This photo was passed along to me without any idea who the photographer was. If anyone knows, I’ll happily credit them for what I think captures an iconic moment in Minnesota government, namely Gov. Pawlenty and his, uh, anti-government, “No New Taxes,” transportation advisers, (note Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau beaming at left), vetoing last year’s pittance of a gas tax increase.
I am prepared to host a pool on when Pawlenty throws Molnau under the bus to protect himself from direct criticism for going to the Taxpayers’ League well one time too often. The Governor has other places to go, if you know what I mean, and is far too adroit a politician to allow himself to be tarred with accusations of gross short-sightedness or errors of judgment in relation to the collapse. So I say sometime around Thanksgiving Molnau will suddenly feel the urge to, A. “Spend more time with my family,” and/or B. “Explore new opportunities.”
Meanwhile, for a taste of the new, post-collapse Taxpayers League talking point meme, where the real issue is proper allocation of existing resources, (i.e. wasteful education and social spending can always take another hit), you owe it to yourself to catch former State Rep. now Taxpayers League President Phil Krinkie in action on Gary Eichten’s show this morning.
Also, Mr. Krinkie, please, do you really think it is necessary for the entire state and every media and government agency to avoid discussion of the hows and whys of this tragedy and instead remain in a state of prolonged respectful sorrow for the dead and their families? Most of us can multi-task. We can show respect for the dead and injured AND demand that the people most responsible for the policies that guaranteed inadequate maintenance maintain a high public profile.
I think I’ve already said that the best time to engage the public in the musty but critical business of state budgets is when people have an acute focus on an issue.
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