmallow field.
Notice that the "biggest" things among Dayton's shutdown targets were the Minnesota Zoo and the State Parks, things that would have been money-makers for the State over the 4th of July weekend. It is as plain as the snow in January that Dayton has been planning for this shutdown since the get-go, without regard for anything rational. Of course, Dayton makes "Governor Goofy" look like a cerebral statesman.
This is Dayton's shutdown. He could have a deal, even a good deal, any time he wants. He could have a "lights on" bill to avoid a shutdown, any time he wants. Therefore, he wants a shutdown, for reasons known only to a crazy person.
Republicans are doing everything right it is just that they have a huge media disadvantage with the public. Without a quick and easy way to overcome that, it is tempting to simply ask them to behave as they are being painted. Tell Dayton that the offering today is $34 billion, or whatever it is. Tomorrow the offer is 33.9, and the next day it is 33.8, and so on, until the special session is called. At the end of thirty days the offer is $31 billion, which is where the GOP should have started the "compromising."
J. Ewing
WBPickle: i've seen snow on TV. it looks soft, i'm sure of it.
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