Gov. Mark Dayton didn't take kindly to the GOP messaging that they have compromised and he has not.
"Today, the Republican legislative majorities showed themselves to be completely out of touch with reality. Everyone knows that over a month ago, the Governor offered to compromise and to meet the GOP half-way between their two budgets. Everyone knows that it's the Republicans, who have refused to budge from their position. Everyone knows that it was the Governor who proposed a mediator to facilitate serious compromise, and that the Republican leaders refused," he his spokeswoman Katharine Tinucci said in a statement. "Their unwillingness to compromise is a source of increasing frustration for us, and for every Minnesotan who will hurt under their all-cuts budget." (Correction: This quote is from Katharine Tinucci, not Gov. Dayton as previously posted.)
Dayton reiterated that point and suggested again the need for a mediator, something Republicans completely rejected when he called for it a few weeks ago, in a letter to Republicans leaders.
House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, piled on. He said Republicans were "pretending to compromise, twisting the facts, and driving us to shutdown."
Here's Dayton's letter:
