Does Anyone Believe Them?

That's my question after reading this Strib article about the just-finished DFL State Convention. Here's what I'm talking specifically about:
Hatch gave his task an initial shot in a rambling acceptance speech that punched some of the right buttons. He cast Pawlenty as too stingy with education, responsible for large class sizes and rising college tuition. He tagged him for an inadequate response to soaring health care costs and the emerging biosciences industry. He promised more state investment in those things. Significantly, he said, "we can do this without raising taxes."
I agree that restoring education funding can be done without raising taxes. That said, does anyone in their right mind think that Democrats won't raise taxes? I'll believe that the day I get photos of a leopard rearranging the spots on his fur. Believing that a Democrat won't raise taxes instinctively is like believing that making sudden movements towards a cobra won't get you bit. You can believe it all you want but reality is reality.

Then there's this:
Melendez wasn't crowing about change as boldly on Sunday as he did Friday, but he left Rochester a happy party chair. "We come out of this convention the most unified that we've been in two decades," he said. It's a credible claim, despite Lourey's threat.
Melendez's claim isn't credible because Lourey's fighting Hatch in a primary while Ford Bell is doing the same with Amy Klobuchar. That doesn't seal Hatch's or Klobuchar's fate by any means but it's making their challenge bigger.
What remains to be seen is whether, even united, this year's DFL machine has the muscle to wrest the governorship from Tim Pawlenty in a three-way race. The answer might lie in the party's ability to counter a favorite Pawlenty refrain: He and the Republicans represent the future, while the DFL is "the party of the past."
I don't believe the day that Democrats bring forth new ideas is coming anytime soon because they're so tied to all the various lobbying groups. Teachers unions and trial lawyers demand the status quo & Dems know it. And they can't afford to not do as 'the Groups' dictate.



Originally posted Monday, June 12, 2006, revised 21-Feb 12:14 PM

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