[Speed Gibson,
Saturday June 3, 2006 at 11:57pm]
Credit where Credit is due
It was great timing, giving Pawlenty a great headline to wave at the Republican State Convention this weekend. We have (through 2003) now fallen to 16th in the nation for state and local taxation as a percent of personal income.
I've been a bit hard on Governor Pawlenty since the partial shutdown last year. There remains to this day absolutely no excuse for offering to raise taxes. That and his many other unforced errors like signing the Twins stadium bill make it hard to know if he has any core principles left at all.
But that headline is still great news, and Mr. Pawlenty deserves a big slice of the credit. The DFL would have made us number 1, and keeps trying to do so. Further, maybe all these "progressive" policies have some role I don't understand in keeping the DFL ineffective in this quest. Larry Pogemiller is still wondering what happened to his half-cent metro sales tax that would pay for goodies "everyone" wanted, including a new Vikings stadium. Pawlenty's flip-flop kept the smaller House-approved Opat bill on the table, sending Pogemiller's much larger tax increase proposal to the recycle bin.
I also must admire Pawlenty's political skills. I think it's fair to say that he has angered a significant percent of the GOP. Yet, he waltzes to renomination as if nothing happened. The "conservative" Pawlenty is gone, but then so are "Independent" Peter Hutchinson (a lefty after all) and "Libertarian" Sue Jeffors (back to being a Republican, but too late). Even the DFL appears overmatched this round, no matter who gets their nomination.
He'll do it without my vote, but Pawlenty will still win in November. He'll sign the 2007 Viking stadium bill, and I predict he'll try again with the Racino. Our taxes will continue to rise. But he also has the most potential of any candidate to be that "best governor in recent memory."
I've been a bit hard on Governor Pawlenty since the partial shutdown last year. There remains to this day absolutely no excuse for offering to raise taxes. That and his many other unforced errors like signing the Twins stadium bill make it hard to know if he has any core principles left at all.
But that headline is still great news, and Mr. Pawlenty deserves a big slice of the credit. The DFL would have made us number 1, and keeps trying to do so. Further, maybe all these "progressive" policies have some role I don't understand in keeping the DFL ineffective in this quest. Larry Pogemiller is still wondering what happened to his half-cent metro sales tax that would pay for goodies "everyone" wanted, including a new Vikings stadium. Pawlenty's flip-flop kept the smaller House-approved Opat bill on the table, sending Pogemiller's much larger tax increase proposal to the recycle bin.
I also must admire Pawlenty's political skills. I think it's fair to say that he has angered a significant percent of the GOP. Yet, he waltzes to renomination as if nothing happened. The "conservative" Pawlenty is gone, but then so are "Independent" Peter Hutchinson (a lefty after all) and "Libertarian" Sue Jeffors (back to being a Republican, but too late). Even the DFL appears overmatched this round, no matter who gets their nomination.
He'll do it without my vote, but Pawlenty will still win in November. He'll sign the 2007 Viking stadium bill, and I predict he'll try again with the Racino. Our taxes will continue to rise. But he also has the most potential of any candidate to be that "best governor in recent memory."