The groundswell is growing; Minnesotans don’t want the DFL to hijack last week’s tragedy to ram through a shopping list of their pork projects.

57% of Minnesotans aren’t buying it.  I’ve heard some lefties respond to this poll “of course people oppose a new tax; you need to ask them what the tax is for!”   Perhaps – but then, I suspect nobody will ask the citizens of this state what they really want out of a “special session”, either;

Leo “Psychmeister” Pusatieri issues the call (I add the emphases):

There appears to be a substantial number of Republican lawmakers who are seeing the call for raising the state gas tax to be what it is– an opportunistic ploy by DFL lawmakers to ramrod a political agenda by exploiting a tragedy that had absolutely nothing to do with either the presence of or absence of a tax increase. While they certainly see the need to prioritize and ensure the safety of bridges and other infrastructure, they are likewise acknowledging that the answer lies not in an additional burden on Minnesota taxpayers, but rather on a good, old-fashioned prioritization of allocation of resources.

The bottom line is that neither a special session nor a tax increase is required to prevent what happened on the I-35 W bridge from happening elsewhere.

A phone call or email (Pawlenty@state.mn.us) to Governor Pawlenty’s office will go a long way toward ensuring that the solution to the bridge and infrastructure issue is a prudent, effective measure, rather than a knee-jerk tax-and-spend reaction.

There’s your links.  Get on it.

Leo also points us to essential posts on the subject from:

• Strom: “I see a backlash coming, a la Wellstone Memorial”
• Gross:  “this poll clearly indicates that people want to see a solution-oriented legislature. They want to drive across safe bridges. This isn’t a poll that says we can afford inaction. This is a great opportunity for Gov. Pawlenty and the House GOP leadership to show Minnesotans their common sense approach to solving problems.”
• Aplikowski:  “it is almost like the people who support the currently elected crop in St. Paul (and lash out at those of us who disagree with and question their authority) are completely out of touch with the reality of Minnesotans.”
• Gary Miller: “Raising taxes would be nothing short of admitting complicity in the 35W tragedy.  How this fact is lost of the Governor, who has left the door open to a gas tax increase, defies credulity”
• Michael Brodkorb: “Of the 38% that support a gas tax increase, 47% think it should be raised less than 5 cents.”

Read ’em all.

But call or email the governor first.