Shot in the Dark

MNGOP WIN!

Dayton has agreed to the GOP budget:

Gov. Mark Dayton said Thursday morning that he is willing to accept Republicans’ June 30 budget offer, which would close a $1.4 billion budget difference by delaying payment of school funds and borrowing against the state’s tobacco settlement.

“This is the only viable option that’s potentially available,” Dayton said.

It’s not a complete, 1940-NFL-Champtionship-style blowout – I think we started negotiations too high, and may have handed Dayton a propaganda point on the school shift, yet again.  And not getting VoterID and King Banaian’s Sunset Clause – those hurt.

But let’s focus on the big picture here.   We held the line on new taxes.  The line is drawn in the sand; government will live within its means, even if “its means” have been stretched more than conservatives want.   With redistricting coming up, it’ll be a good message to take back to the voters.   And nobody had to do without their Miller and Coors.

Kudos to the legislative freshmen class!  I can’t imagine this sort of outcome happening with the MNGOP of ten years ago.  Salut!

More later.

The next order of business, of course?  Press this win onward.  Dayton’s down (in a gauzy-focused, politically-sanded-off kind of way); we have to keep kicking.

UPDATE:  Was I too exuberant?  Perhaps, but I’m not apologizing, since it’s fun to spike the ball even if the play gets called back.  Friends of mine in conservative political circles say yes, Dayton’s conditions are too onerous, and the deal is DOA.

So hang in there, folks.

More tomorrow.

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Mitch Berg

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26 responses to “MNGOP WIN!”

  1. Kermit Avatar
    Kermit

    I can already see the Alliance for a Better Minnesota ad campaign. There will be many sad-faced children and teachers being handed pink slips. Boarded up schools. Minorities declaring that now they will never get their college education.
    The title for the spot? BULLIES. If I was still blogging, I’d write it myself.

  2. Jeff Kouba Avatar
    Jeff Kouba

    I dunno. If Gov. Goofy is holding out for keeping as many state workers as he can feeding on the public trought, and a half a billion dollar bonding bill, combined with the apparently GOP-blessed deferring of education money and borrowing against the magical tobacco funds, I don’t see a whole lot of actual savings and cuts.

  3. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    The shell that is Mad Mark and his string pullers has been cracked open, and looking inside it’s become obvious that the shell always was empty.

    We all know that the shutdown never needed to happen. Mad Mark now must take FULL ownership for the shutdown and ALL the pain and misery it has cost.

  4. The Big Stink Avatar
    The Big Stink

    This is one battle in a protracted war. Gear up!

  5. nate Avatar
    nate

    This is a ploy, not a concession.

    I demand $56 billion paid for by new taxes.

    We offer $54 billion paid for by existing taxes.

    I agree to your offer, sweetened by 15% more state employees and $500 million in new borrowing to be spent on . . . we’ll work that out later . . . to be paid for by . . . we’ll work that out later, too. But I totally agree, so you can see what a sensible and reasonable guy I am. And if you don’t agree, then plainly you’ll be the a**holes in this deal.

    Brings to mind a scene from My Cousin Vinnie “That’s what we lawyers call a counter-offer.”

    In Dayton’s mind, this plays out: The headlines trumpet that the Governor agreed to the GOP proposal, but GOP refuses to sign its own proposal as modified, the GOP is the bad guy for prolonging the shut-down after the Governor gave in, the public turns on the GOP and demands more borrowing and more state employees, the GOP caves.

    Clever, but still a negotiating ploy.

  6. thorleywinston Avatar
    thorleywinston

    Should Republicans ever get control of both Houses of the State Legislature and the governorship, I think it would behoove them to put in place some mechanism so that if the government shuts down, those areas which bring in their own revenue (e.g. State parks, licensing boards, etc.) can continue to function so long as they continue to bring in enough money to cover their operating costs.

  7. Terry Avatar
    Terry

    The principle established (though Dayton would deny it) is that you can manage Minnesota state government’s obligations without a surtax on the “super rich”.

  8. thorleywinston Avatar
    thorleywinston

    I agree to your offer, sweetened by 15% more state employees and $500 million in new borrowing to be spent on . . . we’ll work that out later . . . to be paid for by . . . we’ll work that out later, too.

    Agreed on the bonding bill (for what exactly?) but I think that the proposal by the MNGOP was to cut the State government workforce by 15 percent so Dayton at most held even rather than increased the number of State employees. Sooner or later (I prefer sooner while I’m still of working age) we’re going to have to deal seriously with the unfunded liabilities of public employee retirement and health benefits. Reducing the State workforce also needs to happen but I prefer rather than just setting an arbitrary number to cut, we leverage the government shutdown to educate voters about areas where the State government is involved and shouldn’t be to eliminate those departments and agencies

  9. nerdbert Avatar
    nerdbert

    I still think it was the Miller/Coors shutoff that doomed the whole shutdown. Folks won’t mind a few state workers sitting on their cans for 2 weeks in their homes rather than their offices (it’s tough to tell the difference in output for most civil servants), but take away the public’s beer and it’s time for pitchforks and torches.

  10. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    I’m thinking he didn’t get the support he expected during his little gypsy tour that buckled his knees. And the fact that history demonstrates he doesn’t have much spine.

  11. jdm Avatar
    jdm

    Should Republicans ever get control of both Houses […]

    Mostly agree with the sentiments that followed, but I’d really like to see two other things.

    One, is the banishment of these lame-ass permits. The notion that a $multi-billion company like Miller/Coors would lose their rights to sell beer for a $1200 bill (over 3 years) is ridiculous on its face. Coupled with the costs of enforcement, this permit can only be construed as pointlessly punitive and for no reason other than to root the state government’s parasitic roots deeper into MN commerce. This can’t be the only dopey permit on the books.

    And two, the privatization of many or most these state functions that were oh-so serious. For example, rest-stops and (the campgrounds at) state parks can be privately run and kept open – the state can still retain inspection rights. Or fishing licenses: geez, does some bait-shop in Crosby need the state government to be open to sell licenses?

    I hope the present set of Republicans start asking these questions…

  12. Mr. D Avatar
    Mr. D

    I still think it was the Miller/Coors shutoff that doomed the whole shutdown.

    Especially the reason — the state couldn’t handle an accounts receivable issue that a kid running a lemonade stand could figure out.

  13. Night Writer Avatar
    Night Writer

    Or maybe he realized that the people being hurt the most by his shutdown were mostly the ones who voted for him.

  14. gmg425 Avatar
    gmg425

    I think the shutdown is all but officially over. I hope they push for keeping King’s HF2 legislation in the final package. If they say no, then pass it again the first week they’re back in 2012. Defy the lefties to vote against something that’d poll 70% or better.

    As for the bonding, I wrote about that here.

  15. thorleywinston Avatar
    thorleywinston

    Re: $500 million bonding bill – what was the price tag for the new Vikings stadium that Dayton wanted?

  16. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    I have to say I’m surprised, now time to scour the leftyblogs to see how pissed they are at governor moonshine.

  17. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    If you believe quotes from the MN Progressive Project (that’s a big if I know) it looks like Dayton’s conditions makes the deal DOA in the house so maybe this isn’t over…

  18. Chuck Avatar
    Chuck

    Mr D, so true. Honestly, it shows how fucked up gov’t is. And a lot of people are affected by that. Bar owners, liquor stores, sponsorships.

  19. Chuck Avatar
    Chuck

    To repeat…if the news reports are correct, Miller paid it on time, but overpaid by a few dollars. Instead of depositing the check and issueing a refund for the overpayment, they sent the check back, and then refused to process the replacement check in a timely manner, and then the shutdown occured.

    It’s like the 3 stooges are running the gov’t.

  20. Lars Walker Avatar
    Lars Walker

    The Three Stooges were an option? And we missed it?

  21. J. Ewing Avatar
    J. Ewing

    Oh, sure, we agree, the GOP should say. Then their first order of business in special session is a “lights-on bill” at the last biennium’s funding ($30B). THEN we start the dickering and compromise somewhere south of the $34B he could have had just signing the bills in the first place.

  22. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    “I still think it was the Miller/Coors shutoff that doomed the whole shutdown.”

    That’s precisely the reason nerdbert. As I hypothesized yesterday, there would most likely be a serious law suit by MC against the State. From what I learned from some colleagues in Milwaukee that work there, they were definitely loading the guns to do so. Most, if not all of their distributors in MN were set to join them.

  23. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    I don’t know if the others hit the nail on the head or not, but if so I have one thing to say: VIVA LA MILLER/COORS !!

    You had to know that it would be something to do with booze that would have Mad Mark crumble.

  24. Chuck Avatar
    Chuck

    bosshoss…..agree. It appears Miller paid their tribute in time. So by banning the sale of Miller/Coors/Molson products, it affects an incredibly large number of people and institutions.

    The lawsuit would have been an easy win for Miller, their distributers, and possible liquor stores, bars, events that Miller sponsers (and there are a lot).

  25. walter hanson Avatar
    walter hanson

    Question not being mentioned. If the Republicans were going to get the worse punch they can get from the media and the union when is that worse punch coming. Republicans should learn if you stand on principal you can defeat the media and unions.

    National Republicans take note of this!

    Walter Hanson
    Minneapolis, MN

  26. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    I was busy last night. I sent every GOP rep and senator a note of thanks for standing strong, but encouraged them NOT TO AGREE to Mad Mark’s conditions. I highlighted that voter ID was crucial, no new spending, i.e. bonding bills, cut government waste and since the employee “lay offs” are actually being accomplished by attrition, not to cave on that, either. I used the MC licensing issue as an illustration that there were at the least too much inefficiency and at the most, too much wasteful spending.

    Speaking of which, as an IT guy that has seen the cluster f*&% that is/are the State’s IT department(s), I would start there!

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