Pawlenty - What Was He Thinking?

Hi All!

Politics is (or at least used to be) the art of compromise.

If our young Governor "Palmetto" (as spell check recommends) wanted to pick a time to honestly "break" his no tax vow, the gas tax would have been the way to do it. The stars were in alignment for that one -- many of the thoughtful, and even some of the most clueless legislators were on board.

Instead he decided to stomp a burning bag of excrement left by some psycho on his front stoop.

The 75-cent per pack sin tax is fair insofar as it is the users that pay. Sin taxes are always an easy sell.

But the way Tim pirouetted around calling a tax a tax for something that doesn't raise much revenue in any case and is sure to alienate his base while never appeasing his foes is the most ham-handed thing I've seen in my years of observing Minnesota politics.

Was spokesmouth/advisor Brian McClung out sick that day? Has Dan McElroy been benched?

Some conspiracy buffs can make a tie-in with last week's selective reach-out to bloggers -- again, semi-smart. McClung was on old poster to the Minnesota Politics e-mail discussion group, but he is obviously not up to speed on the blogosphere.

Brian, Tim! I am available for consultation. As if ---

For this incredible waste of political capital, I assumed the Governor made a "deal of a lifetime" to get the Session closed with most of his agenda. The Session is not closed and I don't see any deals. Has this bright young man been duped or did a blogger sprinkle something on his slice of pizza?

As things look now, I don't think Jesse could have done worse. Brian Sullivan might emerge from the shadows after all, which would be cool, 'cos I still have his buttons and stickers.

Serious observers will make note of all the really hidden taxes that have gotten through this year -- the lack of outrage over the 20 percent ethanol mandate is a good starting point if you want to pick an iceberg to chip at.

Cheers!