Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XVII -- To the Floor

After all this time, and after essentially tossing most of the regular business of the government to the side, the Vikings stadium bill finally hits the floor of the House today. A few thoughts:

• One thing worth remembering about what will happen today is that it will be possible to add amendments to the bill during the debate. I fully expect stadium opponents to use that possibility and would strongly encourage its use. For example, they could make funding contingent on a referendum in Minneapolis, or they could add in provisions from bills that the governor has vetoed. The key will be keeping the Republican caucus together on this, which could be tough, given the beating that Kurt Zellers has taken (and earned) in recent days. One wonders how much of the anger over Gov. Dayton's behavior in recent days will be expressed today.
• If the bill passes, there is going to be litigation against it and the public record of the debate will be very useful to the plaintiffs. 
• In the end, I think that the Republicans will lose their nerve and the bill will pass, by a vote or two. It will be interesting to see if the DFL brings more votes than the 34 they promised. They may have to.