The Reward for Bipartisanship

Mark Dayton gives David Senjem his reward for helping to jam the Vaseline Dome home:

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a GOP-led package of business tax breaks that would have blown a $100 million hole in the state budget in coming years.

That's some nice stenography from Strib reporter Baird Helgeson, but we'll let that pass for the moment:

“It ignored my requirement that any future spending must be paid for and avoid adding to the next biennium’s projected deficit,” Dayton said in the veto letter.

The tax bill had been one of the top priorities of Republicans who control the Legislature and the state business community. Dayton vetoed a much larger tax bill two weeks ago, so Republicans scrambled to piece together a new, scaled down version.

Only to get slapped down again. And by the way, Governor, if you were so interested in "paying for" future spending, why the hell did you commit the state to half a billion dollars, at a minimum, for a new palace for Zygmunt Wilf? Wait'll the pull-tabs don't come close to paying for things.

But of course, this is only part one of the reward. Part two will be the flood of advertisements we'll be watching over the next six months castigating the "do-nothing" legislature. Maybe they can bring back the woman who kept braying "Tom EmMMMMMER!!!" in the last cycle and have her say "Kurt ZellERRRRRRSS!!!" or something.

Frogs and scorpions, people. The tax bill was a hell of a lot more important for the long-term health of this state than appeasing the NFL and the braying denizens of Helga Braid Nation. But instead of making Dayton sign a tax bill before he got what he wanted, you did it the other way around, and this is your reward. Congratulations.