Opinion | Even with Walz out of the race, DFL failures remain

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

Gov. Tim Walz announced this week that he is no longer seeking re-election. This was no doubt a long time coming and a decision that the governor did not take lightly. I wish him the best in whatever is next for him and his family.

I am sure that many DFL Party members, desperate to turn the page on their multibillion-dollar fraud scandal, are relieved. Reaction from Republicans is mixed, many glad, but some worried about the prospect of running against a candidate who could be perceived as politically stronger than Walz.

This could be a year of significant political change in Minnesota.

However, that change will not come if the DFL keeps control of the governor’s residence and retakes the Minnesota House. Minnesota will be stuck with the same tired, broken system that enabled fraudsters to steal billions then tried to sweep it under the rug. The same lawmakers who turned an $18 billion budget surplus into a $6 billion budget deficit despite raising taxes by $10 billion will be back in charge. And the same leaders who have prioritized an anti-business agenda over growth, accountability and education will be rewarded, leaving our economy stalled, our Main Streets empty and our students falling behind, even compared with states like Mississippi.

I refer to this as a system, because that is exactly what it is. It’s a system in which agency commissioners deflect criticism and explain things away with technical jargon and doublespeak. It’s a system in which DFL legislators demonize criticism and legitimate lines of questioning, that downplays or excuses fraud, and in which activists blame all their problems on what’s happening in Washington, D.C., not what’s happening in St. Paul.

The most important thing that Minnesotans must do is to end this failing production and introduce a new one that recognizes that tax dollars belong to taxpayers. A system in which accountability for fraud is common sense, not controversial, and in which education is focused on preparing the next generation for the world of tomorrow. That means students who read at grade level and who learn how to think instead of what to think.

The only way to turn this around and put Minnesota back on the right path is to change the direction we are headed. That means rejecting a system we have been told is best for us and choosing a different course, one that holds people accountable for fraud and crime, ends the cycle of endless taxation and makes the taxpayer’s voice the loudest one heard in St. Paul.

And make no mistake. Even with Walz now out of the picture, if we do not change how things are done at the Capitol, the same disastrous outcomes we have seen under his administration will happen all over again.