Congratulations to Minnesota House of Representatives

[wellstone dem]

for voting to override Palenty's veto.

[Deja Q]

1. WHo was the dork blithering about compromise and something about greed?

It was a 2 second clip on channel 5, but I have this feeling the loudmouth wasn't thinking of gas companies when he said the g-word...

The taxes are going to help pay back a crumbling road structure. What's the problem; especially when Pawlenty is the latest in a line of governors to not give a rat's ass about bridge maintenance -- better his watch, just like how he didn't want the Twins to leave under his.

Better under NOBODY'S watch, in that it shouldn't have happened, but for all the media talk of how admin over admin all these years didn't bother with upkeep, Tim could have been seen as a proper hero. And whomever runs MNDoT should be reprimanded.

Accidents happen, but the media said it all for the rest of us. This one could have been prevented with a little common sense.

[trotsky]

2. House MINORITY leader Marty Seifert.

Ass munch. I guess these GOOPers think that roads build themselves from money that trickles out of fairies' asses. I feel for the handful of Repubs who voted to override. They will feel the full brunt of the GOP discipline this fall. It will be interesting to see how many are back next term. That's their "reward" for doing what was right for the state.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. Or maybe their constituents will reward them for halving the ounce of sense

that most Minnesota Republicanites seem to lack these days.

[trotsky]

4. I'm willing to bet their constituents are OK with it.

But I'm guessing the GOP will work very hard to deny them the party's nomination.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

5. I did not see that particular clip, but have seen and heard Seifert clips ...

... not a model of maturity and reason. Lots of rhetoric, whining and screeching. And he is one the the party "leaders."

[trotsky]

7. KARE-11 followed up coverage of the veto override...

by reporting about the light rail "central corridor" project. And guess who crawled out from under his rock to bash that? Good old Phil "Cranky" Krinkie. It absolutely burns Republicans up to see something for the public good, benefiting both consumers and the environment, SUCCEEDING. Like light rail is succeeding.

[dodger501]

6. Typical Republican response

We should pay for stuff by cutting spending elsewhere.
But never a suggestion as to where.
I see this at city council and school board meetings all the time.
Even if they did have a suggestion, where are you going to cut enough $$ to pay for this gigantic program?
Dipsticks.

[Vet31203]

8. I agree

These Republicans are getting more and more outlandish.

William J Meyers for House 2008

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. The unspoken idea behind "we'll cut elsewhere" is

"We'll cut those welfare payments to dark-skinned people who are living high on the hog off your hard-earned tax dollars."

They're just savvy enough to know that they can't display naked racism or lie so blatantly about the "generosity" of welfare without being called on it, so they use code phrases.

[trotsky]

10. They operate under the illusion that there's ALWAYS massive amounts of waste.

Billions and billions. And like you say, it happens at every level. I have yet to see any one of those folks actually sit down with the budget and point out where all this massive waste exists.

[qb]

12. "whomever runs MNDoT should be reprimanded."

At my precinct caucus Scott Dibble said Transportation Commissioner Molnau is next on their agenda :)
I suppose it could be argued that she's not running anything :shrug:

[dflprincess]

11. I also enjoy the attitude that somehow the legislature is raising taxes on us

and will somehow not be also be paying these taxes. Or, it's the DFL raising everyone else's taxes while remaining unaffected by it.

I would like to go on record as saying that I do not enjoy paying taxes. I also do not enjoy paying my electic bill but sometimes we have to choose between what we want and what we need and adults generally pay for the needs before spending money on the fun stuff.

[CatholicEdHead]

13. The 6 Republicans who voted for this are in hot water

and will probably loose their party endorsements for the election and their committees and leadership posts.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=500282

Edit:

Pawlenty is also taking the line that the DFL will loose the House and Senate this fall over this. I guess the KARE 11 Extra at 10pm tonight says the polling they did last year has most people against it and outraged that it happened.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=500264

[dflprincess]

14. There has got to be a way to use this petty vindictiveness against Pawlenty and Seifert

I know people I work with all thought the bill needed to pass and some of them are Republicans - a small sampling, but hopefully it indicates what reasonable people are thinking.

[CatholicEdHead]

15. It is also the same with a few Republicans I know

They are for this bill for more funding to keep the roads maintained and improved.

[Deja Q]

16. I agree wholly.

Like Tim's original agreeing to put in a tax increase...

Or how he could have cleaned up< the do-thing mess and put things in order, and get our whole roads/bridge infrastructure worked on - which in turn would have made him a real hero and not another do-nothing hack who, unlike his predecessors, got caught with his indolence.[br />
But I wouldn't mind adding; some of the talk on the morning radio claim the current taxes are misused, for things not relevant to where the funds are supposed to go. Like bike trails and light rail... whether that's relevant or not is another matter entirely...

I'll agree with them on one thing: If the legislators in office wouldn't give themselves raises all these years (almost "decades", if not), they wouldn't need to raise anybody's taxes. And there's no way anyone with a straight face on the "R" side can begin to pin that solely on the "D" side...

But I digress; why can't these elected officials sacrifice too? They get paid a heck of a lot more than most workers would hope to dream for and never mind post-service bennies; this $95-per-lunch-per-day stipend I heard about this AM really being outrageous, and not in a fox sitcom sort of way...

Or gas companies too, since they're reaping profits that would have the national debt paid off in a shockingly comparatively short period of time...

I mean, we're all told to do our part, right?

[CatholicEdHead]

18. Bike trails and light rail are also part of the transportation picture

As much as many would like to separate it. Gas will only continue to rise, as it is being used up, and bikes and light rail are two alternatives to slow the consumption rate. They are also planning for the future as urban travel is easier because you can walk, bike, or rail it anywhere in the metro (ideally). I hate trying to find parking spots in overloaded lots and at meters or blocks away on a street.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

17. Reward them with a campaign contribution ...

For state house and senate candidates, I imagine every $20 contribution counts.

Under Minnesota tax code, it is *possible* to make contribution(s) "to a Minnesota political party, a candidate for state office, or candidates for the Minnesota Legislature" and be eligible to receive a refund on your contribution(s) of up to $50 for singles and up to $100 for married couples.

If I understand the law correctly, if your candidate(s) signed an agreement with the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board agreeing to observe state campaign limits and you make a cash contribution to their campaign(s), you may claim a refund of up to $50 of the total contributions to candidates in state races.

There are restrictions and rules, read carefully:

http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/individ/other_supporting_content/political_contrib_refund.shtml

http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/publicsubsidy/conrefund.htm

[dflprincess]

19. This is true. Basically the first $50 ($100 for couples) you give to a candidate is state money

Whoever you donate the money to should send you a form that you file with the state to get your refund.