February 11-13, 2008
Feb 11 16:09 Back Up & Running Feb 11 17:05 Congress, Do No Harm Feb 11 18:59 Striking Out On Her Own Feb 12 17:32 Wrong-Headed Thinking Feb 13 07:17 Picking Up Right Where They Left Off Feb 13 18:23 State of the State Address Impressions Feb 13 20:15 DFL Reactions & Replies
Prior Months: Jan
Back Up & Running
In case you've been wondering why posting was light the last couple days, the explanation is simple: My furnace was out. As in it would've been unbearably cold had it not been for the sunflower heater deployed in the living room & the space heater deployed to keep my roommate's room warm.
I woke up a little before 3 am Sunday morning. It was already cold. Fifty degrees cold. A call was quickly placed to Morgan at AAA Plumbing & Heating here in St. Cloud. The diagnosis was that the inducer motor was broken & needed replacing. Obviously, there aren't many places open at 3am Sunday morning. The good news was that Brainerd had an inducer motor in stock. AAA drove to Brainerd this morning & installed the part this afternoon. The furnace is back running like gangbusters.
I'd like to thank Morgan from AAA. He did a great job diagnosing the problem & repairing the furnace. If anyone has a furnace to be worked on in the greater St. Cloud area, I strongly recommend them calling AAA. They did a thoroughly professional job.
Posted Monday, February 11, 2008 4:09 PM
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Congress, Do No Harm
With the Senate about to debate the FISA bill, the first caution I'd offer President Bush and Congress is to do no harm to our intel-gathering capabilities. The WSJ has stated the same thing in this editorial . that isn't the only advice they're giving Congress. Here's something else they said that I've written about before:
He's also acceded to a provision in the Senate Intelligence bill that is troublesome enough. That's Oregon Senator Ron Wyden's amendment requiring the FISA court to approve all overseas surveillance of U.S. citizens. This would go beyond current law, which allows eavesdropping of Americans abroad if the Attorney General makes a finding of "probable cause" of some criminal act. The Wyden provision would transfer that "probable cause" judgment to unelected judges, which means that Americans abroad who are suspected of aiding terrorists would get more wiretap judicial review than do Americans suspected of drug offenses.As I said here , the Fourth Amendment doesn't apply to reasonable searches. It's only applicable to unreasonable searches. For those who say that we have a system of checks and balances, I'd suggest that Congress, not FISA judges, should be the check to the White House.
This paragraph sums up my views perfectly:
Which brings us to the larger problem with this entire exercise. Congress's overriding goal here is to further hamstring our intelligence war-fighters with legal rigidity and complexity, but to do so in a way that dodges its own oversight duties by passing the buck to FISA judges. White House lawyers know this is unconstitutional, but intelligence officials say it's more important to have Congress's blessing for these wiretaps. And because the telecom companies won't cooperate without immunity, Mr. Bush is being bullied into trading away some of his own power to get that immunity.I couldn't think of a better way of highlighting the differences between Republicans' and Democrats' perspective on national security. When the NY Times broke the NSA article, they conducted a poll on how people felt about warrantless intercepts. The poll showed that 70+ percent of respondents didn't have a problem with it. Republicans should rejoice anytime that the Democrats want to take the 30 side of a 70-30 issue. That's especially true when the issue is national security.
Mr. Bush would do better by future Presidents if he opposed the Wyden amendment, and any further concessions would amount to an abdication as Commander in Chief. He has the political high ground on this issue. If Congress does more harm, he should declare that to protect the country he'll use his Constitutional war powers to wiretap al Qaeda anyway and toss the issue squarely in the middle of the Presidential campaign.
If it's the Democrats' intent to hamstring our intel-gathering abilities, the new media should make certain that it's done in the bright sunlight of our scrutiny.
Posted Monday, February 11, 2008 5:06 PM
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Striking Out On Her Own
Last year, Harry Reid was the predictor of doom and gloom in Iraq. Last July, he even talked Nancy Pelosi into signing a letter that the situation was hopeless in Iraq. Now that it's a new year, she's stepping out on her own :
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said twice Sunday that Iraq "is a failure," adding that President Bush's troop surge has "not produced the desired effect."At least Pelosi isn't saying that the troops are caught in an intractable quagmire or that the troops cracked under pressure . Besides, progress is being made in terms of national reconciliation . Surely Ms. Pelosi knows that oil revenue sharing is happening, too. Here's what she told CNN's Wolf Blitzer:
"The purpose of the surge was to create a secure time for the government of Iraq to make the political change to bring reconciliation to Iraq," Pelosi said on CNN's "Late Edition." "They have not done that."
The speaker hastened to add: "The troops have succeeded, God bless them."
Anchor Wolf Blitzer asked: "Are you not worried, though, that all the gains that have been achieved over the past year might be lost?"Ms. Pelosi is reverting to the DNC's talking points when she says that reconciliation isn't happening and that our military will be engaged in warmaking in Iraq for a generation. Reconciliation is happening. It started with the Anbar Awakening. We won't be at war in Iraq for another generation, though we'll likely still have troops there.
"There haven't been gains, Wolf," the speaker replied. "The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure. The troops have succeeded, God bless them. We owe them the greatest debt of gratitude for their sacrifice, their patriotism, and for their courage and to their families as well.
"But they deserve better than the policy of a war without end, a war that could be 20 years or longer. And Secretary Gates just testified in the last 24 hours to Congress that this next year in Iraq and Afghanistan are going to cost $170 billion."
It must be election season because the Democrats are revving up their demagogue machinery. It's gonna a busy year.
Posted Monday, February 11, 2008 7:01 PM
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Wrong-Headed Thinking
As I said here and here , Mike Huckabee won't win the GOP nomination this year, which is a good thing because he's a second tier candidate that's overstayed his welcome. He's now displaying the wrong-headed thinking that should eliminate him as the 'next in line' candidate. Here's what Ed Rollins said about Gov. Huckabee staying in the race:
Asked whether Huckabee risks overplaying his hand, his campaign chairman, Ed Rollins said he didn't think so.As of last Friday, Gov. Huckabee needed to win 83.3 percent of the remaining delegates, McCain only 40 percent. That raises the question of why Huckabee chooses to keep going. That's a pertinent question considering Rollins' statement that "We'll keep going as long as we can." There's nothing in his statement about winning. It doesn't sound like he gives a rip about winning.
"I think he's made it very clear that until either he or McCain have 1,191 delegates, he's going to stay in this thing. We always wanted to get it down to one-on-one," Rollins said Monday. "This is what he wants to do. Getting Romney out of the race obviously eliminates a guy who had an advantage with money."
Huckabee and McCain "respect each other. They're both men of integrity," Rollins said. "Tomorrow is a big day. We'll keep going as long as we can."
Don't think that people aren't noticing that Mitt Romney dropped out for what he called the good of the party in keeping the White House. The only thing that makes sense is that Huckabee is hanging in to be McCain's running mate.
Greg Mueller, a conservative Republican consultant not associated with a candidate, said Huckabee is helping to burnish his own reputation as perhaps "the next man in line" for Republicans in a future contest "so long as he's amassing delegates."I strongly disagree with Mueller's statement that "Huckabee is helping to burnish his own reputation as perhaps "the next man in line" for Republicans" because he'll never be a solid candidate. He's a regional candidate at best. He's a socialist economically. It's also laughable to think that social conservatives won't have a strong presence at the convention.
"With Romney out of the race, Huckabee became a repository for the anti-McCain vote. I think for conservatives, it doesn't hurt for a while here to make sure Senator McCain and his folks understand that the fissures that conservatives have with Senator McCain didn't happen overnight, and are not going to be resolved overnight," said Mueller. "One of the reasons Huckabee is staying in is to give a voice to conservatives so that we are a very strong presence going into the convention."
Another trait that won't play well is that it's all about him . Everything Huckabee does is to glorify himself. The truth is that Gov. Huckabee is a petty individual.
That becomes more apparent because he isn't given much chance to win the " Potomac Primary ":
McCain is heavily favored to win all three contests in tomorrow's primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, but he nonetheless continued to campaign in the region yesterday, dashing off to a rally at the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond after his stop in Annapolis.I'm not a big McCain supporter but I am a realist. He'll be the GOP nominee. McCain's next chore is to start mending fences with conservatives. To do that, he needs to have a long, sincere conversation with them. That means that he'll need to make a couple concessions to conservatives. Huckabee's yapping makes it that much more difficult to have that conversation.
McCain was introduced there by former Navy Secretary and now-Virginia Sen. John Warner, and his strength among military service members and veterans, who form a huge voting bloc in Republican primaries, was made plain by the crowd of several hundred.
I'll personally promise Huckabee supporters that I'll make it my personal mission to inform them on Gov. Huckabee's liberal policies. I know from talking with friends of mine at church that they liked his pro life views. When I told them what else he stood for, their opinion instantly changed.
Posted Tuesday, February 12, 2008 5:33 PM
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Picking Up Right Where They Left Off
The DFL chose to pick up where they left off last spring. They chose to start by reintroducing a massive tax increase with their first bill:
Minnesota drivers would pay an additional 7+ cents a gallon in gasoline taxes, metro area consumers would shell out half a cent more on the dollar in sales taxes, and license tab fees for expensive new cars would go up under a big transportation funding bill unveiled today by Democratic-Farmer-Labor leaders in the state Legislature. The package would raise an estimated $8.4 billion over 10 years for roads, bridges and bus and rail transit projects.Here's the first question I have: What is Sen. Murphy basing his job creation projections on? Here's the second question I have: When has a state ever used massive tax increases to bring about prosperity? Here's more from Sen. Murphy:
"This bill is aimed at making sure that all of our roads and bridges in Minnesota are safe," Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Murphy, R-Red Wing, said at a Capitol news conference. "It also will kick-start our economy."
DFLers announced their transportation plan shortly before the Legislature opened its 2008 session at noon. Murphy predicted the measure would provide 33,000 jobs a year for five years, most of them in "good-paying, mainly union jobs with (medical and retirement) benefits."
The bill would put at least $11 billion into transportation over the next decade. Murphy hopes to have the bill on Gov. Tim Pawlenty's desk before March, and if it runs into a veto, override the Republican governor by Easter.
The good news is that the House GOP is starting this session where they left off, too:
But the bill is too expensive for Gov. Tim Pawlenty and his fellow Republicans. It's larger than a similar transportation-funding bill that he vetoed last year.The bill will be vetoed by Gov. Pawlenty. At that point, the DFL will attempt to override Gov. Pawlenty's veto, which will be sustained in the House:
"The bill takes more money out of peoples' pockets than ever," said House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall. "It's simply unacceptable."
Asked if he had five GOP votes, Lieder replied, "We assume we do."The DFL is pushing a massive tax increase at a time when many of their freshmen will be up for their first re-election. If the DFL insists that these freshmen vote for the increase and/or the override, they will have signed the death warrant on many of these freshmen. Here's something else that won't fly with voters:
But Seifert, the Republican leader, said, "I can't see it."
In addition, the legislation indexes the gas tax to the consumer price index so that it would increase automatically without a vote by the Legislature.That's a chickenshit way of increasing taxes. If DFL legislators want to increase taxes, they'd better have the courage of voting for it each session. Putting that escalator is as pathetic as mandating tax increases by constitutional amendment. The reason why the DFL leadership is doing things that way is because they know there isn't support for ongoing tax increases amongst the voters.
That isn't the only thing where the DFL is showing their disgraceful side. Tuesday night, a contact of mine called me with a Day One wrap-up. This contact said that the DFL will tie the I-35 bridge money to the Transportation Bill in the hopes of forcing Gov. Pawlenty into signing it. The DFL knows that they won't get the bill signed without that threat. If they try that stunt, I'll guarantee that the public will find out about it because blogs all across the MOB will publish the news on their blogs and editorials will be written in all the outstate newspapers. I'll personally write an editorial for the St. Cloud Times. Tarryl and Larry can take that to the bank.
Here's the quote that sums the DFL up perfectly :
Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung noted that two of the first three bills the Legislature plans to pass rely on tax increases.Anytime that you hear about a Democrat talk about creating jobs, it's safe to assume that it's through tax increases & public works projects. In mid-December, Phil Krinkie appeared on Almanac's roundtable discussion, this time talking about the economy. When Ember Reichgott-Junge said that the best elixir for Minnesota's economy would be a supersized bonding bill, Phil jumped in, saying that he'd put together the last 2 bonding bills.
"Our concern is that when Democrats talk about jump-starting, they're going to attach the jumper cables to your wallet ," McClung said. "This is not the direction we should be heading in when we have a tough economy."
He said that both were approximately $1 billion each. He then said that "If bonding bills created a good economy", we should have the best economy in Minnesota history.
To have a consistent, job creating economy, you need a reasonable business climate. That means having a business-friendly (preferably tax-cutting) legislature. That doesn't exist in Minnesota right now. In fact, Minnesota ranks as one of the 10 worst tax climates. Only a handful of states are worse. Voters needn't look further than Michigan to see what happens in a hostile tax environment.
Under John Engler, Michigan kept taxes low, including a significant tax cut. During Gov. Engler's administration, they had a strong economy. One of the first things that Jennifer Granholm did as governor was sign a massive tax increase. Another thing that happened is that she started increasing government spending. She hasn't retreated from either of those policies.
As a result, Michigan's economy has been losing jobs in droves for three years.
Here's what my 'adopted' state legislator, Steve Gottwalt, told me this weekend:
"There is clearly middle ground on transportation that would move things forward but the DFL leadership has indicated that they will not go there."If the DFL insists on playing a 'my way or no highways' tune, the GOP will highlight that in every freshman DFLer's reelection campaign.
Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2008 7:18 AM
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State of the State Address Impressions
First of all, let me say that the pomp & circumstance of the event was impressive. It really is an event. Early on, Gov. Pawlenty talked about Minnesota's positive achievements. Here's one particular riff:
It's because of the hard work, dedication and character of our people that Minnesota is at or near the top in most quality of life measures.Gov. Pawlenty then touted St. Cloud & Mayor Kleis:
We're number one in child well-being, home ownership & access to health care.
We're number one in voter turnout, Fortune 500 companies per capita and production of medical devices.
We're number one in sugar beets, sweet cor, green peas and turkeys.
We're number one in ACT scores, the percentage of adults with a high school diploma, and number two in eighth grade math scores.
Recently, the City of St. Cloud won a Gold Medal as the most livable city in the world. Mayor Kleis, that's about as good as it gets. Congratulations to you and your fantastic city.After that stretch, Gov. Pawlenty focused attention on the economy:
Minnesotans are understandably concerned about a fragile economy, rising health care and energy costs, making ends meet and government's never-ending claims on their pocketbook.Frankly, that brief paragraph was aimed right at the DFL's heart. He singled out the DFL's constant desire to raise taxes. He followed that up with this a few minutes later:
As we tackle the deficit, we must remember that Minnesota's hardworking families are already squeezed enough. They're paying more for gas, food and health care. The last thing they need is government rummaging around in their pockets looking for more. Government must learn to live within its means. We should not add to the burden on Minnesota families by raising taxes.Gov. Pawlenty wasn't done pressing his agenda, instead following it up with this volley:
We need to reduce taxes and regulations that discourage job growth, income generation, investment, entrepreneurial activity, job climate and large government discouraging economic growth.That's when he lowered the boom on the DFL:
Our current tax system reflects the economy and demographics of the 1960s. It's outdated and needs to be fixed. So I'm announcing that I will create the 21st Century Tax Reform Commission that will recommend tax reforms for the 21st century economy.At that point, Gov. Pawlenty sent the strongest shot across the DFL's bow:
In the meantime, I still have an important tool to restrain taxes and spending. I call it the Taxpayer Protection Pen, otherwise known as the veto pen. As you know, I will not hesitate to use it to stop government from digging into your wallets.Predictably, that got the loudest ovation of the speech. To say that DFL legislators weren't amused is understatement. In fact, I counted several looks of consternation on the faces of DFL legislators at that point. Here's one last warning shot at the DFL:
Strong differences of opinion exist regarding transportation funding. But we all agree on one thing- that we cannot continue the stalemate that has existed for three decades. I remain hopeful we can overcome the politics and rhetoric of this debate and pass a bipartisan transportation bill this session.He then finishes with this uplifting flourish:
Right behind me, the Mississippi River flows gently by St. Cloud. About a hundred miles or so north of here, it's a creek you can walk across. More than a thousand miles to the south, it's miles across. It's a river that's always changing, making its way around every obstaclee in its path to the sea.Following the speech, I had the opportunity to participate in the Senjem-Seifert press conference. Tom Hauser of KSTP asked whether Leader Seifert could prevent the override of Gov. Pawlenty's veto of the DFL's Transportation bill. Leader Siefert confidently said that the veto would be upheld. Leader Senjem & Leader Seifert were asked about taxes in general. Sen. Senjem gave a good answer, saying that we need to keep as much money in people's pockets as possible. Rep. Seifert chimed in, saying that cutting taxes increases job growth, something that Sen. Senjem immediately & enthusiastically agreed with.
Like our river, Minnesota starts humbly but has an unstoppable forward momentum toward greatness. We're the Headwaters State, justly proud of all the amazing things that have started here for 150 years.
As the elected leaders of Minnesota, the energy of our people moves us forward. We need to stay within the banks of their values. We need to look downstrea and prepare for the challenges we face.
And if we do that together, we'll be able to say- on the far side of all these current troubles- "Well...we made it."
With the Tax Reform Commission soon to be formed, Gov. Pawlenty is putting pressure on the DFL. It's safe to say that he'll highlight the DFL's proclivity for increasing taxes & how that's creating a negative tax climate in Minnesota.
Check back later for more statements on today's State of the State Address.
Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2008 6:23 PM
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DFL Reactions & Replies
Just prior to this morning's State of the State Address, I talked with Senate Majority Leader Pogemiller, House Majority Leader Sertich & my state senator, Tarryl Clark. I told them that I was interested in their reaction to Gov. Pawlenty's speech. I then asked each of them if they'd be willing to reply to my email that I would send via their contact forms.
I promised them that I'd print their replies without editing so that nothing they said could be taken out of context or twisted. Rep. Sertich said that he appreciated that, adding that "That's how it should be." I heartily agreed. Imagine my surprise, then, in getting this email:
Kristen,I've never hidden my partisan side. What I have done is my best to never get personal with any politician. Yes, I've strongly disagreed with Tarryl but I've never, to the best of my knowledge, gotten personal with her.
This gentleman spends a great deal of his time attacking Tarryl and her positions on his blog. He has made a similar request to Tarryl's office. We are going to post her responses that she gave to the media today on her website and refer him to that.
Gary
Gary Hill
Communications
Director - Senate Majority
The following email was received from:
Gary Gross
Email Address: gmg425@charter.net
Message:
Sen. Pogemiller, I spoke with you just prior to Gov. Pawlenty's State of the State speech. I'd like your impression of it. Specifically,what part (s) did you like about it? Which part or parts didn't you like about it?
I'll be including your response in its entirety in a blog post that I'm putting together. I promise not to edit your statement in any way.
Thanks in advance for your reply.
In the interest of fairness, here's Tarryl's response to Gov. Pawlenty's State of the State Address:
Text of Sen. Tarryl Clark's response to Gov. Pawlenty's State of the State AddressHere's Rep. Larry Haws' statement on Gov. Pawlenty's speech:
Good Morning:
As St. Cloud's state senator, I want to thank Governor Pawlenty for coming to our city to deliver the State of the State Address. It's good to get out of the State Capitol and come to places like Central Minnesota. Here, as in most places in the state, people consider and work out issues, as citizens, not partisans.
Coming together and working out problems is an everyday duty-accomplished without much fanfare or fuss. It begins when people agree on what's wrong and then agree on the goal. The rest is hammering out the details of how the issues are addressed.
Across this great state, we all share the same goal-for a strong, prosperous, and united Minnesota.
It's a goal that cuts across the lines of partisanship and every other cross-section in our state.
It's a value embraced by earlier generations of Minnesotans, most recently by those who fought the world wars and survived the Great Depression. They were determined that Minnesota was not going to be mediocre. They wanted our state to be among the best in the union.
They made sacrifices so they could leave us, their children, a state that was better than the one they inherited.
They built the best public education system in the United States.
They built the roads, highways, and bridges that we still use today.
They built our great institutions-universities, colleges, medical centers.
And they built the smaller institutions, the kind that hold our communities together, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, police stations, volunteer fire and ambulance services.
They confronted problems. They hammered out solutions. They invested in Minnesota.
And their investments paid off.
As a state, we were healthier and better-educated. Businesses, large and small, could move goods between producers and markets quickly and efficiently.
Commerce grew, prospered, and our state developed a unique business culture led by people of vision who believed in giving back and supporting their communities.
Affordable tuition meant that a university education was available to anyone, no matter how poor their family was.
Medical research in university, nonprofit, and private settings gave citizens access to the finest care in the world-at the lowest costs in the nation.
At the government level, Republicans and DFLers often fought like cats and dogs. But they shared the view that budgets were going to be balanced, and that the methods of setting budgets would follow the same, sensible, honest rules.
We were strong. We were prosperous. And we were united.
But today, much of what our parents built is showing signs of neglect.
Our state lost 23,000 jobs in the last half of 2007, even as the rest of the country increased employment.
The costs of education, of police and fire protection, and even roads and bridges, are being shifted from state government to local property taxpayers.
We still have great medicine and medical facilities, but it's increasingly difficult for many Minnesotans to access this care in the face of ever-rising insurance rates, co-pays, deductibles, and limits on health care coverage.
Tuition costs have far outstripped the rate of inflation, leaving students with mountains of education debt.
Today, instead of our economy outperforming the rest of the country, we're actually doing worse than other states.
This year, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of our statehood. We need to rededicate ourselves to the principles and goals of the men and women who built our state:
A strong, prosperous, and united Minnesota.
A strong and prosperous state is one that creates opportunity by educating children and adults so they can compete and win in the global marketplace.
A strong and prosperous state is one that has a transportation infrastructure that makes it safe, fast and easy to move products between sellers and buyers.
A strong and prosperous state fosters innovation and research at its colleges and universities.
A strong and prosperous state ensures that every citizen and their children can get medical care.
A strong and prosperous state is dedicated to conservation of natural resources and embraces freedom of expression and the arts.
A strong and prosperous state does not excessively tax its people, does not hide taxes by imposing 'user fees' that really aren't, and doesn't add to the burden of homeownership with property taxes that rise faster than income.
Finally, a strong and prosperous state governs itself with fairness, openness and honesty in every aspect. It encourages public participation and is straight with citizens about where every dollar comes from and where it goes.
Budgets need to be balanced and straightforward. Revenue and spending forecasts shouldn't resort to accounting gimmicks in order to make things appear better than they really are.
Our parents handed us a state that led the nation in every aspect.
It's up to us whether we maintain and build on their legacy.
As this legislative session opens, we will act quickly to send the governor legislation that reflects these goals.
We will pass a comprehensive transportation plan that builds roads, bridges, and transit. Our plan will pay for these needs as we build them, and not pass the cost to our children.
We will pass health care legislation that makes it easier for families and businesses to purchase health care by reducing administrative costs-not by increasing co-pays and deductibles.
We will let voters choose whether to raise and set aside funds for cleaner lakes, improved wildlife habitat and natural and cultural resources.
We will pass a bonding bill that emphasizes job growth and higher education, and cleans up local water supplies.
We will pass legislation that builds on the strides we made in improving Minnesota's energy independence. Our legislation will help free ourselves from foreign oil and build new industries working in the areas of alternative energy sources.
And we will reform the way government works, stressing efficiency, effectiveness and clarity. We want to open up the process so taxpayers can understand what's going on.
This year's legislative session will not last long. But that will not be an excuse for lack of effort on Minnesota's critical needs.
Like those who came before us, we want to set a high bar, and with your help, we'll get there.
State Rep. Larry Haws
NEWS RELEASE
Minnesota House of
Representatives Contact: Joan Nichols
District 15B (651) 296-6612 (651)
296-8891
473 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155 Joan.Nichols@house.mn
February 13, 2008
STATE OF THE STATE OFFERS NOTHING NEW FOR
MINNESOTANS
ST. PAUL - State Representative Larry Haws agrees with the Governor's idea of putting first things first in his State of the State address today; what he found most disappointing is that there was no mention of new initiatives to deal with the deficit and the state's worsening economy. "This year is Minnesota's 150th birthday - I was hoping St. Cloud and Minnesota were going to receive a message of hope and vision - a present, if you will, offering promise and direction for our struggling communities," said Haws.
"Instead we got familiar rhetoric that is weary and worn, backed by an unproductive veto threat. We need leadership on solutions and compromises to address the real challenges Minnesotan's are facing, not a review of initiatives most comfortable to the Governor."
Haws said that while he was pleased to hear the Governor recommit to education, renewable energy, and health-care reform, he was concerned about not hearing any specifics when it came to economic stimulus and job growth, transportation funding or capping property taxes.
"These days, the minds of most Minnesotans are on the state of our economy, keeping their jobs, and making mortgage payments," said Haws. "Unemployment lines continue to increase and too many folks are struggling to keep a roof over their head. Jobs are needed and this session we're ready to pass a Capital Investment Bill that will put more Minnesotans back to work on important public projects statewide. Jobs are solutions that deliver what Minnesotans need most - work to sustain themselves and their families."
Minnesotans need more than talk; they need solutions that start with creating and keeping jobs here at home.
"It was heart warming to hear the Governor applaud St. Cloud's award as the "Most Livable City in the World" and for our great community resources," said Haws. "When Al Loehr was the Mayor of St. Cloud in 1973, we were named the "All American City." This living standard can only be maintained if the State does its fair share. I urge the Governor to show us leadership, not through the veto pen but by bringing opposite sides together for the betterment of us all."
Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2008 8:15 PM
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