Barely a half-hour after Gov. Mark Dayton wrapped up his state of the state speech, Republican legislative leaders, perhaps predictably, had little good to say about it.
House Speaker Kurt Zellers said that "when you take away all the fancy words" like investment cited by Dayton, "it's tax and spend." He added: "You don't make a state stonger by looking backwards ... Raising taxes in tough economic times is not a good idea."
Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said Dayton is out of step with governors in other states who are grappling with budget woes by raising taxes. "I submit he's making promises he does not have the money to support," she said. Koch asid Dayton's plan to raise income taxes on Minnesotans with the highest incomes has no Republican support and support from DFL legislators that is "tepid at best."
"He's making promises there, but I'm not sure he can keep them," she said.
Both Zellers and Koch said they were taken somewhat aback by Dayton's heavy emphasis on the possibility of a government shutdown later this year. "Never, ever has that been brought up in any conversation" with the governor, Kochsaid. "It struck me as odd." Zellers called Dayton's warning about a shutdown "disjointed" and "a little out of left field for us."
The Republicans said Dayton didn't emphasize job creation enough in the speech -- and took issue withthe speech's overall tone. "I was hoping for a more optimistic, forward-looking view," Koch said. "Our state is strong," Zellers said, noting that Dayton's address didn't include those traditional words.
Legislative DFLers and the state's public employees union were almost as quick to praise the speech. Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk said Dayton's speech was "remarkable" and praised his call to increase the income tax rate on high earners. "Please help us invest in the future," was the message Bakk said he took away from the speech.
Despite the GOP's aversion to tax increases, "there needs to be some revenue in this budget solution," Bakk said. "They're going to learn as they start to put the budget together that to put an all-cut budget together will jeapordize Minnesota's future."
