Before the clock struck midnight last Sunday and their carriage
transformed into a pumpkin, Minnesota legislators and Governor Tim
Pawlenty reached a deal with local representatives worth more than
just Cinderella’s glass slipper and a starstruck prince.
Faced with a legislature that conjured up a veto-proof majority
to override Pawlenty’s veto of a recent $6.6 billion transportation
bill, Pawlenty reached across the aisle to save Minnesotans money.
Other politicians should take note: It is possible to get things
done, even when you’re outnumbered.
Not all Minnesotans are happy with the Governor’s negotiations.
To some conservatives, the end-of-session deals only demonstrates,
on a local level, what many Republican politicians are doing on a
national level: Compromising.
To be sure, the 2008 legislative session was anything but a
model of small-government conservatism. It included bills that
require enormous amounts of money, including $70 million to fund
the Central Corridor light rail project between Minneapolis and St.
Paul and $20 million to develop land for a new state park on Lake
Vermillion. The legislature also passed plenty of additional
regulations — on business, health care, diesel fuel, and so much
more.
One person who is not happy about this is local talk radio host
and regular substitute host for Rush Limbaugh’s radio program,
Jason Lewis. He told me this session was “disastrous” and one that
he didn’t think “conservatives got anything out of.”
Lewis ticked off the evidences where more money was allocated
for education, nursing homes, parks and the light rail system. “The
Democrats got $6 billion of their plan, and instead of bringing
something of his own to the table, Pawlenty is just fine-tuning
liberal legislation,” Lewis complained.
WHILE IT’S HARD to defend such money-sucking projects, the flip
side of the coin offers some hope to Minnesota taxpayers.
Minnesota’s $935 million projected state budget deficit was erased
and the budget for this next fiscal year was balanced without
raising taxes.
The legislature passed a Tax Bill that caps property taxes for
three years (with some exceptions) and includes permanent property
tax relief. This bill is a slice of heaven compared to the tax bill
proposed by the Democrat house last year which guaranteed a tax
increase and didn’t guarantee property tax relief.
So even if Minnesota taxpayers “lost” in some areas, they
avoided $5 billion worth of proposed tax increases by the
Democrats, thanks to Governor Pawlenty and the Republicans in the
House.
With legislature and the Governor cheering and some
conservatives pouting in the corner, it begs the question of
Pawlenty and other politicians in his position: What else could he
have done with a Democrat-controlled legislature (and veto-proof
majority)?
He might have spent more money than he should, but he also saved
more than was expected. While this might sound spineless compared
to Lewis’s suggestion that “the Governor should tell [the
legislature] he won’t sign the bonding bill,” what, really, would a
refusal to sign a bill do? Force the legislature into special
session which would rack up roughly $60,000 of taxpayer dollars a
day until negotiations were reached? Offer his own bill which would
not even make it out of committee?
A stubborn purist might try that route as a way of Making a
Statement. It would accomplish nothing, cost Minnesotans more
money, and do real harm to the governor’s ability to shape the
budget process. Governor Pawlenty is far from perfect and his
policies are far from perfectly-conservative, but he did save
Minnesota taxpayers money. Other politicians, including his friend
Senator John McCain could find encouragement in his
accomplishments.
The results of this session are proof positive that Republican
leaders shouldn’t give up trying to accomplish conservative reforms
with their liberal counterparts. If they can do well with limited
resources and few allies, they’ll know exactly what to do when
they’re dealt a better hand.
