Analysis of Session 2005

So what will the political fallout of the 2005 Legislative Session? Well its hard to tell at this point. Legislators will probably bear the brunt of it. The Governor took a bruising but he will probably recover. If the public remembers the inaction and gridlock of this last session incumbents better be prepared to spend a lot of money to convince their constituents that they deserve another term in office. This would probably be the best time for challengers to enter a race for representative or senator.The governor took a hit from one of his base contributors, the Minnesota Taxpayers League, when he offered the health impact fee to solve the budget impasse. Well either that or we continue to spend $4.68 million per day while the government is partially shutdown. I hope this is not the road that we are headed down as a state. Negotiating through press conferences is never a good sign. I dont believe that this is what Minnesotans want or expect from their state government. The average Minnesotan was angry for the legislatures inability to get their work done on time. Of course there are partisans on both sides who will blame the other side for shuting down the government. The governor offered solutions but legislative leaders did nothing but blame each other. The DFL were trying to protect education and health care. The Republicans were trying to protect the taxpayers. I believe that the Governor took the high road by offering a solution that would probably upset his base but also would end the stalemate.
6:25 PM, July 16, 2005