The decision that will define the 2012 Legislature in the eyes of most Minnesotans, set to finally come up for a vote Monday, is also likely to determine the fate of professional football in this state.
Approval of the painstakingly crafted bipartisan stadium bill would lead to the construction of a modern, multipurpose facility that will keep the Vikings here for at least the next 30 years. Rejection after seven years of debate and inaction would send a strong signal to the Wilf family and the NFL that this state -- or at least its Legislature -- is willing to live without the most valuable of its four major-league franchises.
The troubling lack of leadership in the GOP ranks came into focus late last week, when House Speaker Kurt Zellers served up this bit of twisted logic: He wants to see the stadium bill pass, but he will not vote for it himself. He later said he "misspoke" during a "hot and heavy" KFAN radio interview, but his position remained convoluted. He wants the Vikings to remain in Minnesota; he does not support the bill that's before the House, and he won't try to convince his colleagues to vote yes or no.
Zellers deserves some credit for scheduling a floor vote on a measure he personally opposes. But we wish he would revisit, as we have, what he had to say in a January presession meeting he and Majority Leader Matt Dean held with the Star Tribune Editorial Board. Zellers noted then the damage that can follow when a cause is set back in such a vote.
"Matt and I really want to make sure that when somebody brings a bill up, they have their best chance to be successful. We don't want to bring bills ... that are going to fail by two votes and then there's embarrassment," Zellers said.
The House speaker added that the bill would have to represent "a good deal for the people who are paying for it." He also said he did not want a repeat of a failed 1997 vote on a Twins stadium.
"Everybody said, 'We'll just put it up and people will vote for it,'" Zellers recalled. "You can play that game of chicken, and sometimes the bills fail and then nine years later you come back and finally get a bill. ... You want to give proponents the best chance to be successful."
Today's proponents, of course, include members of Zellers' own party -- Sen. Julie Rosen and Rep. Morrie Lanning, chief sponsors of the stadium bill -- who have provided the kind of serious leadership on the stadium we had hoped Zellers would muster.
