Checked And Balanced

Yesterday, Joe Doakes’ piece lamented the MNGOP’s perceived indolence on Governor Klink’s one-man power.

Senator Dave Osmek responded:

Mitch: I must respond to the re-post you made earlier today from Joe.

Acquiescence is approval.” Recently, I have seen idiot lawn signs that say “White Silence equals White Racism”. I guess Joe believes that must be true too. Let’s all get our white hooded robes on! The Senate GOP has voted 6 times to rescind those “emergency” powers of TIm Jung Walz. That’s all we have. I guess if the 34 Senate Republicans (RIP: Jerry Relph) don’t strip naked, paint ourselves purple, and dance on top of the Capitol dome to protest enough, we just are a bunch of Quislings. Right? The Senate GOP has been trying, every month, to move the narrative and gotten zero Media pick-up. If the Media isn’t reporting on every breath of Walz propaganda, willfulling not asking hard questions, and laser-focused on the color of Kim Kardashian’s panties…they aren’t happy and are too busy to do their real jobs.

“Let the Democrats try to pass laws without a single Republican vote, until Walz relinquishes power to the Legislature, where it belongs.” Well, I have a little news for Joe: Tim Jong Walz is doing this NOW! Until the “emergency” powers are removed, he can pop out Executive Orders like a Pez dispenser, and he has. And the GOP senate…votes to remove the powers. Over and over again. Walz has written laws, and penalties to go with them. King Timmy can fine you and imprison you, with no actual law passed by the Legislature to back it up. And if we DON’T pass funding to help the victims of Walz (businesses and unemployed), who will get the blame? I guarantee you the Media would leap into gear and make sure EVERY person in Minnesota knows that the GOP Senate Grinches are responsible. Walz is responsible for this mess, but we have to try to help those businesses before they collapse because of Walz’s stupidity.

Otherwise, what do we need Republicans for? Just let Walz run everything forever and save the per diems.” Be careful what you ask for, Joe. Nobody is more frustrated than the 34 Senate GOP Republicans, infinitely more than even Joe is . The Constitution is being used as toilet paper. The Legislative branch has been relegated to the Children’s Table at the Christmas dinner. We continue to try. We tried to change the law at the end of the regular session. If Joe wants a dictatorship, disbanding the Legislative branch, good luck.

Elections have consequences.

Minnesota law grants the governor a lot of power – predicated on the antique notion that governors would be people of unshakable integrity and commitment to republican government.

Events have shown the naïveté of that conceit, and the need to guard against it.

In 2015, a bipartisan majority voted to bar the governor from confiscating firearms, closing gun stores, and other anti-gun measures under color of a “state of emergency”. It was signed into law, amazingly enough, by Gov. Dayton. Its perspicacity should be obvious.

And people who care about liberty and checks and balances are going to have to do the same in coming legislatures.

Probably not this one – the DFL in the House is addicted to their governor being able to rule like Francisco Franco.

No – in 2022, we need a GOP sweep of the legislature and the governor’s office.

Seems like a tall order. But if I didn’t believe in miracles, I wouldn’t be a conservative in Saint Paul.

40 thoughts on “Checked And Balanced

  1. It’s not a terribly tall order.  Walz is vulnerable.  He probably won’t lose to a Trumpy crank though, it’s going to take someone who has the appearance of being a sane, respectable Republican politician.

  2. I get Osmek’s frustration and I get Joe’s frustration. For Osmek, it has to feel like Joe was striding onto the battlefield and shooting the wounded. Having said that, Joe is right — the optics make it seem that the Senate is acquiescing.

    He probably won’t lose to a Trumpy crank though, it’s going to take someone who has the appearance of being a sane, respectable Republican politician.

    We’ve been running sane, respectable Republican politicians for decades in this state. They get their asses kicked every time. I suspect your advice will be ignored and for good reason.

  3. ^ yeah, and they won. Pawlenty, Carlson.

    Dayton won because he’s a Dayton and the environment had returned to structurally favor Democrats. Walz is divisive now. He could lose. But he won’t lose to Mike Lindell.

    Thing about Joe is he’s obtuse.

  4. Excuse me, may I have a moment to respond, Senator Osmek? Thank you.

    First, full disclosure; I’m not a resident of Minnesota, I live in a state that offers a 180* different experience. But I have kids who (against my consistent objections and imploring entreaties to come home) live there. One just escaped from Minneapolis after his apartment building was attacked by righteously outraged rioters, but he’s still in the crater zone.

    First off, allow me to address your Klan reference. In my neck of the woods, it’s rare, but not unheard of to see men parade in Klan robes. Of course, it’s common knowledge to all but the dozen or so semi-literates that think they have a real thing, that 80% of the current membership are FBI agents, tasked to keep an eye on the goings on (inconsequential as they are), as well as giving the SPLC a raison d’être, but they are still an occasional presence, all the same.

    Living up there in Moose-and-Squirrel country, as you do, you may not have noticed that you, as a white man in power, are an outrage to the sensibilities of an increasing group of American citizens. Or maybe you do know that, but choose to step back into the comfortable shadows to keep your gig going; I understand; you got yours.

    The point is, it’s getting increasingly difficult to mock white, low IQ extremists, when they can pull quote members of US Congress (a Minnesota Congresswoman very prominently), media stars, mainstream media pieces stating quite openly, that white people must be crushed until they no longer exist.

    Ask me for a few examples, I dare you.

    But I digress.

    You say, sir, that you feel that unless you strip naked, paint yourselves purple, and dance on top of the Capitol dome to protest enough, we see you as just a bunch of Quislings. Well, no sir; bit late for that as that gig has been taken by the left.

    But how about getting together, every morning, and making a statement denouncing your feckless Governor and his ilk? List the new home foreclosures and business failures. How about actually showing up to support the business owners who are doing your job for you by standing against dictatorial usurpation of our civil rights…you know, like your leftist colleagues do? How about donating your time to fundraising legal defense funds for them? Or God forbid; how about making a very public donation yourself…you know, like that boob, Mike Lindell did.

    You mention the leftist media; social, broadcast and print. You’re right; they have picked a side, and we’re not on it. But there are emerging alternative media sources that are speaking to millions of Real Americans. Epoch Times; OANN; Newsmax; Parler: Gab: Rumble. They are all broadcasting the opinions of conservative politicians and people of influence…have not noticed your presence on any of them.

    In short sir, this probably is not the place to come and say “we’re doing our best!!!”, when we are all still taking a beating.

    Do better, or stand aside for those willing to do so,

  5. ^ yeah, and they won. Pawlenty, Carlson.

    T-Paw could get back in the game, but I suspect he’d get nowhere. Carlson hasn’t been a Republican for a long time. 2006 is a long time ago. Between Dayton and Biden, the Dems have proven they can elect a set of chattering teeth to high office, but it’s going to take someone who can send the chattering teeth flying to change things. Gentleman Jeff Johnson and his ilk aren’t gonna get it done.

  6. it’s going to take someone who has the appearance of being a sane, respectable Republican politician.

    Translation: A Democrat

  7. it’s going to take someone who has the appearance of being a sane, respectable Republican politician.

    Jim Nash, Michelle Benson, maybe Matt Birk. None of ’em Democrats, all of ’em eminently sane.

  8. Sounds to me like Mr. Osmek had given up. All he is giving are excuses why the GOP are not mounting any opposition – they have no strategy. Hey, Mt. Osmek, how about painting yourself blood red, climbing on top of the capitol and taking libturds to task for election fraud? No? You say there was no election fraud no matter how well documented by Veritas? And you expect people to vote for you? GIVE THEM A FUCKING REASON!

  9. Birk is a very vocal Catholic…they’ll crucify him. Benson is and has been framed as a kook by your local media…too late. Don’t know Nash, and that’s probably a problem.

  10. “Benson is and has been framed as a kook by your local media”

    That wasn’t written clearly enough. Benson is [now], and has been framed as a kook, but she is not.

  11. I wish to give Sen Osmek a sliver of cred. Don’t know where he read Joe’s piece, but it suggests he’s listening on the down low, at least. Listen harder, sir.

  12. Guess I touched a nerve. Those plucky GOP senators bravely voted several times to rescind the Governor’s emergency powers and when those attempts failed (as everyone knew they would since Democrats in the House won’t agree), then the GOP boldly . . . what, exactly?

    They helped Democrats pass conditional aid legislation so the GOP would get favorable press. If there are any deep-seated principles on display here, I missed them. Looks to me like virute-signaling followed by acquiescence and participation. Looks to me like giving a band-aid to the battered woman while saying, “I asked your husband to stop beating you, what more can I do?”

    Long, long ago, I attended a precinct caucus in outstate Minnesota. A policitican stopped by to solicit our endorsement. He gave a little speech saying if the voters elected him, he’d go to St. Paul and vote No. If the Democrats asked, “Should we raise taxes,” he’d vote No. If the Democrats asked, “Should we give special privileges to favored groups,” he’d vote No. Whenever Democrats proposed any big city damnfoolishness, we could depend on him to vote No.

    I’m not asking GOP senators to strip naked, I’m asking all GOP legislators in both houses to simply vote No on everything that comes before the legislature, so long as the Governor insists on continuing his one-man rule. Maybe it’s futile. Maybe it’ll cost them re-election. Maybe people will suffer. But maybe it’s the only way to bring the Democrats to the table. Public sentiment is shifting against the lockdowns. The public wants to know who’s on their side for real, not just for show.

    Are you?

  13. JPA

    All he is giving are excuses why the GOP are not mounting any opposition

    What opposition can the GOP in the Senate offer at this point?

    We have:

    • A minority in the House
    • A DFL governor
    • A constitution that allows – or at least doesn’t prohibit – the governor a lot of emergency power
    • A legal process for ending the power requiring a majority of both chambers

    The Senate, with its thin GOP majority, voted to end the state of emergency every chance they’ve gotten.

    What other legal options are there, short of IEDs in the Capitol halls?

  14. Take a stand. Take an issue and hammer it. Like election fraud for example. MAKE media cover it. MAKE media say bad, nasty things about you – but report on what you are doing. How about a filibuster? I do not know about MN parliamentary procedures, but do they need a quorum to pass legislature? Do both parties have to be present?

    Have they asked a question and investigated why is it that demoncRats always able to run rings around the GOP when they are in the minority and yet GOP never learned.

    I am not a constitutional scholar, so I do not know what legal options are available, but I am sure there is something GOP can come up with instead of excuses.

  15. MBerg wrote: “What other legal options are there, short of IEDs in the Capitol halls?”

    Pete Strunk had some great suggestions:
    “But how about getting together, every morning, and making a statement denouncing your feckless Governor and his ilk? List the new home foreclosures and business failures. How about actually showing up to support the business owners who are doing your job for you by standing against dictatorial usurpation of our civil rights…you know, like your leftist colleagues do? How about donating your time to fundraising legal defense funds for them? Or God forbid; how about making a very public donation yourself…you know, like that boob, Mike Lindell did.”

  16. Other options? Can’t they refuse to accept specific commissioners? Like for instance the Health Commissioner. They should vote out one every month., Or one the first month, two the next, so on, until the Gov. gives up his emergency powers. Be obstructionist.

  17. Mitch, you asked for suggestions, you got a few. But what would YOU suggest? Or are you happy with the excuses and think that “if we only elected GOP!” will solve all that is wrong? When are YOU going to understand that MN/Dak nice had been killed – boiled slowly to a crisp? That you will not win another election because demoncRats are not, and will not, be held accountable for election fraud. What do YOU suggest beyond writing a few polite letters of indignation?

  18. I suppose Senator Osmek has a point about voting No. Democrats love to play the Gotcha Game. They propose a bill to increase veterans benefits and slide in a provision to triple taxes on guns and ammunition, then claim “Senator Osmek voted against veterans.” That’s a nuisance at campaign time.

    How about this option, instead? When Governor Walz calls a special session, the Senate convenes and Osmek jumps up to say, “Motion to adjourn.” A colleague seconds, every Republican votes Aye, Senate stands adjourned.

    When asked why, every member of the GOP says the same thing: “As long as Governor Walz refuses to relinquish power back to the people of Minnesota, we refuse to cooperate with Democrats’ unconstitutional coup. We demand the Governor end his arbitrary and unfounded emergency so the people’s elected representatives in the Legislature can deal with the problems facing our state in a sensible and orderly fashion.”

    Yes, I know all Democrats will protest and the media will blame Republicans for everything under the sun. But hey, they already do. As well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb.

  19. What most of you are talking about is messaging. I don’t disagree – I’ve thought Gazelka’s gotten a lot of messaging wrong, and not just wrt Covid.

    But at the end of the day, once the messaging is over, if the messaging (filtered through people like Esme Murphy and John Cronan) doesn’t make the voters respond in such a way as to make the Governor and Speaker Hortman blink (and a bunch of House seats did move, although not quite enough), it comes down to votes. The House votes for dictatorship, the Senate votes for freedom, tie goes to Governor Klink.

  20. I’m not talking about pointless votes to end the emergency under the statute. I’m talking about government shut-down to force the Democrats to relinquish control. Sooner or later, Democrats will need the Senate to agree to a budget, a bail-out, a bond issue, and that’s when the balance of power shifts.

    If they won’t play fair when you ask nicely, then stop playing until they do.

  21. Yes, JD, but Mitch is above that. It HAS to be nice in the boiling water. Passion and conviction and strength of character need to be checked at the door according to Mitch.

  22. During one of my appearances earlier this month on Up and At’ Em I expressed my gratitude that the GOP controls the Senate instead of the House. If you don’t have both you can’t rescind the Governor’s powers. If you only have one Chamber the Senate is the better one to have. Sen. Osmek doesn’t mention it, but the Senate GOP has done more than merely vote to rescind Walz’s power. They’ve delivered real world consequences to the Administration by removing several of Walz’s Commissioners.

    Also, the Emergency Powers legislation is even worse than most people know. While Walz has gone through the process of extending the duration of the “Emergency” and the State Exec Committee has approved those extensions and the House DFL hasn’t joined the Senate GOP in rescinding the emergency powers, that whole process is unnecessary. There’s nothing in the statute that forbids Walz from letting the declaration lapse before needing the approval to extend and then redeclaring a “new” emergency. In that case, the only protection we would have would be for a Court to overturn the statute.

  23. JPA, I doubt Mitch is the type to ‘go wobbly.’ I suspect he’s like most people – looking for a sane way to resolve the problem within the framework of the law. That’s what makes him a Conservative and not a Libertarian or Anarchist. I can respect that even as I disagree with it.

    I’ve been a law-and-order Conservative all my life but I must say, it’s getting tiresome. It seems as if, in the past, both sides were honorable men and willing to abide by the rules, whereas nowadays it seems as if one side is more committed to winning at any cost than observing niceties and formalities. It’s hard to be for law-and-order when only my side is bound by the law.

    When I’m playing Chutes-and-Ladders with my little granddaughter and she cheats to win, I let her. Peace in the household is more important than victory.

    When Democrats cheat to win the election, I’m less willing to go along with the pretend victory.

    And when the Governor says, “There are no rules. I will adjust the dials however I want to and there’s nothing anybody can do to stop me,” then I’m afraid it’s time to stop playing games altogether. Remember when Democrats fled the legislature or chained the doors in Wisconsin to avoid participating in the legislative process? Like that. Shut it down. Walk away. Force the cheater to play fair or we don’t play at all.

    When asking nicely doesn’t work; when voting honestly doesn’t work; when judicial oversight doesn’t work; what’s left?

  24. Now that I’ve read through all of the comments I’d like to remind everyone that up until this point everything has happened during Special Sessions. Yes the Senate GOP could have refused to pass a Bonding Bill and the Covid Relief Bill, and if I was in the Senate I probably would’ve voted “No” on both (there’s a reason why I like the 4 New House Republicans), but as Mitch points out, it’s all about messaging. Had a chunk of the Senate GOP voted no, then they would’ve been crucified in the media while the moderates in the Caucus joined the Senate DFL and passed the Bills anyways. Gazelka has an extremely difficult and thankless job keeping his slim majority together.
    Remember that I pointed out that this has all been during Special Sessions. That means that the Budget had already been passed in 2019. There’s no possibility of a Government Shutdown until July 2021.

    Going forward the Game is completely different. The GOP has OPTIONS when the new Session starts. House DFLers were already beginning to defect on the votes to rescind the Governor’s powers and they have a slimmer majority going forward. Senate Republicans are back down to only 34 seats, but the Senate DFL has driven out 2 long-time members, so it’s not only a one seat difference. Instead it’s more complicated and nuanced than that.
    There are a lot of things that the Legislature needs to do over the next several months, and the DFL won’t always be able to just out wait the GOP. Now is when the Senate Republicans really need get their plan together and work their message in the media.

  25. Going forward the Game is completely different.

    How? How is it going to be different? You have the same squishies who were afraid of would’ve been crucified in the media then as you do now. Will media change by then? Will they stop crucifying GOP? You are like Charlie Brown, maybe this time Lucy won’t pull the football. Just wait until NEXT time! It will all be completely different™. Because™!

  26. Pingback: In The Mailbox: 12.23.20 (Afternoon Edition) : The Other McCain

  27. The MN GOP is not the problem.
    The problem is Walz. He has gone more than a little crazy. Walz should give up emergency powers, what kind of emergency requiring dictatorial powers lasts 8 months? In the world’s oldest Democracy?
    He should be ashamed to show his face in public after he leaves office. He should be ashamed to show his face while he is still in office, Section 12 was not intended to protect a Ceaușescu.

  28. The problem is Walz. He has gone more than a little crazy.

    And what is MN GOP doing about it? Are they holding daily conferences to highlight the abuses and clamoring for a recall or a referendum or whatever else they have in their political arsenal? They do have political arsenal, right? If not, WHY THE FUCK NOT? Or is MN GOP just afraid of having their feelings hurt by media calling them poopy heads?

  29. I don’t think Walz is crazy. I think he’s a man that functioned well in the highly structured environment of the military, and slid into a job with very limited expectations for demonstrable results. He found himself in a high visibility position, and failed completely. His major cities were burned and looted; the police department in his largest city was burned to the ground by a mob of slovenly, drug addicted slobs, and he was completely at a loss for a response.

    So, now he’s crushing the law abiding citizens into dust in a facile attempt to prove he is a man of action and decision. He’s abetted by a virulently racist black muzzy AG who is beside himself with glee at the opportunity to use his power in the furtherance of the leftist destruction of our American civilization.

  30. They do have political arsenal, right? If not, WHY THE FUCK NOT? Or is MN GOP just afraid of having their feelings hurt by media calling them poopy heads?

    I think Sen. Osmet answered these questions earlier this week. The MN GOP has no plan, no cohesion and no balls; they’re not going to do shit. And he himself raised the Klan canard….the left has trained him to be a good puppy.

    I know there are men in Minnesota; pity there aren’t any in positions of power.

  31. If only one in four spouses catches the virus from the infected husband/wife THEY LIVE WITH, why do I have to wear a mask in Home Depot?
    These are the kind of questions we could settle with Democratic debate over measures to address Covid-19.
    They are not being asked of Walz, and will never be addressed by Walz until he is forced to actually act like a a governor in a republic and not the commandant of a prison camp.

  32. Silly Max, but then he will have to govern! And that is NOT what he was elected to do, by golly!

  33. Over here in Wisconsin, I’ve been hearing rumors about Walz. I wonder if any of you mud ducks can confirm them before I publish:
    -I’m not saying that there is anything weird about Walz and farm animals, but I hear that when he was young, he spent far more time in the barn than was really healthy for a teen age boy.

    -In his next emergency decree, Walz is going to A: close all of the clothing stores, unless they carry “husky” sizes. B: order that any disabled vet who refuses to wear a mask will have his/her artificial limbs confiscated. C: All new admissions to long-term care facilities will have their toe tagged on admittance “to save time.”

    -Walz is going offer MN as the host of the 2022 Olympic Games, but only if the Olympic committee adds “Being a dick” to the list of Olympic sports.

    -When Walz was in middle school, he got pantsed so often he started wearing wearing two pairs of underwear. This is the reason that Walz refuses to be photographed nude; he still carries the scars of the many Double Atomic Wedgies he received in the seventh grade.

    -Walz’s favorite part of doing his televised covid press conferences is putting on the make up.

  34. IMHO, the MN GOP has (at least) 2 problems:

    Or is MN GOP just afraid of having their feelings hurt by media calling them poopy heads?

    1) Yes
    2) Gazelka. As long as he is in charge, nothing more will be done than weakly vote to rescind Walz’s powers knowing full will it won’t have any practical effect. As much as I admire Sen Osmek, I don’t think even he would shut down the senate as JD suggests. I don’t think there exists a senator in the MN GOP who would go that far. And outside of Reps Drazkowski, Lucero, and Munson, I don’t even think any GOP reps would go that far were they the senate majority leader.

  35. No – in 2022, we need a GOP sweep of the legislature and the governor’s office.

    Good luck on that. No one who would be considered moderate enough (like Jeff Johnson) nor sufficiently non-Trumpy enough would accept the gift that has been delivered on a 24k gold platter: The current governor, and no one else, has systematically allowed the destruction of the economy for the last 9 months. And he is 1/2 responsible for allowing the violence of the George Floyd riots to continue longer than 36 hours.

    I don’t think any goobernatorial candidate less “crazy” than Mike Lindell would touch either of those items for fear of the backlash from the left/media (ptr).

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