Dayton criticizes Kelliher on session

Posted at 4:07 PM on May 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

Democrat Mark Dayton is none too pleased with the outcome of the legislative session, and he's putting part of the blame on his DFL rival for governor. In an interview, Dayton said several national news outlets and the Rochester Post-Bulletin all suggested the legislative session was a complete victory for Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He said he isn't pleased with the result negotiated between Pawlenty, DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, the DFL endorsed candidate for governor,

"I don't see it that way. It was a terrible session for the people of Minnesota," Dayton said. "It was a terrible session for the school districts that lost $2 billion through a shift which will mean higher borrowing and fewer teachers and overcrowded classrooms and more school districts being forced to four day school weeks and more kids receiving an inferior education and $100 million in funding cuts for higher education which means higher tuition and more professors laid off. I don't see this as a victory that Gov. Pawlenty and the Speaker are claiming." Listen

Kelliher's campaign sent an e-mail to supporters today saying she worked to protect funding for key programs.

In the face of Republican obstructionism, we worked tirelessly to protect Minnesota's most important priorities. We fought to bring 1.4 billion dollars of federal healthcare funding to Minnesota. This funding would save or create 22,000 healthcare jobs, provide healthcare for 102,000 people and fairly reimburse our rural hospitals. For every $1 of state money, we can get $7 back in federal healthcare dollars. It is just common sense.

For 8 years we've had a governor who has put his right wing agenda over Minnesota's most important priorities. This year was no different.

Comments (3)

Weak, weak, weak.

The Dems snatched defeat from the jaws of victory again, letting the petulant brat in the governor's office bully them into submission.

Our state has gone down the toilet because no one has the guts to make a stand and call evil by its name: Tim Pawlenty.

Posted by Justin Thyme | May 18, 2010 11:43 PM

What would Dayton have done differently?

We have had a governor who refuses to negotiate, who refused to even tell the legislature what he wanted. I thank Margaret Anderson Kelliher for getting this over with as soon as possible instead of allowing it to drag on into the summer. Sadly, with this governor, there was nothing that could be done differently--he refused to negotiate, he had all the power.

Posted by Kelly | May 19, 2010 9:16 AM

Dayton doesn't know what he's talking about. There wasn't another way this session could have ended up. There was no different strategy, or message that could have gotten a better result. http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/6243/this-was-the-only-session-we-could-have-had

Posted by Eric Ferguson | May 19, 2010 11:27 AM

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