Legislators: Shutdowns Serve A Purpose

A proposal by Republican legislators to pass legislation or a constitutional amendment to prevent future Minnesota state shutdowns received a very cool reception by two of the Democrats who serve Southwest Minneapolis.

Last week, three GOP senators called a press conference to propose legislation in the 2012 session, which would resort to the previous budget if a deadline comes and goes, and there is no agreement on the next biennium budget.

“This is very problematic because it short-circuits the legislative process,” said Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL — Minneapolis). “If we had true compromise, we could avoid these shutdowns.”

Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL — Minneapolis) said the idea “simply plays into the hands of the Republicans to never resolve the budget issue.”

Asked about the Republican idea that between 80 to 100 percent of the previous year’s budget would be implemented, Dibble asked, “how is that determined?”

“To me, this is part of the Grover Norquist philosophy and that is to destroy virtually all public services in this country,” he said.

Hornstein said the believed it was inspired by rigid Tea Party philosophy.

“They seem more interested in this kind of stuff than in governing,” he added. “I attribute this to this no-taxes philosophy and it is ‘my way or the highway.’”

Dibble called it “an attempt to deflect attention away from a problem they created."

"What they really are out to do is slash and burn the key services needed by the people of Minnesota,” he said.

Hornstein, now in his fifth term in the Minnesota House of Representatives, said his experience makes him believe this approach dates back to when “we had Tim Pawlenty as governor and Steve Swiggum was the GOP majority leader in the house.”

Rep. Paul Thissen, who represents part of Southwest Minneapolis and leads the DFL caucus in the House, did not return phone calls related to this story.