Blog House: Taxing defeat, or key to ultimate victory?

Monday could prove to have been a sea change in Minnesota politics. The effect of the change, though, remains to be seen. There are two schools of thought.

•With the override of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of the transportation funding bill -- with its increases in the gas tax, license tab renewal fee and metro-area sales tax -- the DFL sent a strong and clear message that the era of "no new taxes" was over.

•With the override of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of the transportation funding bill -- with its increases in the gas tax, license tab renewal fee and metro-area sales tax -- Republicans are poised to take advantage of inevitable tax revolt in November and win back both the House and the Senate.

Whatever else the override accomplishes, it raised the ire of the conservative blogosphere (it would be nice if it also fixes bridges and roads and gives us more mass transit options).

Nobody likes taxes, said William Ostrem at Northern Letter (2), but the Legislature did what it had to do. "Raising taxes during a recession is a painful decision, but today we have many more vehicles driving more miles than we did 20 years ago, and they are heavier vehicles to boot. That means roads and bridges are being pounded and need to be repaired. Other roads have become unsafe and need to be updated. At the same time, we simply have more people, and investment in transit is necessary to end the costly traffic gridlock in the Twin Cities."

The override was achieved when six Republican House members crossed party lines. The big tent party got a little smaller (about six House members smaller) when Minority Leader Marty Seifert retaliated by stripping them of their leadership and committee positions. The drastic action grabbed the attention of Zack at MnPublius (3).

"Wow. Much has been written in recent years about the decline of the suburban Republican moderate, but never before has there been such a stark example of moderate Republicans being driven from their party. Four of these Republicans represent suburban districts including cities like Edina, Bloomington and Coon Rapids that have been trending Democratic in recent years. All six represent districts that Amy Klobuchar won in 2006. ... Anyone who thinks that this is a party that stands a chance of recapturing the Minnesota House or Senate in the next few years is just plain wrong."

But Kevin at EckerNet (4) said the crackdown was long overdue. "Finally the MN GOP appears to be learning their role in Minnesota politics. The MN GOP is warning those politicians that voted to override Pawlenty's veto, that they may forfeit their support by the party come November. GOOD! Why is it even a question? If you don't be a team player on the real critical plays, you obviously don't care about the team, why should the team care about you?"

Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, seem to have stepped in it earlier this month when it was reported that she had told a Wisconsin audience that, for the first time in her adult life, she was proud of the United States. Conservative bloggers jumped on the statement to paint her as unpatriotic or worse.

One problem with that scenario (other than the suspension of belief required to believe the wife of a presidential candidate would actually tell a crowd that she's never been proud of the country her husband wanted to lead): That's not all she said. She expressed those sentiments twice -- once in Madison and once in Milwaukee. But one time she used the word "really" as in "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country." The other time she dropped the really.

To Bluto at the Dread Pundit (5), that made a big difference. "You can understand how someone might feel restrained pride in America. I mean, that's a lot different than not ever having felt proud at all, right?"

tobrien@startribune.com

SEE FOR YOURSELF HOW TO FIND THE BLOGS

1 Residual Forces • residualforces.com

2 Northern Letter • williamostrem.net/nl/

3 MnPublius • mnpublius.com

4 EckerNet • eckernet.com

5 Dread Pundit • dreadpundit.blogspot.com

6 AMERICAblog • americablog.com

7 James Fallows • jamesfallows.theatlantic.com

In a development that surprised no one familiar with his massive ego, Corvair-killer and Harold Stassen-wannabe Ralph Nader declared that he would make another bid for the White House. John Aravosis at AMERICAblog (6) will not be donating. "Nader had better not be permitted in any presidential debate. He is not a real candidate, his support went from meager to pitiful the past two times he ran for president -- the fool does not deserve to be on the same stage with Barack Obama and John McCain." James Fallows (7) was saddened by the depths to which his friend and mentor had sunk. "That he stayed in the race in 2000 was tragedy. ... That he came back in 2004 was unfortunate; his entry in 2008 is farce. Farce because it suggests detachment from political reality (the differences between the Republican and Democratic nominees are so faint that we can say, What the hell!) and, worse, narcissism. ... I will always like and respect Ralph Nader and will always admire the wonderful things he has done. But I wish to God that he had not made this decision, or will reverse it soon. (And, I am sorry that saying this will make me an enemy in his eyes.) He is a better man than his recent decisions indicate."