Liberal in the Land of Conservative: All Hail, King Pawlenty

All Hail, King Pawlenty

10:16 PM | Posted in Minnesota House, Minnesota Senate, Tim Pawlenty

In an interesting turn of events in the legislative session, Governor/King Pawlenty decided to fore go that whole legislature thing and those silly election things. He has taken it upon himself to elevate the nearly super minority Republican Party and his own plurality election victories to a position in which they, and only they, make decisions on how to solve the current budget crisis.

From the DFL Press Release:

“Good government requires artful negotiation and compromise among elected leaders with differing views. The Founders of the nation and of our state understood the need for checks and balances so that no individual could impose his or her views on everyone else except through the democratic process. Yet Governor Pawlenty, with support from a narrow minority in the Minnesota House, is willing to ignore the constitutional process and nullify the last election if the Legislature won’t cave in to his demands.

“Governor Pawlenty is not acting like a leader in a constitutional democracy. The DFL-led Legislature is delivering on their campaign promise of fiscal accountability, and has delivered a budget that makes tough but fair choices in tough times. Legislative leaders held listening sessions across Minnesota and took the people’s views into account in fashioning that budget. But Governor Pawlenty has walled himself away, barely deigning to meet even with the people’s elected representatives, let alone hear the people themselves. Governor Pawlenty is acting more like a monarch than an elected leader.

We need more in this state than political gamesmanship and trickery to subvert the established separation of powers.

We need your help to make sure that he receives a strong message in the coming days - he will not decide the future of this state by himself.

Instead of taking a balanced approach, Pawlenty borrows, shifts and cuts so deeply that it results in the loss of thousands of private-sector jobs, negatively affecting Minnesota's working families.
This weekend in neighborhoods throughout Minnesota, we'll be going door-to-door encouraging folks to call Governor Pawlenty. With so much at stake, we need as many Minnesotans as possible to call the governor and ask him to stop being so stubborn and come to the table.
We'll be handing out a flyer that encourages Minnesotans to call Governor Pawlenty to tell him that we want a balanced approach to a balanced budget. Click here to download a copy for yourself to distribute.
Here is a list of locations where DFLers will gather to talk to their neighbors to encourage them to call Governor Pawlenty. Please consider joining them at NOON on Sunday.

Rochester
Olmstead DFL Office
401 16th Ave NW
Rochester, MN 55901
Contact: Jaime Tincher
jtincher@dfl.org
651-251-6310
Eagan
Dunn Bros Coffee
1012 Diffley Road
Eagan, MN 55123
Contact: Kent Berg
kberg@dfl.org
651-315-4809
Minnetonka
Minnetonka Community Center
14600 Minnetonka Blvd.
Minnetonka, MN 55345
Contact: Kent Berg
kberg@dfl.org
651-315-4809
St. Paul
***This event is on Saturday, May 17 at 9:30 am***
A Fine Grind Coffee Shop
2038 Marshall Ave
St. Paul, MN 55104
Contact: Beth Commers
bethcommers@donjek.com
651-227-3922
Woodbury
Woodbury City Hall
8301 Valley Creek Road
Woodbury, MN 55125
Contact: Warren Claflin
wclaflin@dfl.org
651-894-3146
If you'd like to organize a group to walk in your area, please contact Jaime Tincher, (651) 251-6310 or jtincher@dfl.org.

Regardless of if you can make it Saturday or Sunday, please consider taking the very important step of calling the Governor right now.
By making just one phone call in the coming days, you can help save 10,000 private sector jobs, keep 110,000 Minnesotans from losing health insurance and cut wasteful government spending. Will you do that?

Call Governor Pawlenty right now at (651) 296-3391 or 1-800-657-3717.
Tell him you want a balanced approach to a balanced budget.