To: The New GOP Majority in the Legislature
From: Mitch Berg, once-bitten Conservative
Re: The 2011 Session Agenda
Dear GOP House and Senate Caucuses:
Congratulations on the big win two weeks ago.
Now, we gotta talk.
You have a historic opportunity here; not only do you have the most power of any group of Republicans in recent Minnesota history, but you got there for all the right reasons – atop a swave of populist conservative discontent over the policies of Barack Obama and the Minnesota DFL.
Better still, even if we lose the recount, we’re up against a governor that’d be in a weak position even if he were Hubert H. Humprhey. And Mark Dayton is no Hubert H. Humphrey. I’ll be frankly amazed if we’re not reverring to “Governor Prettner-Solon” by 2014; in any case, you have the opportunity to drive this car.
So drive.
I’m just a schlemiel voter. But since the holidays are coming up, I’d like to give you my legislative wish list.
Go Deep. Tom Emmer ran on a zero-based budget promise. It was a great idea; follow through on it. Pass a budget – over the (rhetorically) dead bodies of the DFL left in the Legislature, if need be – that slashes the fat, initiates zero-based budgeting for the big entitlement programs, guts the pork, and holds the line on spending. Freeze state worker employees’ salaries until the revenues start picking up (meaning all the rest of us are getting raises again).
And then, let Dayton – or whomever – veto it.
And pass it again, with just enough changes to make it fly.
And let him veto it again.
And pass it again.
And let him veto it, and risk shutting down state government.
Because the people who sent you to office aren’t the ones that are going to rebel over a government shut-down.
But the ones that sent Dayton to office – real or imagined? They will. So when that happens? Dayton loses.
So do it.
Fix The Election System: Adopt Voter ID; require some form of identification. You know the drill – make identification safe, cheap and available – but require every voter to present an ID, and make sure that ID is enterered as part of their signing-in process.
And kill off vouching. Now.
Wanna appear “bipartisan”? Keep same-day voting. With a valid, cross-referenceable ID. Because if accessible same-day voting is what the DFL really wants, provided we can keep it accountable and fraud-proof, why not?
I don’t think that’s what they really value in same-day voting, but that’s just my opinion. So far.
And if Dayton wants to get into a fight over the right to carry out invalid, fraudulent elections, so be it! Let him veto that bill too! Let the DFL stand and fall, statewide, over the right to game the electoral system.
You have a huge opportunity here. Let’s use it.
That’s why we sent you there, after all.
UPDATE: A highly-placed GOP source whom I will not name at the moment writes:
NO Photo ID until every name on the voter registration list is checked for citizenship. There are names on the list of people who are not citizens. They are supposed to be challenged: “Challenged: Citizenship” is stamped right next to their name. Make everyone who gets a voting photo ID card prove citizenship; make it a renewable card every 5 years; the renewal cannot be tied to a driver’s license renewal. The Dept. of Public Safety must clean up all citizenship issues: temporary (those who are supposed to have “status check” on their ids; permanent residents who are not citizens). MN Constitution requires citizenship to vote.
Yes, eliminate vouching and eliminate same-day registration – zero compromise here…
Yes, play hardball; show backbone; appeasement doesn’t work – the Dems will never appease – we hold the majority, use it.
Well, it was a rough draft.
Like everything else on this blog.
Adopt Voter ID
Adopt Voter ID
Adopt Voter ID
Adopt Voter ID
Adopt Voter ID
Adopt Voter ID
Can I say it any louder?
I DO NOT TRUST MINNESOTA ELECTIONS!!!!!
Adopt Voter ID. Now.
Well put, Mitch. Total agreement.
I particularly like “Because the people who sent you to office aren’t the ones that are going to rebel over a government shut-down.”
I agree with all of this, especially “Governor Prettner-Solon.”
The one thing Pawlenty proved conclusively with his unallotment gambit is that you can cut governmental excess. And what he did was only Round 1.
“Let the DFL stand and fall, statewide, over the right to game the electoral system.”
You really think that’s going to be how it’s spun?
The only way we’re going to get the public on the right side of this issue is when we get some convictions for voter fraud, including fraudulent vouching. And not just a few dozen felons voting illegally.
Crying wolf ain’t going to help much, unless, you know, you produce the wolf.
MoN,
I agree. We do need to provide wolves.
Spinning the DFL’s reactions aside, though, I see no loss in pushing for Voter ID.
Of course, when Dayton shuts down the government by veto, the press will report this as a “Republican Budget Shutdown” just like 1995. It was Clinton, not Gingrich who shut down Jellystone Park, but facts didn’t matter then. GOP needs to pre-report the possibility, saying “… if Governor Dayton chooses to shut down the government by vetoing this responsible budget …”
Polls show 70% support for voter ID and most of the other 30% is not in play for a Republican. There’s no down side for pursuing it, per se.
Pre-registration of voters, and require I.D. to register (it worked before, it’ll work just as well again).
Trials, convictions, and serious jail time for fraud voters and their henchmen.
CUT, CUT, CUT, AND CUT SPENDING AND TAXES, THEN CUT SOME MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Create a business and tax climate that will encourage NEW business to come here to MN, and keep the existing corporations here in MN.
And prior to all that buy a new mop and pail, you’ll need it for all the pissing and whining the Libs will be doing.
On my list of legislative priorities, election reform is pretty low. I don’t think anybody got swept into office running on that platform. The only guy who made that a major part of his campaign lost badly.
I know polls say people support Voter ID, but it’s just not a pressing issue right now.
Go Deep is spot on.
Provisional balloting is the very least we should be satisified with. You want to vote today? Cool, register here, fill out your ballot here, and we’ll securely store it until we can verify that you are LEGAL TO VOTE IN THE NATION, STATE, CITY AND PRECINCT. Don’t worry, we’ll count your vote if it should be counted. But if we find out you’re fraudulently registering to vote here, or you’re being vouched for by a total stranger, then not only will your vote not count, but hey, we reserve the right to prosecute you (and the voucher) to the fullest extent of the law.
Read up on provisional balloting. Most ‘swing’ states have weak or non-existent provisional voting laws, more than likely hotly debated against by those most likely to lose big if they are made law, the liberals.
Also research how many same day voter follow-up postcards are returned by the SOS office every year, because the person either doesn’t live there, or the address itself doesn’t exist. Because the previously DFL-controlled Senate would never allow any voter bills to see the light of day, most people don’t even know about the issue. But now we do have the chance to make it truly a transparent process.
GOP needs to pre-report the possibility
Sadly, state-controlled media would never broadcast any such report.
Provisional balloting.
I think I might like that method.
Yes, voter ID, and start as well by passing a bill that requires complete audits of all voter records in any precinct subject to reconciliation–as well as not asking the director of elections in that precinct/city/county to come back next election. Publish the reconciliation results by county/city/precinct to demonstrate who’s stuffing the ballot box.
Along the lines of Voter ID. Completely purge the voter roles periodically. Tie it to the Census (every ten years) or to DLs(your DL or ID expires so does your voter registration). Non eligible voters should have some kind of mark on their ID as well.
I like provisional ballots so legit people aren’t excluded.
Now, a few years ago, Minnesota hit their dept of Revenue database up against Wisconsin’s DMV list to find people registering cars in Wisc (wayyyy cheaper). I wonder if there is a way to do that with voters. Intra-state. See if anyone is registered and voting in two different districts.
Having been a election judge in prior elections and a poll challenger the last to elections (2008 & 2010), we must use provisional ballots. Photo ID with citizenship is a must too. The “Going Deep” is right on the mark.
Photo ID? You’ll only disenfranchise criminals. Who will speak for them?
Chuck;
“See if anyone is registered and voting in two different districts.”
This statement is probably more true than we know.