Speed Gibson

Hoping to continue the recent DFL tradition of running celebrity candidates, Al Franken is now in the 2008 Minnesota Senate Race. Rather than ruminate on his chances in the general election, Democrats would do well to think about their caucuses and the primary. Is Al Franken the best you've got?

If you boil down his many books, both political and non-political, you soon realize that Franken has one basic skill: sneering, as Dennis Prager put it. He has a tremendous opinion of himself and always prepared to list all the ways you fall short of his perfection.

Democrats should also remember that he has a temper worse than that of Mike Hatch. The danger of an inopportune slur or misplaced fist costing him the election is significant.

There are many more intelligent, more civilized, more capable Democrats in the DFL. There is no need to stoop to Franken's level.

King Banian and Michael Brodkorb had a truly great first hour on their January 27th "Final Word" program, heard 3-5 pm Saturdays on AM 1280 The Patriot and on Townhall.com. The topic was the proposed state-wide smoking ban in all bars and restaurants, starting with the first segment interview with Minnesota Rep. Dan Severson (R-14A, Sauk Rapids). His position supporting a state-wide smoking ban in bars and restaurants seems much at odds with his strong Conservative record. I have provided an abridged, edited for clarity transcript below. If you didn't know, you'd say this was someone from the Green Party talking.

What was better still was the great series of callers that filled the remainder of the hour, a live, competent, and deserved fisking of practically everything Rep. Severson said.

Hosts King and Michael did well, too, both on the interview and the dialog with the callers. This was best in show on the NARN for January 2007.

King Banian: You are a co-sponsor of a state-wide ban on smoking called the Freedom to Breathe Act of 2007. A number of our listeners call in to talk about smoking. Most of them call themselves Conservative and most of them are not in favor of a smoking ban. And yet, here you are a sponsor of it and someone who I can testify has been a very good Conservative. How do you want to put those positions together?

Dan Severson: Two years ago I signed on the bill and we had a good discussion in Commerce, although it died. I think it's a discussion that continues to need to be had. Some of the surveys and issues that came out support a smoking ban state wide. It's always been my contention that people have individual rights. As far as smokers vs. non-smokers, I wholly agree that indiviudual rights for us as Americans are paramount and the closest thing to our heart. But I come at it from the standpoint that I'm part of the eighty percent that are non-smokers and I should have a right not to breathe the air of a smoker if I'm sitting in a confined space.

King: You speak with a lot of bar owners in your district. What do they have to say about this issue to you?

Severson: They come at it from a couple of perspectives. One is their personal rights as business owners, and I understand that. There is also a general fear that this ban will decrease the number of people that come to their establishment, and I understand those fears as well. I left California in 1994 before their smoking ban was implemented and returned in 1997 afterward, frequenting the same establishments as before. There was a huge fear that this was going to cause a decrease in patronage and it simply wasn't true. It was a totally different atmosphere obviously, because you're not smelling smoke in the restaurant, you're smelling food. People were actually increasingly going out because they didn't have to contend with what goes along with a smoke filled room, whether it's triggering an asthsma attack or just being able to taste the food better.

Michael Brodkorb: Can you go through the specifics of the bill?

Severson: I've read through the bill once, but I can't quote all of the specifics. I know it's a smoking ban with no exceptions. There are exceptions for smoking parlors, for tribal american rituals, for homes, and for hotel rooms. But as for public places like restaurants and bars, smoking is banned.

Michael: What about border cities? How would this bill help or hurt them?

Severson: Wisconsin is considering the same state-wide ban, if not this year, within two years. I believe it's a movement spreading across the nation. Ten years ago we had smoking everywhere. Since then we've seen a progressive implementation of ordinances city-wide, sometimes county-wide. They've made a progressive move to say that hey, we know this is a known health hazard and while we know it's problematic, we going to take a stand and put a ban on this. What you hear now from a lot of businesses and towns is that we'll wait to see what the state does. If nothing, then we'll move forward. The time has come to create an even playing field for businesses across the state. The state line issue is going to be an issue. Again, I think when people feel the freedom to go a bar or a restaurant and know they're not going to be assaulted by second-hand smoke or the residue of the second-hand smoke, it's going to draw more people to go out those establishments in the long run.

King: The bill says that if you run a day care center in your home, and anybody smokes in that house, even when the children are not present, you have to notify the parents or guardians of the children using the day care center. That in essence turns that private home into a public building. Is that in keeping with what I think Conservative principles should be?

Severson: I'm not familiar with that portion of the bill, but these are issues we'll have an open discussion on in committee and can taylor that as needed. The issue you're running into is the Surgeon General's report last June that any amount of second hand smoke is problematic. There are consequences because it has proved to be a problem, health-wise. If you're going to a day care center, they contract to take care of your children the best way they know how. That comes into question when there's been smoking in the house. Now is it going to be a Gestapo tactic, filing lawsuits? I don't think so, but those are discussions we need to have.

King: Another provision allows cities to pass even more stringent than you bill allows, meaning you can't guarantee a level playing field after all.

Severson: That's what we have now.

King: These are two parts of this bill I have trouble with. What I'm hearing you say is that business owners need a level playing field, and that the purpose of the state bill is to create a level playing field. But you really can't as we agreed. Further, if my wife runs a day care and I have one cigar during Monday Night Football, as I read the bill she would have notify in writing every client parent or guardian that there's a smoker in the house. I just think that's kind of strange.

Severson: That's going to the extreme, but that's our society in terms of litigation. We've been pushed to that.

King: What's the evidence that a cigar smoked ten hours before any child enters the building has any effect?

Severson: I don't know.

Caller Rick: If I don't want to go into restaurant where they smoke, well then I just don't go. I'm very insulted that the State seems to think that I'm too stupid to make up my mind over these things.

Severson: This part of the process of having a healthy debate. Part of the equation is the health of the workers. We can say that they can quit that job and go work someplace else. I got an email from a former smoker who works in a restaurant who would love to see a smoking ban because she doesn't want to be around it any longer. But she doesn't have the option of quitting because there aren't that many jobs in the area. I understand the issue of individual rights and I fully support them, but there also needs to be the equal opportunity for the eighty percent to say "I don't want to breathe that second hand smoke."

King: It sounds like you're saying that you have a right until eighty percent say you don't have a right. I think that's a dangerous place for a Conservative to go.

Severson: I agree.

King: If smoking is really this bad, why not just outlaw it?

Severson: How about if we let market forces work? If we restrict it to the point where people can't go out, maybe they'll try a nicotine patch, and three weeks later they won't have an urge to smoke.

King: If eighty percent of Minnesotans want to go a place that's smoke-free, why haven't more restaurants figured out how to cater to that eighty percent?

Severson: I think they have. I think there are a lot of them going smoke-free?

King: Then why is there a need to make the others smoke-free too?

Severson: There are some making that tough decision and I applaud them for that. But there are others who are afraid of taking the plunge and getting some economic kickback for the initial portions. [Double speak for lost business I think. --SG]

We finally saw Triple Expresso this afternoon at the Music Box Theater near downtown Minneapolis. It features three very talented guys doing a blend of stand-up comedy, magic, and singing, plus a little audience participation. Sitting in the front row, I soon found myself on stage as the magician's volunteer.

The first act was a bit underwhelming, with some material you might see at a high school talent show. But they finished strong in the second act. I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars overall.

If you're going to go anytime soon, though, dress warm. This old theater is very drafty, with almost everyone complaining. One woman must have known, and brought a blanket. So wear fleece and very warm boots. My feet are just now only back to normal, three hours later.

Governor Pawlenty now says he wants (prefers?) a state smoking ban that exempts private clubs like American Legion and VFW posts. I don't get it, at least not in the Vulcan sense.

I fail to see the distinction between the VFW, Appleby's, and Aunt Tillie's Diner. As a consumer, what's the difference? All are privately owned establishments that serve food and drink. Why can I smoke in some but not others? Why should workers at the VFW be exposed to this alleged danger when the others places' workers are not? Why should owners like Aunt Tillie or investors in Appleby's now have to compete unfairly with a non-profit entity?

No, this is our too clever by half Prime Minister trying to short circuit opposition to a bill he clearly wants to sign despite his Republican credentials. He's seen what the local smoking bans have done to the VFW's. They're still alive, but there's little money left now for philanthropy. Rural legislators, for whom the local American Legion Post or VFW is a mainstay, will be reluctant to be blamed for the same or worse in their district. That goes double near the border, JOBZ or not.

We can only hope that these rural legislators understand that their city kin will be back again to finish the job. The anti-smoking facists have to stopped here.

The President has proposed health care reform in terms of how it is taxed. This is an interesting can of worms to open, for it illustrates a great unfairness.

Let's take a couple of school teachers, same age, same education, same school, and same union, meaning they make the same gross pay. Both get their health insurance from this employment. But one is married with two children and the other is single. Who makes more money per year? The married teacher does, the difference being the cost of the additional family medical coverage, easily over $1,000 a year.

Or take two professionals, one making $45,000 and no benefits, the other $40,000 with $5,000 worth of health care coverage. The effect on the employer's bank account is the same, but the cash only worker pays higher taxes since the entire income is taxable.

If "equal pay for equal work" means anything, we should embrace the President's thinking at least.

Swiftee came up with an interesting turnabout. More than just parody, he has adapted the MSM's style of daily handwringing over President Bush's "failed" Iraq policies. Quoting his first installment:

It occurred to me while reading the latest “embrace defeat” report from the Iraq, that while we may find the message repugnant, you really have to give the MSM credit where credit is due.

These daily gloom and doom prophecies have successfully demoralized just about everyone, except the troops doing the heavy lifting. Meanwhile, the speaker of the Democrat congress indulges in a three day bacchanalia festival where the featured activity is dancing through the ashes of American foreign policy.

So I’m going to start embracing…no, not defeat; I’m going to embrace the message. And I cannot think of any more appropriate recipient of the spotlight than Minnesota public schools.

In that spotlight, he speaks of "student insurgency" and "killed academic careers" rather than usual discipline and drop-outs. Further updates are here and here.

Those hard working fellows on the NARN should consider this as a regular feature, like Brian Ward's "Gatekeeper" segment. Anther candidates would be the Nihilist's Top 11 lists. Maybe even a dramatic reading of a fisked moonbat Letter to the Editor from KAR, edited for radio of course.

Maybe I'm just hearing what I want to hear, but I'm wondering if Atlas isn't at least toying with shrugging. Rush Limbaugh said he was done "carrying water" after the devastating election. Laura Ingraham is chasing "RATS" (Republicans Agreeing to Surrender). Triple A and Jason Lewis are calling out Jim Ramstad for voting 6 for 6 with Pelosi's first 100 hours bills. And early polling foreshadows another GOP pasting in 2008 unless the Democrats blow it.

There is still significant opposition to the bi-partisan de facto amnesty immigration bill. And yesterday, a small but much appreciated group of GOP Legislators openly criticized Governor Pawlenty's plan to spend the entire surplus.

So is a split coming in the Republican Party? Possibly, but almost certainly not as a separate party unless a charismatic John Galt shows up. (Or Dagny Taggart?) More likely, it will be a passive boycott born of apathy toward those like Governor Pawlenty who promised to be conservative but now fancies that he's "grown" in office.

It's time for my annual look at the Talk Radio scene.

First, I subscribe to three premium sites, plus Live365 for music and an Old Time Radio site. I listen to them via downloaded mp3 files rather than live.

• I am a charter member of Rush 24/7, which includes The Limbaugh Letter. This is still my favorite national show, and the paragon of premium web sites. Much of this flows from Rush's love of radio that takes full advantage of his obvious talents. The only problem is that given his prominence, he can't play the theme, bumpers, and parodies without significant royalties.
  
• I am also a charter member of the Laura Ingraham site. She keeps me young, more in touch with the culture, but also hits hard on important issues like the Fairness Doctrine.
• Bill O'Reilly replaced Dennis Prager this past year when Salem asserted its ownership rights to put his premium site out of business. But I must say that O'Reilly is also a natural behind the microphone, with only his occasional slides into unreasoned populism holding him back.

Having MP3 feeds without commercials and an MP3 player with good skip and 1.5x speed playback boils these daily 8 hours down to less than 5 hours, much of which I can listen to at work.

Mornings, I have no set preference other than to avoid Willie Clark. Depending on the news cycle, I split my time pretty evenly between Bill Bennett (WWTC AM 1280), Andrew Colton (KTLK FM 100.3), and Ian & Margery Punnett (WFMP FM 107.1). And KTLK is dropping fast, having added still more useless traffic reports and doing mostly entertainment news.

Evenings, Jason Lewis has all but displaced Hugh Hewitt. I'll often listen to Hugh in the car, knowing my Pogo is recording Jason, but even that habit is fading. Partly this is my preference for local content in that I'm already getting mostly national content from my subscriptions. But much of this is due to Hewitt's format changes.

Hugh Hewitt might have had the best opening sequence in talk radio, featuring Canned Heat's Goin' up the Country. The new opening is now basically a dirge, salted with somber historical quotes, and unfortunately appropriate to the darker tone he has taken. And we don't agree, i.e., accept the RNC talking points, even the obvious flubs like the Harriett Miers nomination, he whines like a liberal. As I've said before, I smell a radio consultant at work. That said, Hewitt does do a number of important interviews, so I do listen to some shows on Townhall.com.

Getting back to Jason Lewis, his show is mostly an emotional fix for me, to know that there are still a few conservatives left in Minnesota. He occasionally gets some low level facts wrong, but he is otherwise on target.

KSTP is dead to me except maybe for an occasional Bob Davis replay at night and weekend Sports Talk. Garage Logic is now a slow paced bore. Dave Thompson is smart, principled and tries as hard as anyone, but just doesn't have radio skills.

The Patriot continues to have a formidable lineup. I listen to some Bill Bennett as I said, get Laura Ingraham by subscription, tape Dennis Prager on my Pogo, and catch some Hugh Hewitt when time permits. Michael Medved gets an honorable mention, but the timing of his show isn't right for me, but it's always preferable to Sean Hannity.

And then there's the eight hour Taxpayers League / Northern Alliance extravaganza on Saturday, with David Strom, Brian Ward, Mitch Berg, and King Banian, and a long list of capable co-hosts. I never miss an hour thanks to my Pogo recorder.

Townhall.com has many podcasts available, but you have to listen via their player or enter the proprietary Apple iTunes/iPod world. I want mp3's I can play anywhere, any time. Having the hour summaries available is very helpful, much like the premium sites do.

Overall, the "state of the " talk radio scene remains strong, with nice additions like the latest NARN segment.

I am so fortunate to have Mike Opat represent me on the Hennepin County Board. What a beautiful plan he put together to buy a new stadium for billionaire Carl Pohlad. After eschewing the Free Market and circumventing Democracy, we're now in phase 3 of his master plan: steal the land as Tracy recounts.

Phase 4 will be to exempt the project from any delays from Environmental Impact Statements, reviews by the Planning Commission and Watershed District, Building and Occupancy Permits, and the usual soil preparation and erosion control construction requirements.

Phase 5 will be to stick the taxpayers with the cost overruns from the above.

And phase 6 will have Mr. Opat and Prime Minister Pawlenty standing on home plate at the opener to take a bow.

I've made this point before, but the near-certain increase in the federal minimum wage this year prompts me to make it again. But let's start with a question:

Q: Why doesn't every job pay only the minimum wage? That is, why would an employer voluntarily choose to pay more than the law requires?

A: To increase the pool of qualified applicants.

A hospital looking for a brain surgeon gets no acceptable applicants at even $10 an hour. They have to pay enough to make brain surgery worth the time and money that all that education and residency requires. They also have to pay enough for the surgeon to stay current and pay the increasing malpractice insurance.

Therefore, if you're paying no higher than the minimum wage, you are getting enough qualified applicants. What happens if you now raise that pay by $2 an hour? You get more qualified applicants. In fact, overall, the "new" applicants are if anything more qualified, drawing in other workers already making above the old minimum wage.

The unsaid, untrue assumption is that the people now making $5.15 an hour will be the same ones now making &7.25 an hour. The truth is, some jobs will go away, and some will be given to other, more productive workers. This will be much more pronounced with "living wage" mandate situations.

Veteran KSTP-AM talk radio host Mark O'Connell passed away Saturday at age 52 from melanoma.

His last gig, working with Ron Rosenbaum noon to 2 pm weekdays on AM 1500, was cancelled this past September. Perhaps this was part of that decision.

Like O'Connell, my father in law passed away in our home turned hospice for three weeks in 1999 from melanoma, so I very much understand and what Mark's wife and family have endured.

My word to epitomize Mark O'Connell would be fair. I often disagreed with him, but he made his points well and with civility - and humor where appropriate, traits no doubt drawn from his personal life that ended much too soon yesterday.

On Almanac this week, one segment took up Early Childhood Education (ECE) and all-day Kindergarten. These are the extensions that turn K-12 education into E-12 education, as the Governor and others call it. This segment was with proponent Legislator Mindy Greiling (D-54A, Roseville), along with Education Commissioner Alice Seagren. Later on the political panel couch, former Legislators Ember Reichgott-Junge and Mary Jo McGuire took up the cause.

I've been questioning my senses lately. Why do I watch American Idol? Why don't I watch 24? And why can't I take E-12 seriously?

What I saw was babbling, not discourse. Sure, there are studies that support such programs but don't otherwise cause me to suspend common sense.

Common sense tells us such programs are not the least bit essential. There are at least 100 million adults past and present in America that somehow get along just fine without it. How did we ever land a man on the moon? Or conquer polio?

Common sense tells us there are more important education problems to solve. Thirty percent of Minnesota high school graduates need remedial course work in English or Mathematics when entering Minnesota colleges. Minnesota has some of the nation's widest minority achievement gaps. And even without the ECE extensions, costs are rising far beyond inflation, seemingly out of control.

Common sense also says follow the money. Who stands to gain from this program? Why, those would be supplying the extra personnel, no doubt future members of Education Minnesota. As a corollary, I would also suggest that this is a way of gaining control of the inner city prospects. The "capture ratio" - the percentage of five year olds that enter the Minneapolis Public Schools - is reportedly around 50 percent. Maybe if ECE becomes required and the public schools are the only free offering, the die is cast for Kindergarten and beyond.

Common sense asks: why trust the same people that have made such a mess of K-12 education to do still more? And what will be their response if the these new programs are equally disappointing? As this ECE proposal further demonstrates, rather than address or even admit there's a problem, they will propose still more expansions of their empire.

I've been a bit busy and indisposed lately, as my lack of posting indicates. I've had enough time and energy to go through my blogroll, commenting here and there, but when the forehead hits the keyboard, it's time to stop.

I thought the holidays and all their bustle were over. I thought we could all relax a little and/or gird up for the annual assault on our liberty and pocketbooks at the Legislature. This past week was an early exception, however.

Part of this was self-inflicted. I was not going to watch American Idol this year until at least the round of 12 or so. But it was Minneapolis's turn and somehow there I was, watching it live even, the whole two hours.

But hey, it was our city, and people would be talking about it the next day, and they did. But there I was the next night, watching another two hours, mostly live (not DVR), from the Seattle auditions.

What's wrong with me? Am I that addicted to it? Or is that American Idol has more mass executions than the show "24"?

I'm staying up late watching the last of the four NFL playoff games this weekend via the DVR. All four games were close and entertaining. There was one problem, though.

At the Bears - Seahawks game, the referees were wearing dark slacks with a white stripe. I thought it must be rain gear, but the trousers didn't appear to be pull ons, as they had belts.

U G L Y !!!!

Amidst all the white pants they looked like strangers on the field. I hope this isn't a "new look" being tried.

I must be a deviant as a conservative blogger: I don't go crazy over the "24" TV show. Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham rave about the new season, for which they have previews. The ratings are solid. But I don't get it.

I've watched maybe 30 minutes of a couple of episodes and the level of over-acting is far more than I can take. A show like this either has to be clearly fiction (Independence Day or Dave) or have some basis in reality (Hunt for Red October). This show clearly tries for the latter, and the plot line seems reasonable enough.

But this poor acting simply reminds me of CSI, which is also unwatchable for the same reason. Give me Law and Order.

Is a Rebate a Cut? asks Residual Forces. Of course not. I posted on this over a year ago, but it bears repeating.

A tax cut is where you get to keep your money, which by extension means that you can spend that money on whatever you want.

Not so with the "targeted" tax cuts, credits, and rebates now being proposed in St. Paul. It looks like your money, being computed on your tax forms and all. You get a bigger refund or pay less in under this program. But you paid for the privilege. You had to spend much more money in an "approved" fashion to get this small kickback.

Do the math. Instead of giving a parent a college tuition tax deduction worth an average $165, what if the legislature simply gave the college $165 to reduce the tuition? Everyone's bank account - the state, the college and the parent - ends up the same under this spending program as it would the "tax relief" program. No, this is a spending program.

Our new Brooklyn Center Mayor did not disappoint in his debut City Council meeting this week. Our anarchist Council Member had what promises to be the first of many long Monday evenings for her.

The highlight was the agenda item to approve a new contract with one of our labor unions. When the anarchist began questioning some details and asking for comparisons to other employee groups, Mayor Tim Willson asked her to stay on point. For those not familiar with such proceedings, such approvals are basically up/down decisions. Failure to ratify or the addition of amendments generally sends the entire agreement back to the bargaining table. As such, comparisons to other groups or general discussion is pointless. The time to get what you want in a contract is when you begin negotiations, not at the end. Plus, this is bargaining in bad faith. Strike one.

When she tried again, Willson quietly, firmly, and immediately ruled her out of order. "You're out of order!" she returned, clearly upset, relinquishing the floor. Strike two.

The third time, Willson asked her if she had an amendment, which she promptly made. A long silence ensued, waiting for the second to her amendment that never came. They used to come from her argumentative, loquacious ally, but she lost in November. Strike three. She gave up.

The motion to approve carried, 4 to 1 of course.

Northwest Airlines once owned 45 DC-10 jets, but now has just retired the last of them. By today's standards, it was too plain inside, used too much fuel, and needed three pilots, not two, to fly it.

Personally, I haven't been on one in several years, and I don't miss it. Maybe it was just pilot judgment, but this plane always seemed underpowered to me, using every last foot of the runway on takeoff. The tires clicked the fence at the end, just clearing. Once in the air, it had an annoying buzz from the engines.

But as the pilots noted in the paper, it's heavier weight gave it good stability. I agree with that. My least favorite airplane is now the 757, simply because if there is any rough air above, this plane will find it and jostle you accordingly.

Of course, now we see the government advocating adding stronger floors and ceilings for security in future designs, adding weight again. We may yet get it right.

Brian at Fraters Libertas called the sale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune "A New Hope" as in maybe they might now change their far left spots. I suspect "St. Paul" was being largely facetious, but could it happen?

The business case for at least a little moderation seems obvious enough. How can you grow a business when you go out of your way to insult half of your market, almost daily? But such scenarios - management or ownership changes of a major daily - have happened many times in the past twenty years, with no significant change in editorial posture. Why not?

I recalled an article titled "Why Americans Don't Like Soccer" that asserted:

In my opinion, a lack of scoring is not merely an incidental aspect of the game of soccer —— it is its essence. That is, the ultimate purpose of soccer is to engage in lots of furious activity to accomplish . . . absolutely nothing. Not surprisingly, when that elusive goal is scored (if it is scored), ear—shattering howls of euphoria erupt from players, announcers, and spectators alike, as if their very souls were being released from the depths of hell.

Goals are indeed a rare commodity in soccer, so much so that soccer is, essentially, a zero sum game. The "pie" of goals not only is meager, it never grows. So it is fought over with an intensity that is almost never found in American sports.

In other words, if soccer appears boring to us Americans, it's by design.

Is liberal dominance in print also by design? No, not by leftist editors and staff, but intrinsically? Is there something about this business we're not seeing that would doom even a moderate newspaper? Is the lack of balance not merely an incidental aspect of the newspaper game —— is it its essence? Empirically, doesn't the answer have to be yes? Why might this be?

I have a theory that I post in a day or two.

The DFL began its total control of the Minnesota state government today. Liberals now rule in the House, Senate, and Governor's mansion.

Governor Tim Pawlenty is a Republican, you say? He's a member of the Republican Party, he ran as a Republican, but he governed otherwise in his last term. His inaugural address "The New Path" was riddled with Rodney King claptrap, strongly suggesting his next term will be worse. Conservatives will be ignored just as they were in this speech. More than ever, "the era of small government is over" in Minnesota.

Pawlenty spoke of courage today, yet showed none against the DFL Senate on taxes last term, and he had a nominally Republican House then. With the DFL holding strong majorities in both chambers now, not only is the surplus already spent, it won't prove enough to avoid yet another tax increase this session. Pawlenty won't sign this tax increase in the Metrodome, but he'll sign it.

For those who would say it would have been worse under Hatch, think again. Hatch signs a tax increase and the DFL gets all the blame. Pawlenty signs essentially the same tax increase and now its "bipartisan!" This is a perfect situation for the DFL Legislature, a non-DFL Governor who will sign their bills anyway, but without the rancor and bad press Hatch is famous for.