Almanac: At the Capitol

Gov. Pawlenty hosted some House Republicans and staffers at the governor's mansion last night. They were in the middle of another late night marathon session and got an invite from the big guy. Deputy Minority Leader Tom Emmer gave us the scoop. He said "it was mostly about meatballs and shrimp." Emmer didn't fess up to much policy coming up; he said the governor "conveyed hang in there." Emmer said the subject of Real ID did not come up. We've heard from several Republicans now that they don't want the governor to veto the state opting out of the federal identification mandate. They would rather Pawlenty sign the bill, even though he clearly stated this week it will be vetoed. The alternative is an override, this time it could be conservative Republicans joining with Democrats, unlike the transportation override where it was moderate Republicans making the supermajority. Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark said the anti-Real ID people are an interesting coalition bringing people together like Sen. Mee Moua and Sen. Ray Vandeveer.