GOP: Dayton set on shutdown, has 'madness to his method' (UPDATE)

As the state budget showdown begins to look more like a political campaign, Minnesota Republican Party leaders say DFL Gov. Mark Dayton has been bent on a government shutdown since he took office.

State party chairman Tony Sutton is renewing old campaign rhetoric, calling Dayton and "erratic" and a "spoiled rich guy" who had a "hissy fit" when Republican legislators didn't agree to his proposed tax increase.

"There is a madness to his method," Sutton said Thursday, as the party unveiled a new website that tries to put blame of the shutdown squarely on Dayton.

State Democratic leaders pushed back sharply, calling Sutton's words a "character assassination."

"There's no place for this," DFL party Chairman Ken Martin said. "This kind of behavior creates more of a gulf than we need in this state and in this Capitol. This kind of polarization and politics, there's no place for it."

This is the latest verbal dust-up since Monday, when Dayton and the GOP failed to come to a budget agreement after a five month legislative session.

Republicans objected Tuesday when Dayton said "extreme right-wing" freshmen GOP members were hindering a budget agreement.

The announcement of the GOP's new website comes as union-backed Alliance for a Better Minnesota launches a $1 million advertising campaign urging Minnesotans to reject the Republican budget.

Republicans say Dayton "is primed for a government shutdown," which they say means he is unwilling to negotiate.

Republicans have been talking about shutdown for months, however.

At the beginning of the session, Republican House members held a brief informational hearing on the mechanics of a government shutdown.

At a March Minnesota GOP executive committee meeting, Sutton predicted "the Republican-controlled Legislature will pass a balanced budget, leaving the government shutdown on the shoulders of Governor Dayton," according a report from the meeting.

Martin said Dayton has tried to reach across the aisle to broker a deal, but the GOP response has been to denigrate his character and redirect the blame.

"We can find a way for a win-win for all parties, but you are not going to get there by calling names and throwing mud," Martin said.