Gov Pawlenty vetos another budget bill and says: "Let them eat FISH"

[annm4peace]

As State Legislature works late in night and wee hours of the morning, to pass a balance budget and to try to get the Federal money to help balance the budget as well as help with Healthcare.

Pawlenty stops fishing long enough to veto the bill.

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http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/6218/pawlenty-unwilling-to-help-fix-the-mess-he-created


Occasional Minnesota Governor and full-time 2012 presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has created quite a mess in the last year. His unallotment decimated our state's ability to care for the least among us ... the poor, elderly and mentall ill. He's broken our state, but is unwilling to participate in fixing the mess he caused.

Early this morning, the DFL led legislature sent Pawlenty a bill which would fix some of the problems he created without raising taxes. The DFL gave Pawlenty 90% of what he wanted in the bill.

The problem is that Pawlenty is unwilling to concede anything at all.

Remember that for a presidential candidate like Pawlenty, any concession he makes could seriously damage his aspirations. Republicans view negotiating with Democrats as a weakness.

Once again, Pawlenty's national ambitions are hurting our state.

Here are the details of what Pawlenty is about to veto:
The Big E :: Pawlenty unwilling to help fix the mess he created
The sticking point is whether the Governor will meet the DFL led legislature halfway on bringing in new federal aid for our hospitals. The health care bill does not raise taxes. It's paid for by a surcharge on hospitals, which they have said they are willing to pay in order to recapture these federal tax dollars. This is a plan that more than pays for itself.

Right now, Minnesotans only get back 73 cents for every dollar we send to Washington. This bill changes that. Every dollar we invest in our health care bill will leverage more than $7 in federal money. That's money that will go to other states if we don't pass this bill.

But Pawlenty is willing to forego this windfall for reasons that simply make no sense.

Investing in our health care system is good for Minnesota's economy. The DFL proposal would create 22,000 jobs, generate nearly $3 billion in economic activity, and produce almost a billion dollars in salaries and wages. It will help local hospitals keep their doors open during these difficult times.

What rationale can Pawlenty have for opposing this?

Is it as simple as he cannot concede anything that would help his state? He's shown repeatedly that he will not negotiate in good faith and is more than willing to hurt the people of Minnesota to further his presidential aspirations. Will today once again show how callous, self-centered and arrogant Pawlenty is?

[CatholicEdHead]

1. It all has to be fit into the Tea Party mindset

as hard right as you can go. It is the GOP of insanity now, light years from a few years ago when it was a reasonable GOP of Arne Carlson.

[Brickbat]

2. It's so bizarre to feel nostalgia for Arne Carlson.

On the other hand, it felt to me in those days that people like Arne Carlson and Dave Durenberger generally -- GENERALLY -- wanted the same things I did; they just differed on how to get there. Generally. These days, I feel like Tim Pawlenty and his ilk want to tear down the Minnesota that so many people worked so hard to build, and replace it with a wasteland.

[annm4peace]

3. 1/2 hour to Midnight on Sunday and Timmy is still being an Asshole

Here is one of the last postings.. basically Timmy is still and Asshole.

http://www.mnpact.org/sblog/blog.php?id=2297



Posted: Sunday, 16 May 2010 23:29

by Dave Mindeman

The contradictions are blatantly obvious. Yet, the insanity continues.

Governor Pawlenty says we simply can't opt in to the Federal health program because he believes it is wrong. A state that has a cash flow crisis is refusing to accept an offer (which not every state can get) that will give back Federal dollars to our state health program in a ratio of 7 to 1 in our favor.

A state that keeps sending our federal tax dollars to Washington and gets only 80 to 85 cents back. A state with that kind of deficit return is going to refuse a Federal program that helps the budget in exactly the place we need it.

And then, after we get the Governor's lecture about how we simply can't allow such a program to be part of the current budget, what does Pawlenty do?

He offers to balance the budget with over $400 million dollars in other Federal funding that we can't be sure will happen.

Does any of this make any sense? To anybody but the GOP?

[geardaddy]

4. It's time for Lori Swanson's office to sue the Governor's office. n/t