August 12-13, 2014
Aug 12 01:26 Johnson: I'll unite the GOP Aug 12 08:23 Otto: Auditor job not partisan Aug 12 09:50 Rand Paul's pandering Aug 12 17:37 Minnesota AFL-CIO announces its endorsements Aug 12 20:28 Primary liveblogging Aug 12 22:21 Emmer statement Aug 13 03:26 What Jeff Johnson's victory means Aug 13 03:39 LTE Alert Aug 13 13:15 Dayton's trifecta of disaster
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Johnson: I'll unite the GOP
Mark Sommerhauser's interview with Jeff Johnson focuses on two things. First, it focuses on Johnson's message that he'll unite the party, which I think is largely true. The other thing worth gleaning from the article is Scott Honour's scorched earth campaign. First, here's Johnson's pitch:
"I'm the only one that can come out of this primary with an energized and united base," Johnson said. "If someone else wins the primary somehow, they're going to have to spend some time putting the party back together. "We don't have time for that."
Johnson and Kurt Zellers are the only candidates with a chance to unite the party. Marty Seifert can't because he essentially turned his back on the grass roots activists in the party at this year's state convention. That's significantly more than 1,000 activists, many of whom supported him going into the convention.
Scott Honour can't unite the party, either, because he's burned bridges with his "Career politicians have had their chance message."
Honour says Johnson hasn't been bold enough in outlining his vision to slash state spending and bureaucracy. Honour says he'd go bigger if we were governor. For instance, he says he'd propose cutting state administrative staff across the board by 10 percent.
I've never cared for politicians proposing across the board cuts. That tells me they haven't taken a close look to see where the inefficiencies are. For instance, I'd applaud if he wanted to eliminate every legislative liaison position in state government because a legislative liaison's chief responsibility is to lobby the legislature for more money for their agency.
We don't need dozens (hundreds?) of taxpayer-funded lobbyists.
Getting rid of 90% of the PR people in the various state agencies would be a good thing, too, but Honour isn't proposing that. Again, Honour's attention to detail is troubling. By comparison, Johnson's got the right approach:
Johnson notes that, if he's elected, state law requires he propose a budget about six weeks after taking office. Regardless of what happens in the November elections, he also would have to work with a DFL-controlled state Senate.
"To suggest that we can remake government in six weeks is just silly," Johnson said. "In politics, you should just be honest with people and not make promises that you can't keep."
Jeff Johnson understands when to push and when he's gotten everything he's going to get. Further, he's shown that he isn't afraid to give Democrats a sharp elbow to the ribs :
GOLDEN VALLEY - Jeff Johnson, the Republican endorsed candidate for Governor, released the following statement on the sale of bonds and beginning of construction for the new Senate Legislative Office Building (SLOB):
'Minnesotans will be paying for this palace for the next 20 years, and Mark Dayton doesn't even have the courage to show up for a groundbreaking .'
'This building is symbolic of everything that is wrong with government under Dayton: initially he opposed it, then he signed on as a political payoff to fellow politicians, and finally he runs for cover when taxpayers revolt. In the end, we are stuck with a boondoggle nobody but Dayton's political cronies want, and a big fat bill. Our kids are stuck paying for this.'
This isn't the type of red meat that some activists love but it's the type of shot that'll get people's attention. It's the type of attack Minnesota's passive-aggressives would appreciate.
Posted Tuesday, August 12, 2014 1:26 AM
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Otto: Auditor job not partisan
Deep within Don Davis' article is the gem that always finds its way into Don's article. Here's today's gem:
Otto said that Entenza would turn the office, with about 110 workers, into a partisan operation. 'Numbers aren't partisan,' she said.
Numbers aren't partisan but she's definitely a partisan.
It's impossible to forget that she's the partisan that voted against permits that would allow mining companies to take core samples, something that's been happening for over a century. Then she put out a fundraising e-letter bragging to her friends in the environmental movement that she was the lone vote against these noncontroversial permits. She essentially said that she was the only member of the Executive Council fighting for these environmental activists' agenda :
That same fortune may not fall on DFL State Auditor Rebecca Otto, who made a statement about mining last October when she voted against 31 nonferrous mineral leases over potential cost overruns to taxpayers on the PolyMet project. Afterward she sent out a fundraising email blast noting that she was the lone no vote on the state's Executive Council against the leases. That riled DFLers on the Iron Range, where 'Dump Otto' signs quickly started popping up in yards.
That fundraising email is the reason why the Mesabi Daily News endorsed Matt Entenza in the DFL primary.
That's just part of Otto's silliness. The other part is that she's a former legislator, which means she's a partisan. If she wins, she'll face Randy Gilbert, an honest-to-goodness auditor.
Despite Otto's claim that the auditor job isn't partisan, there's no question that the primary is partisan :
Entenza has been out of elective office since he made an ill-fated run for attorney general in 2006. He took a shot at the governor's office four years later, but finished third in a party primary despite spending millions from a family fortune. Entenza said his past as a white-collar crime prosecutor and his reputation as a watchdog of charter school finances put the auditor's position right in his wheelhouse.
"I think I'm much better-suited to go after financial fraud and take a really deep look at spending that you want in an auditor," Entenza said. "I've actually put people in jail for financial fraud."
Prosecuting fraud is different than discovering fraud. Further, discovering fraud is just a tiny, miniscule part of the Auditor's job.
There's a simple solution to this. After the DFL primary, remember that there's just one candidate who's actually audited companies. Next, remember that he isn't a politician waiting for a higher office to open up. Third, remember that his name is Randy Gilbert. Finally, elect a state auditor who is actually an auditor.
Posted Tuesday, August 12, 2014 8:23 AM
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Rand Paul's pandering
If, God forbid, Rand Paul is elected president, the United States foreign policy will have gone from terrible to utterly incoherent and feckless. After reading this article , it's clear that the American people know what they want. It's clear, too, that the American people don't have a clue what they want. Here's what I'm talking about:
A majority of the American people is telling pollsters it wants the U.S. government to keep out of other nations' business, that it does not want America to be at war indefinitely, and that it fears the U.S. government's growing 'homeland Security' powers - including the power to declare any American to be a terrorist and to kill him - more than it fears terrorism. Because Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has explained better than anyone why he shares these majority sentiments, he is halfway home to claiming foreign policy credibility for his 2016 presidential candidacy.
But only halfway, because the very same popular majorities also say they want the U.S. government to be much tougher against America's enemies. Neither Paul nor any other candidate seems to have thought about what it would mean for the U.S. government to pull back from involvement in other peoples' business, to make foreign commitments and conduct internal security according to the Constitution, while at the same time being tougher against our enemies.
It's impossible to make sense of this gobbledygook. That's why I won't attempt it. There's no doubt that Americans are tired of war. Still, they like the fact that we haven't gotten hit with another 9/11 attack, though that will change if we don't confront ISIL.
It's impossible to look out for our self interests and not "meddle in other countries' affairs." If the United States wants to protect its interests, it'll have to meddle in other countries' affairs. There's nothing wrong with that. I'd argue, in fact, that applying America's founding principles is a force for good.
America's worst days have happened when we've gone isolationist. Still, there's a substantial portion of our population that's always had an isolationist streak. Sen. Paul will insist that he isn't an isolationist. He might even believe it. That doesn't mean he isn't an isolationist.
The United States goes isolationist when it doesn't project military force. That doesn't mean reflexively going to war. Ronald Reagan was a militarist but he didn't get involved in wars. He jumped in in Grenada early in his administration and he bombed Kaddaffi's home late in his administration.
Simply put, Reagan showed that a) he meant what he said and b) he wasn't bashful about protecting US interests. Reagan's projection of strength impacted the United States before he was even sworn in. In 1979, Iranian terrorists took the US Embassy in Teheran. The jet returning our diplomats didn't clear Iranian air space until Reagan had completed his oath of office.
Sen. Paul's live and let live foreign policy doesn't project strength. I don't doubt that he'd take foreign policy more seriously than President Obama but that's a pretty low hurdle.
Simply put, our foreign policy shouldn't be based on what polls show. It should be based on clear principles. It should be based on protecting US interests. If that ruffles feather in other countries' capitols, that's fine. It should start with the promise that we'll send military aid to our allies. That includes arming the Peshmerga and the Ukrainian military.
It doesn't mean reflexively going to war. It simply means standing up for ourselves.
Posted Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:50 AM
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Minnesota AFL-CIO announces its endorsements
The AFL-CIO of Minnesota should simply change its name. They aren't a union representing "working families." Based on their announcement , they're just another DFL front group. Look at their endorsement list:
Governor & Lieutenant Governor
Governor Mark Dayton & Tina Smith (DFL)
United States Senate
Senator Al Franken (DFL)
Secretary of State
Steve Simon (DFL)
United States House of Representatives
District 1 - Congressman Tim Walz (DFL)
District 2 - Mike Obermueller (DFL)
District 3 - Sharon Sund (DFL)
District 4 - Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL)
District 5 - Congressman Keith Ellison (DFL)
District 6 - Joe Perske (DFL)
District 7 - Congressman Colin Peterson (DFL)
District 8 - Congressman Rick Nolan (DFL)
Minnesota House of Representatives
1A Bruce Patterson (DFL); 1B Eric Bergeson (DFL);
2A Rep. Roger Erickson (DFL); 2B David Sobieski (DFL);
3A Rep. David Dill (DFL);3B Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL)
4A Rep. Ben Lien (DFL);
5A Rep. John Persell (DFL),5B Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL)
6A Rep. Carly Melin (DFL); 6B Rep. Jason Metsa (DFL)
7A Jennifer Schultz (DFL); 7B Rep. Erik Simonson (DFL)
8A Jim Miltich (DFL); 8B Jay Sieling (DFL)
9A Dan Bye (DFL); 9B Al Doty (DFL)
10A Rep. John Ward (DFL); 10B Rep. Joe Radinovich (DFL)
11A Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL)
12B Gordon Wagner (DFL)
13A Emily Jensen (DFL)
14A Dan Wolgamott (DFL); 14B Rep. Zach Dorholt (DFL)
15A Dale James Rittenour Jr. (DFL); 15B Brian Johnson (DFL)
16A Laurie Driessen (DFL); 16B James Kanne (DFL)
17A Rep. Andrew Falk (DFL); 17B Rep. Mary Sawatzky (DFL)
19B Jack Considine (DFL)
20B Rep. David Bly (DFL)
21A Lynn Schoen (DFL); 21B Mark Schneider (DFL)
22A Diana Slyter (DFL); 22B Cheryl Avenel-Navara (DFL)
23A Pat Bacon (DFL)
24A Beverly Cashman (DFL); 24B Rep. Patti Fritz (DFL)
27B Rep. Jeanne Poppe (DFL)
31B J. D. Holmquist (DFL)
32A Paul Gammel (DFL); 32B Laurie Warner (DFL)
33A Todd Mikkelson (DFL)
34B David Hoden (DFL)
35A Peter Perovich (DFL)
36A Jefferson Fietek (DFL)
37B Susan Witt (DFL)
38A Pat Davern (DFL); 38B Greg Pariseau (DFL)
39A Tim Stender (DFL); 39B Tom DeGree (DFL)
40A Rep. Mike Nelson (DFL); 40B Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL)
41A Rep. Connie Bernardy (DFL); 41B Rep. Carolyn Laine (DFL)
42A Rep. Barb Yarusso (DFL); 42B Rep. Jason Isaacson (DFL)
43A Rep. Peter Fischer (DFL); 43B Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL)
44A Audrey Britton (DFL)
45A Rep. Lyndon Carlson (DFL); 45B Rep. Mike Freiberg (DFL)
46B Cheryl Youakim (DFL)
47A Matt Gieseke (DFL)
48A Rep. Yvonne Selcer (DFL); 48B Joan Howe-Pullis (DFL)
49A Rep. Ron Erhardt (DFL); 49B Rep. Paul Rosenthal (DFL)
50A Rep. Linda Slocum (DFL); 50B Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL)
51A Rep. Sandra Masin (DFL); 51B Rep. Laurie Halverson (DFL)
52A Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL); 52B Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL)
53A Rep. JoAnn Ward (DFL); 53B Kay Hendrikson (DFL)
54A Rep. Dan Schoen (DFL); 54B Don Slaten (DFL)
55A Jay Whiting (DFL)
56B Rep. Will Morgan (DFL)
57B Denise Packard (DFL)
58A Amy Willingham (DFL); 58B Marla Vagts (DFL)
59A Rep. Joe Mullery (DFL); 59B Rep. Ray Dehn (DFL)
60A Rep. Diane Loefffler (DFL); 60B Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL)
61A Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL); 61B Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL)
62A Rep. Karen Clark (DFL); 62B Rep. Susan Allen (DFL)
63A Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL)
64A Rep. Erin Murphy (DFL); 64B Dave Pinto (DFL)
65A Rep. Rena Moran (DFL); 65B Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL)
66A Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL); 66B Rep. John Lesch (DFL)
67A Rep. Tim Mahoney (DFL); 67B Rep. Sheldon Johnson (DFL)
I wouldn't have been shocked if 90% of the politicians that the AFL-CIO endorsed were Democrats. It's stunning, though, to see that every candidate that they endorsed is a Democrat. Shar Knutson's statement is utter fantasy:
'The 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions were some of the most productive sessions for working people in a generation.' said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson. 'Their focus on middle class values like investing in education and job creation is working as Minnesota's economy continues to strengthen.'
This legislature didn't "invest in education." They spent money on Education, which is the teacher's union. There's a big difference between the two things.
In fact, lower income families in the inner city are running from schools where these 'investments' were supposedly made. Further, the DFL legislature tried imposing a total moratorium on frack-sand mining, which would create hundreds of middle class jobs.
The AFL-CIO should stop pretending that it isn't a DFL front organization. They should change their name to the DFL-CIO.
Posted Tuesday, August 12, 2014 5:37 PM
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Primary liveblogging
8:23 -- With 1.1% of the precincts counted, Jeff Johnson has 1127 votes, followed by Scott Honour with 806, Kurt Zellers with 769 and Marty Seifert with 390.
In the DFL primary for State Auditor, Rebecca Otto leads with 2,339 to Matt Entenza's 408 votes.
8:30 -- 3% of precincts reporting -- Johnson 1,758, Zellers 1,214, Honour 1,146, Seifert 740
DFL State Auditor Otto 6,308, Entenza 1,223
8:36 -- CD-6 GOP Primary -- 4 of 279 precincts reporting -- Tom Emmer 311, Rhonda Sivarajah 92
8:40 -- 4.5% of precincts reporting -- Johnson 4,566, Honour 3,400, Zellers 3,357, Seifert 1,801
8:45 -- DFL Auditor primary -- Otto 9,964, Entenza 1,774
Observations: Thus far, Randy Gilbert has earned 10,523 votes in an uncontested primary. Rebecca Otto and Matt Entenza have earned 11,738 votes in a contested primary.
Matt Entenza really must've gotten under the DFL's skin. He's spent $675,000 on TV ad and he's still getting crushed.
8:57 -- GOP gubernatorial primary -- 5% of precincts reporting -- Johnson 4,637, Honour 3,454, Zellers 3,418, Seifert 1,902
9:00 -- DFL State Auditor -- Otto 10,213, Entenza 1,841
9:03 -- GOP primary CD-6 -- 3.23% of precincts reporting -- Tom Emmer 525, Rhonda Sivarajah 141
9:06 -- DFL Primary -- 15% of precincts reporting Otto 42,957, Entenza 8,504. Get out the butter, folks. Matt Entenza is toast.
9:10 -- GOP gubernatorial primary -- Johnson 12,187, Zellers 9,219, Honour 8,696, Seifert 5,355
9:15 -- 8% of precincts reporting -- CD-6 GOP primary -- Tom Emmer 1,117, Rhonda Sivarajah 304
9:17 -- GOP Gubernatorial Primary -- 23% of precincts reporting -- Jeff Johnson 19,162, Kurt Zellers 13,806, Scott Honour 13,438, Marty Seifert 8,581
9:20 -- DFL Primary State Auditor -- Rebecca Otto 57,365, Matt Entenza 11,305
9:22 -- GOP CD-6 primary -- 17.5% of precincts reporting -- Tom Emmer 2,721 votes, Rhonda Sivarajah 1,017
9:25 -- GOP gubernatorial primary -- 26.6% of precincts reporting -- Jeff Johnson 20,966, Scott Honour 15,413, Kurt Zellers 15,322, Marty Seifert 9,999
9:30 -- Entenza concedes
9:30 -- GOP Primary CD-6 -- 22.6% of precincts reporting -- Tom Emmer 3,560, Rhonda Sivarajah 1,183
9:35 -- GOP Gubernatorial Primary -- 33.3% of precincts reporting -- Jeff Johnson 24,588, Kurt Zellers 18,478, Scott Honour 18,030, Marty Seifert 12,800
9:40 -- GOP CD-6 Primary -- 31% of precincts reporting -- Tom Emmer 5,083, Rhonda Sivarajah 1,564
9:45 -- GOP Gubernatorial Primary -- 39.5% of precincts reporting -- Jeff Johnson 26,936, Kurt Zellers 20,285, Scott Honour 19,379, Marty Seifert 15,929
9:55 -- GOP Gubernatorial Primary -- 49% of precincts reporting -- Jeff Johnson 31,045, Kurt Zellers 24,178, Scott Honour 22,098, Marty Seifert 19,897
10:02 -- GOP CD-6 Primary -- 35% of precincts reporting -- Tom Emmer 6,347, Rhonda Sivarajah 1,937
10:10 -- CD-6 GOP Primary -- 44.44% of precincts reporting -- Tom Emmer 7,844, Rhonda Sivarajah 3,097
The plot thickens. With 57.65% of the precincts reporting, Jeff Johnson still leads with 34,827 votes, followed by Kurt Zellers with 27,430, Scott Honour with 24,427 and Marty Seifert with 23,334.
10:25 -- GOP Gubernatorial Primary -- 63% of precincts reporting -- Jeff Johnson 38,041, Kurt Zellers 30,273, Scott Honour 26,869, Marty Seifert 25,546
RealClearPolitics declared Jeff Johnson the winner of the GOP Gubernatorial primary. With 76% of precincts reporting, Johnson has a lead of almost 10,000 votes over Kurt Zellers, his nearest competitor.
KSTP has called the race for Johnson, too.
Posted Tuesday, August 12, 2014 10:35 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 12-Aug-14 09:33 PM
Gary:
I wonder how Matt is doing in Minneapolis. I have seen at least two (maybe more mailings) from Matt reminding them Otto was for laws like photo ID. If the amendment went down heavily in 2012 in Minneapolis then Matt should've done well. Either that or maybe this is a suggestion that the effort to mobilize against voter ID only came from getting Obama reelected and the marriage amendment.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 12-Aug-14 10:38 PM
That mailing apparently didn't work. Entenza's political career is all but officially over.
Emmer statement
Tom Emmer just sent out this statement on his primary victory:
Tom Emmer Statement on Primary Results
Thank you for the great support that I have received from the Sixth Congressional District to be your Republican candidate in this year's General Election.
Today marks another benchmark in the process and together, we are going to run hard and keep moving forward to another victory - this time in November!
Jacquie and I announced my candidacy for Congress well over a year ago and we knew that we had to be committed to gaining significant support for every milestone in the election process. We knew we would have to work for every vote, one handshake at a time.
Since I was endorsed by Republicans this April, I've enjoyed the time getting to know more people in a district that strongly believes in freedom and prosperity. As I look towards beginning the next phase of our campaign, there are no shortcuts to putting the time in with the residents of the Sixth District. I'm eager to continue to hear from citizens within the district on how we can improve the dialogue and outcomes in Washington, D.C.
There are just over 80 days until the General Election and I know we will go into the election as a united party. I am truly humbled by the support of voters in the Sixth District and I am very thankful for all of the friends and volunteers that have helped Jacquie and I achieve this important victory in the election process.
Thank you,
Posted Tuesday, August 12, 2014 10:21 PM
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What Jeff Johnson's victory means
Now that Jeff Johnson has won the GOP primary, it's time to look ahead to his general election message. Late Tuesday night, I received this email from the Johnson for Governor campaign:
In his victory speech he thanked his supporters and the other candidates, and laid out his vision for a Minnesota where everybody has the opportunity to succeed:
I have a vision for a state where politicians understand that people work really hard for their paychecks, and politicians spend their money as carefully and wisely as if it were coming out of their own pockets. I have a vision for a state where every kid regardless of where they live has access to a great education. I have a vision of a state where doctors and patients make medical decisions, not insurance companies or government. I have a vision of a state where the most vulnerable people in our communities are treated with dignity and not just herded into government programs that often don't work but given access to the same private market that everyone lives in.
And most importantly I have a vision of a state where we have ended this philosophy that the poor are poor and the rich are rich and all we can do is redistribute wealth; we, instead, are preaching a sincerely held belief that the poor can become the middle class and the middle class can become rich and anyone who starts with nothing can still accomplish anything in this great state.
That's the type of message Republicans will quickly unite around. I suspect, too, that it's the type of message that will resonate with independents and non-political voters.
The last 2 years, the DFL's message has centered on the word more. As in more taxes. As in more spending. Unfortunately, Gov. Dayton and the DFL haven't focused on spending other people's money wisely. Unfortunately, Gov. Dayton and the DFL legislature didn't put a high priority on creating more high paying jobs or saying no to their special interest allies.
Gov. Dayton and the DFL legislature has spent money in ways that'd make a drunken sailor blush. The Senate Legislative Office Building is the perfect symbol of Gov. Dayton's and the DFL legislature's reckless spending spree. The part-time legislature needed a $90,000,000 office building like President Obama needs to play more golf.
That building and the taxes that first got raised, then got repealed, symbolize what's wrong with Gov. Dayton and the DFL legislature. St. Paul needs a new sheriff to police the Capitol. Gov. Dayton isn't the right man for that job. Paul Thissen isn't the right man to be his deputy.
St. Paul needs Jeff Johnson to clean up Gov. Dayton's mess. Jeff needs Kurt Daudt to help clean up Gov. Dayton's and Paul Thissen's spending orgy.
As Commissioner Johnson said in his victory speech, Tuesday night's victory isn't the end of the road. There's still one more victory to win. Hopefully, that march to November will finally finish Gov. Dayton's political career.
Weary taxpayers can't afford 4 more years of Gov. Dayton's and the DFL legislature's reckless spending.
Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2014 3:26 AM
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LTE Alert
The St. Cloud Times published my LTE on Nancy Pelosi's PAC ad against Stewart Mills and TakeAction Minnesota's spin.
They softened some of the verbiage that I originally used but the message still comes through loud and clear.
Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2014 3:39 AM
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Dayton's trifecta of disaster
While reading the Strib's article on Jeff Johnson's primary victory, I came across this bit of information about Gov. Dayton's campaign:
Dayton's campaign says it will hit three main themes come Sept. 1: strengthening the middle class, improving education and making government more efficient.
There's no question that Gov. Dayton and the DFL legislature spent tons of money on education. Education questions arise, though, when you start asking whether we're getting our money's worth. Appeasing Education Minnesota isn't the same as improving education.
In 2011, Gov. Dayton signed a Republican reform that teachers pass a basic skills test. In 2013, Gov. Dayton signed the repeal of that reform because too many teachers failed the test, then got waivers from the Department of Education that let them continue teaching.
Let's see how Gov. Dayton defends that.
As for strengthening the middle class, I'd simply ask whether families in Hibbing, Chisholm, Eveleth and Virginia are better off now than they were 4 years ago. The answer is an emphatic 'Hell no.' In fact, those cities have some haves and tons of have nots.
Finally, on whether Gov. Dayton has made "government more efficient", eliminating a few archaic laws doesn't make government more efficient. Spending $90,000,000 on an office building to house part-time legislators definitely isn't making government efficient. Spending $200,000,000 on a health insurance exchange website didn't make government more efficient. Those projects could've been used to fix roads and bridges.
Q: What has Gov. Dayton done to fight for high-paying mining jobs in northeastern and southeastern Minnesota? A: He's said that Republican gubernatorial candidate were "highly irresponsible" for promising to open PolyMet. He thought about imposing a total moratorium on frack-sand mining, too.
Minnesotans need to learn that Gov. Dayton doesn't know what's in the bills he's signed. Gov. Dayton claims he didn't know that the Vikings stadium bill had a provision in it that allows the Vikings to sell personal seat licenses, aka PSLs, on season tickets. Gov. Dayton supposedly didn't know that the tax bill he negotiated included a sales tax on farm equipment repairs.
Gov. Dayton supposedly didn't know that the Senate Office Building was in the tax bill that he signed. At least, that's what he said.
At what point should we aay that our CEO should know what's in the bills he's signing? At what point do people say we can't afford 4 more years of reckless DFL spending? I hope it's soon.
Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2014 1:15 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 13-Aug-14 01:28 PM
Gary:
I got an idea for how you make government more efficient. You have the governor before he signs the bill to read it to know what is in it. I think there have been countless bills where Dayton didn't do that over the last four years. It's kind of hard to argue he has made it more efficient when he won't do his own job.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by Terry Stone at 13-Aug-14 02:03 PM
Governor Dayton is the least competent governor in the United States. The matter probably isn't even under serious debate. MNsure, Polymet, fracking sand, unionization of childcare by executive order, pork in the bonding bill; we deserve a robust economy.
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 14-Aug-14 01:50 AM
Terry, I totally agree with everything you just wrote. Minnesotans deserve a pro-growth governor and legislature. We don't have that.
What we've got is a government-first legislature and governor.
Hopefully, we'll change that this November.
