MN - Gov Pawlenty OVERRIDDEN on Transport Bill

For the first time in his tenure, Gov. Pawlenty has been overridden. Let me be the first to say, it's about time. The measure in question is our state's transportation bill, and if you've paid much attention to Minnesota the past 12 months (or live here), you know how dire our situation is when it comes to our bridge and road infrastructure.

The vote was 91-41, one more than was needed, and came after two hours of debate. The Senate was expected to take up the same override vote later today, where the vote was expected to override as well.

Pawlenty claimed the bill was too large - it called for an increase in our gas tax, something that hasn't been done for 20 years.

In the past, Pawlenty has made a big show of his vetoes. Not so this time - closed doors, no cameras, just a quick stamping at his desk. It would seem that the good Governor would rather keep this one hush-hush, given its bipartisan support.

And now I'd like to do something that's almost never done on this site: give a Republican a hat tip. It's not often one of them will stand up to their party's establishment, but State Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, did just that.

"People ask me 'What about your career? How can you go against all those people who are going to hurt you politically?’ And I think this isn’t my career.  I hope none of us think of this as your career. I tell my kids do what’s right, whatever the consequences. And so the time comes when I have to do what I think is right."

A handful of others also crossed party lines. I just wanted to share the good news.

•  Tips for safe bridges

  and filled-in potholes.

  by dagnabbit on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 02:54:35 PM PDT

  •  Thank you!!!!

    I've been looking for this headline, I wanted Pawlenty trashed with an override.  Just the idea of him being up for VP makes me want to throw-up.

    And the generous kudo to your Anoka-R representative is appreciated.  I have Melissa down here.

    by kfred on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 02:59:48 PM PDT

  •  Now, if we could have the same...

    ... legislative numbers against funding more stadiums...!!!

    IIRC, just about the time the bridge collapsed Pawlenty was going to call for a special session to vote in favor of funding, wasn't he?  All I remember is the stadium issue being put on hold because the bridge collapsed.

    Like anyone would seriously consider funding playgrounds for overpaid spoiled brats (who regularly make the top of the news for criminal behavior) when we need a new bridge and other things MUCH more than giving corporate welfare to boys who want new sandboxes (and at least one team owner makes the Fortune 500 list every year and he can afford to pay for his own damned stadium for his spoiled brats).

    Well-deserved kudos to the MN state legislature for correctly voting on something for a change....!

    by NonnyO on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:52:32 PM PDT

•  Beautiful

  All us commuters (in my hybrid) in the Twin Cities are thankful. About time they over-road a Pawlenty veto.

  Actually, this doesn't work out that bad for Pawlenty, as the people in Minnesota get what they want, and he still looks like he refuses to raise taxes. However, it does make him a much less effective Governor.

  by mndan on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 02:57:55 PM PDT

  •  Over-road

    I like that.

    by dagnabbit on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:01:12 PM PDT

•  Excellent news

  I hope this is the beginning of the end for Pawlenty.

  by Eloise on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 02:58:17 PM PDT

•  After what happened in your State,

  how could he veto any, any, bill to benefit your highways and bridges.

  by Owllwoman on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 02:59:27 PM PDT

  •  It really makes you

    wonder, doesn't it?

    by PsychoSavannah on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:00:51 PM PDT

  •  There is little room in a republicans heart

    for anything but money.

    by Dr Colossus on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:18:19 PM PDT

•  Well, kudos to

  Rep. Abeler....not only for the vote, but for having the right idea about being in public office.  Can he give workshops to all the "career politicians" out there?

  Good luck with the infrastructure issues....you all have seen up close and personal what happens when things are left undone.

  by PsychoSavannah on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 02:59:30 PM PDT

•  And thanks to Abeler's colleagues

  who crossed party lines per the Strib; Rod Hamilton of Mountain Lake, Kathy Tingelstad of Andover, Bud Heidgerken of Freeport, Ron Erhardt of Edina, and Neil Peterson of Bloomington.

  Yay Freeport!

  by Eloise on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:01:37 PM PDT

•  Did Pawlenty used to be a Democrat

  or am I thinking of some other turncoat MN politician.

  by jre2k8 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:02:51 PM PDT

  •  You are probably thinking of

    Norm Coleman.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/...

    by dagnabbit on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:05:04 PM PDT

    •  Ah yes...

      creepy little fuckers, the both of them.

      by jre2k8 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:26:18 PM PDT

•  FLUSH!!!!

  That's the sound of Pawlenty's VP hopes going down the drain.

  Minnesota's going to be a bad place for Rethugs, what with the MSP bathrooms, the gaping hole where the I-35W bridge used to be, and Smilin' Norm sinking like a stone....is it too late to change the venue to somewhere receptive, like on the Blackwater base?

  by varro on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:07:56 PM PDT

•  Great news for Minnesotans!

  Does Pawlenty not remember what happened to the I-35 bridge? How he could veto such an important bill is beyond me.

  by Sister Havana on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:08:47 PM PDT

•  His mention on this site will doom him for sure!

  by boji on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:09:56 PM PDT

•  Great news

  Thanks for updating us -- I was curious about the vote.

  And as a nearby Iowan who frequently crosses your bridges I appreciate the result.

  by Fortschreitend on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:12:39 PM PDT

•  Very Good !

  It's about time Mr Veto was silenced.

  Bye Bye Pawlenty and Bye Bye Coleman.

  Don't go away mad, just go away.

  by nowness on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:25:24 PM PDT

•  The Minnesota Senate just upheld the override

  47-20.  But with a veto proof Democratic majority in the senate it was a forgone conclusion.

  by Dr Colossus on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:25:35 PM PDT

•  not sure how will play in swing districts, but...

  I have no idea how the tax increases here in MN to pay for transit and road projects will play in swing districts in November.  However, I can say that this whole state is falling apart right now.  It feels like every single road is just trashed.  The whole bridge issue just adds icing to the cake.  Oh, and then there is the public transit situation.  We're 10 years, at least, behind similar sized cities in terms of rail transit.  

  Pawlenty can whine around about raising people's taxes and the same old tired arguments that have been made for a long time about why we can't afford these projects.  Simple fact is, it's time to act on this.  It doesn't matter what it costs.  When you have roads that are falling apart and bridges that are literally falling down, spending a nickel on a gallon of gas seems like a good trade off to me and I think to a lot of people around here.  MN's infrastructure issues have become a national joke... even before the whole bridge thing, The Onion had a front page "article" making fun of potholes on Highway 280 (which is now the detour rout to I-35W, where the bridge went down).  It really isn't funny, it's dangerous.

  by Nathan in MN on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:27:23 PM PDT

  •  I remember a time

    when Minnesota's infrastructure was the envy of the nation -- a state with relatively high taxes, but a lot  to show for them. Great public schools, good roads, and a strong safety net for people down on their luck.

    There was a sense that we were all pitching in to make life better for everyone, and I was proud to be from Minnesota.

    I've been away for twenty years now, and it saddens me to visit and see what's happened in that time.

    by fiddler crabby on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:38:33 PM PDT

    •  years of Republican governorship

      We've had 4 years of Ventura and his rebate checks and now 6 years of Pawlenty.  Prior to that, we had Carlson, who is a Repub, but a pretty moderate guy, who probably would was not nutters about taxes like Pawlenty.  MN hasn't had a Democratic governor since 1991, when Carlson was elected.

      Pawlenty is quite possibly one of the worst governors in the country.  He is relatively popular, but it is mostly out of the force of his own personality and likability and some piss poor leadership from the State's Dem party.  I swear, the Dem party in this state is completely inept.  Absolutely terrible.  Much more inclined to engage in internal bickering than to actually try to get something done or promote good candidates through the ranks.  

      Pawlenty is a "born again Christian" / tax cutting champion... the dynamic duo.  Think of a better looking version of Mike Huckabee, only much, much, much more fiscally conservative.  He's in the back pocket of the anti-tax group here in the state and won't consider anything that would even look like a tax increase, even if it is something the public wants, like infrastructure repairs.  Yet, he is very, very likable.  When you hear him talk, you almost find yourself agreeing with him, until you actually stop and think about the crazy shit that he's saying.  He's really smooth.  I've been saying for a long time that he's scary and is someone national Dems should be very afraid of because he's very talented and completely nutters.  Now, he's in line for a VP nod under McCain (he's McCain's national co-chair and on the VP short list).  Be afraid, be very, very afraid.

      by Nathan in MN on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:50:32 PM PDT

      •  meh

        Pawlenty going national is pretty scary.  

        I just wanted to add that Carlson wasn't that bad.  He was a pretty liberal Republican.  Pro-gay rights, pro choice, he initiated and pushed through MinnesotaCare, the state program for low and middle lower income Minnesotans that is essentially single payer healthcare ("reformed" to exclude single adults by Pawlenty, I might add).  So he wasn't bad.  

        by New Left 2004 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:56:25 PM PDT

  •  Kind of scary in retrospect

    Onion Link:

    http://www.theonion.com/...

    by irativesfo on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:57:20 PM PDT

•  Great News

  The Republicans are already whining about "the biggest tax increase in modern MN history" but everyone in Minnesota knows that our transportation system is terribly behind and needs major investment.

  This will play well state-wide for the DFL given the terrible condition of our roads, the bipartisan support in both houses, and the fact that groups like the Chamber of Commerce, the state's pork producers, and soybean growers all signed onto the bill.

  Those interested in some of the specifics of the bill can find that information here.

  by WellstoneDem on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 03:38:18 PM PDT

•  This is great, isn't it?

  For so many reasons:

  * Pawlenty is such a hack. I mean, he appointed his Lt. Gov., who has no experience in transportation, as the head of the DOT.

  * Just two years ago the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor party) had a one seat deficit in the house and now they are overriding Pawlenty's vetoes.

  * Pawlenty wants to be the Veep candidate but can't even control his own state legislature. Look how Mitt Romney's campaign worked out when he was governor of a liberal state where he had vetoes overridden. Let him run — he barely won the governorship against a weak candidate — against the BHO juggernaut? I doubt it. (Although it would make Molnau the Governor — two years of hell before we throw her out on her can)

  * 0.25% for transit is awesome since transit in the Cities sucks. 0.5% would have been nice, but something is better than nothing. Denver is putting in 120 miles of rail on 0.4% — can the Twin Cities get 75 miles of transit (same ratio)? That would certainly make a dent.

  * Bridges in a state of good repair! Bridges in a state of good repair! For anyone who has driven on University where it crosses 35W: Bridges in a state of good repair!

  by irativesfo on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 04:09:10 PM PDT

•  as a Minnesotan

  that studied state policy in college, I just wanted to throw in my two cents.

  It is true that pretty much everything in Minnesota that was publicly funded was the envy of other states.  To this day Wisconsin is still looking over the border trying to emulate the way we do things, like with the Healthy Wisconsin health care program that is modeled on MinnesotaCare.  Our infrastructure problem is a direct result of priorities under Ventura and now Pawlenty.  

  Does anyone remember in 1999, when Ventura's education bill shifted the primary funding burden from local property tax receipts to state revenues?  Today, the state pays for 73% of K-12 education in Minnesota.  At the time, the rationale was that we needed property tax reforms and in order for communities to do that we had to decouple educational funding from the property tax base.  And it worked; most communities rewrote the property tax laws and significantly reduced property taxes.  However, what Ventura did unwittingly was couple the fortunes of the school system with those of the state.  And the state's school funding has lagged behind rising costs, leading to the schools going back to their communities and asking for money again.

  And it is actually twice as bad.  Not only is the state not keeping up with educational costs, but the money that Ventura had set aside to develop light rail was appropriated by Pawlenty to combat the budget deficit in 2003.  Instead of raising taxes to keep up with school funding and fully funding our transportation initiatives, Pawlenty just stopped paying for them.  So, because of his stupid no tax pledge, we not only have schools falling behind because they aren't getting the help from the state but we have been suspended in time on transportation issues.  Except that only the progress suspends.  The roads and congestion keep getting worse.  

  We're 15 years behind the rest of the country on public transportation and our roads are shit.  So, yeah, we have a problem.

  On the upshot, we are only three seats away from a veto proof majority in the state House and we already have a veto proof majority in the Senate.  If we have a good election this fall, and I think we will, the DFL legislature will be able to create policy without having to work with Pawlenty. And that will be a great day, indeed.

  by New Left 2004 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:15:10 PM PDT

  •  If that happens I bet that someone won't be

    able to resist telling timmeh to win an election.  It's amazing how things have changed here since the late 90's.

    by Dr Colossus on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 06:17:56 PM PDT

    •  me neither

      I never thought that on a state level we would have problems like this.  Frankly, this is crap I associated with the rest of the country.  Minnesota is supposed to be better than letting schools go underfunded and failing to repair bridges and roads.  And I don't even want to get started on how we could have made real progress on rail transportation if only we didn't have the Pawlenty administration's "roads only, but there isn't any money" approach.

      by New Left 2004 on Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 06:40:13 PM PDT