> In article news.newsguy.com>,
> fiddler_crabby@ya-nospam-hoo.com says...

>> In article bignews5.bellsouth.net>,
>> kentfinn@bellsouth.net says...

>>> "fiddler crabby" ya-nospam-hoo.com> wrote in message
>>> news:MPG.211e32e3af9d521998980a@news.newsguy.com...

>>>> In article comcast.com>, olin62
>>>> @comcast.net says...

>>>>>
>>>>> "KD" gmail.com> wrote in message
>>>>>

>>>>>> Olin,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm with you on this.
>>>>>>

>>>>>
>>>>> That's good. You, me and a whole herd of others.
>>>>>
>>>>> The question now is how to accomplish explaining to "them" that they
>>>>> work
>>>>> for us... not the other way around.
>>>>>
>>>>> It's one thing to get horn honkers to come out and 'splain that to
>>>>> the
>>>>> lege
>>>>> over an issue like taxation, never mind that much of the information
>>>>> that
>>>>> fueled that issue was misinformation, at best, but it's likely to be
>>>>> a
>>>>> hard
>>>>> row to hoe to convince the lege, the congress or a city council that
>>>>> it's
>>>>> in
>>>>> their best interests to spend money fixing a bridge before it
>>>>> collapses.
>>>>>
>>>>> More camera time in the aftermath, where hands can be wrung and
>>>>> heartstrings
>>>>> can be pulled. Very little political capital to be made in telling
>>>>> the
>>>>> public what it needs to hear, rather than what the polls say it
>>>>> wants to
>>>>> hear.

>>>>
>>>> This from today's Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1343631.html
>>>>
>>>> "Gas tax increase appears certain. "
>>>>
>>>> A quick recap:
>>>> The current asshole "no new taxes" Republican governor vetoed a
>>>> transportation bill that included a five cent per gallon tax increase
>>>> for construction and maintenance. The article quotes his comments
>>>> about
>>>> the bill and the Democratic legislature. (Though the funding wouldn't
>>>> have come in time to save the 35-W bridge, it would have at least
>>>> shown
>>>> a good faith effort to maintain infrastructure.)
>>>>
>>>> However, he approved public spending for a new stadium, despite
>>>> strong
>>>> public opposition.
>>>>
>>>> Personally, I'm looking forward to the Republican convention in St
>>>> Paul
>>>> next year :)
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> fc

>>>
>>> Ah, from the Red Star Tribune and only part of the story.

>>
>> So, Kent, how long did you live in Minnesota?
>>
>>

>>> The state had a
>>> significant surplus that the law requires to be returned to the public.
>>> The
>>> Democratic legislature did not designate any part of that surplus to
>>> the
>>> infrastructure, so back it went. In the meantime they spent $300,000
>>> on a
>>> Shakespeare Festival and several million to bail out a commuter rail
>>> line,
>>> among other questionable items. At the time of the surplus there was
>>> no
>>> need to increase taxes.

>>
>> _You've_ only provided part of the story. Your expertise in Minnesota
>> politics needs a little brushing up.

>
> Replying to my own post.
>
> I grew up in Minnesota, working in downtown St Paul and Minneapolis for
> many years. Spent some time working in Dinkytown, which is right next to
> the bridge. I've traveled over that bridge many times, and watching the
> footage of this tragedy brought me to tears.
>
> I just got back from Minnesota a couple of days ago, and every time I
> visit I find the state going increasingly downhill. I was always proud
> of my state, because it had a government that worked for _the people._
> By nearly every measure of civic well-being, Minnesota consistently
> ranked near the top. I personally was the beneficiary of a strong public
> school system, and was able to attend a very good college, even though
> my family didn't have much. There were few displays of personal wealth,
> because it was considered in poor taste by a culture that valued taking
> care of each other.
>
> So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop defending the Republicans who came in
> and gutted social programs, put off infrastructure repair, screwed up
> progressive taxation so the rich pay _less_ as a percentage of their
> income than the middle class, and essentially pissed on the social
> contract that made Minnesota one of the most economically and
> politically stable states in this country.
>
> We had some fine Republican mayors in the past -- people that I'd
> actually vote for -- but Pawlenty isn't one of them. He's not well liked
> in the state, and gained office only with a plurality. The voters kicked
> a good number of Republicans to the curb in the last election, largely
> because they were of the same assholish variety.
>
> Do a little more research on your boy Pawlenty before jumping to his
> defense.
>
> --
> fc