First-term Republican lawmakers push back on Dayton

Posted at 4:51 PM on May 25, 2011 by Tom Scheck (6 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

Eight members of the Minnesota Senate said they're not happy that Gov. Dayton has called them "extremists." The group of lawmakers held a news conference today to react to comments Dayton made this week. They include GOP Sen. Michelle Benson (who was carrying her newborn), GOP Sen. Ben Kruse (who was clad in a baseball hat and jeans), GOP Sen. Roger Chamberlain (who rides his bike to work, has a truck that needs tires and tills his own garden) and Pam Wolf (a teacher). The group worked to highlight that they're mainstream Minnesotans who are aiming to improve Minnesota.

Governor Dayton blamed the current budget impasse on "extreme right-wing caucus members" who don't know how government works. Republican Senator Al DeKruif of Madison Lake says he and the other Republican members of the Legislature are not extreme.

"What we are trying to do is not be extremists in any way but actually common sense folks that come from the real world to help our government be what it should be, be everything it can be and should be. Live within our means and provide the services that we need to be providing."

Dayton and the GOP controlled Legislature are at odds over the best way to pass a two year state budget. Minnesota is facing a special session and possible government shutdown on July 1 because the two sides are at odds over taxes and spending.

Dayton is proposing to increase income taxes on Minnesota's top earners to erase a $5 billion projected budget deficit. Republicans say they won't budge off of a $34 billion budget. None of the first-term lawmakers said they would support more revenue to break the impasse.

This year's crop of Republican newcomers has considerable influence in both the House and Senate. They make up more than half of the Republican Majority in the Senate and nearly half in the House. That means freshman lawmakers will have a big say about whether GOP legislative leaders can cut a budget deal with Dayton in time to avoid a government shutdown on July 1.

Comments (6)

So sleazy.

We're just ordinary folks.

Well, Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin also have families and they use them to good advantage in pushing their right wing extremist views...

And who can forget that folksy fellow, the Reverend Bradlee Dean, who appeared in the House clad in a track suit. Who could be more of an ordinary guy than the Rev?

The behavior of these folks is disgusting. Have a look at right wing bloviator Mitch Berg urging the "freshmen" to keep "upper classmen" in line.

Open Letter To The GOP Legislative Freshmen

http://www.shotinthedark.info/wp/?p=20240

How about a little honesty about what is going on here. The Freshman legislators are, on the whole, the right wing extremists holding things up. Sutton and Brodkorb are the enforcers.

If you doubt it, See Briana Bierschbach's excellent article

House GOP vote on marriage amendment was defining issue of session’s last days

http://bit.ly/mOzsQS

Posted by Bill Gleason | May 25, 2011 5:40 PM

Why is it necessary in this story to tell us about their babies and baseball uniforms and such? That sounds like what they would want you to do. You're doing Republican MARKETING again. Those descriptions were totally unnecessary to this story. Typical Republican lap-sitting by MPR.

They ARE extremists, and Dayton is right: they just want to get rid of most of government. "Live within our means and provide the services that we need to be providing" is a way to make them SOUND like good, common-sense, community-minded folks, when in reality, it really means they want to provide only bare-bones services like public safety.

The budgets they passed tell the real story: they don't want to provide services to our most needy and vulnerable citizens, they want only the rich to be able to afford college, they want our urban areas to be starved out of existence, they want to ADD to the unemployment rolls with massive layoffs of not only public sector workers, but many private-sector workers as well (and they promised to focus like a laser on jobs -- oh, I guess they meant focus on getting RID of jobs). Meanwhile, they don't want super-rich Minnesotans to have to pay another dollar in taxes.

They are the epitome of extremist Republicans trying to look and sound like they're just regular folks with common-sense ideas.

Posted by Jamie | May 25, 2011 5:55 PM

How many of those eight support nullification of federal laws? I'd define that as a pretty extremist position.

Posted by Doctor Gonzo | May 25, 2011 6:14 PM

If these thinly disguised business lobbyists are not extremists....then we really have something to worry about.

Posted by Patrick | May 25, 2011 11:06 PM

Have you ever heard an extremist admit to extremism? ...ever heard a racist admit he's a racist? ...a bigot admit he's a bigot? These folks have no idea how far off the map they are. Neither did the voters in November, though they seem to be catching on now.

Posted by Ralph Crammedin | May 26, 2011 7:16 AM

Why does it take Republican freshman to move the conservative needle to the constitution in St. Paul. What about the returning Republicans are they more sided with the left and further away from liberty?

Posted by tim utz, minnesota | May 26, 2011 9:58 PM

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