Almanac: At the Capitol

Word as probably spread around the Capitol that I will not be on air tonight because I was in a pretty serious car accident this morning. My dear colleague and lifelong friend Eric Eskola will fill in the House Gallery. The show couldn't be in better hands. As you may know Almanac: At the Capitol has a loose style with no teleprompter or real script. You just have to know how to adlib the news of the day and grill your live guests. No one does that better than EE. He's been on the phone several times today with my parents who are wintering down in Arizona and are close friends of Eric's. While Eskola has been a mentor to me, my Dad Geno was a mentor to Eric. They wanted to carefully craft a message for the viewers tonight about my status. I am going to be okay, I have no broken bones, but a lot of pain and stiffness to accompany my injuries. I was stopped at a stoplight coming into work this morning and saw a big truck coming at me fast in my rear view mirror. I had several cars ahead of me, so in a split second I thought if I don't turn my wheel I could be a goner, that move may have saved my life. I was hit very hard and fast from behind, but largely avoided the other truck ahead of me. It was a terrifying experience and the other driver admitted it was due to inattentive driving because he was looking down at a map or something and didn't see the cars ahead. As a reporter I've covered a lot of crashes and now I was on the other side. I've also heard so many state officials talk about the dangers of inattentive driving, today I saw it first hand. I hope to be back on air reporting again soon once I'm able. Thanks to all my friends, family, colleagues and others for your support!

Tim Pawlenty, unfortunately, has many of the same bad habits as the Bush White House. For instance, while pretending to respond to public pressure for change, he just doesn't seem to be able to keep from playing it cute. Instead, he likes to plant poison-pill stipulations in what he pretends are simple policy initiatives, seeking to place opponents in the position of appearing to "obstruct" the very progress the public is clamoring for. It's a tactic right out of Karl Rove's playbook.

Take, as the most recent example, his proposal to increase Minnesota's state aid to cities — one of the principal victims of recent budget cuts — while tying the increase to two utterly unacceptable conditions: a.) the increase could only be used to fund public safety; and b.) cities receiving the aid would be forbidden to raise taxes. Both of these proposals speak more to the predilections of faith-based politics than to any reality on the ground.

For starters, public safety is not the number one problem facing most Minnesota towns and cities. Yes, the spike in violent crime in Minneapolis may grab the headlines, but the real crime most of our towns and cities are grappling with is cutbacks in services — library closings, shorter hours and later opening dates at pools and parks — escalating fees, and rising property taxes; this last item is, of course, directly related to the aforementioned cuts in state aid. Putting more cops on the streets won't address any of these issues. Furthermore, contrary to the Governor's implied accusation, there is zero evidence that Minnesota cities are spending money in the profligate fashion of, say, the late, unlamented Congressional majority. The imputation that they are is simply more agit-prop of the kind peddled by the Taxpayer League, an organization whose true agenda is reducing the tax burden on those most able to pay, largely by increasing it for everybody else.

If the Governor were serious about helping out Minnesota's towns and cities, he would propose a straightforward increase in state aid, no strings attached, not the booby-trapped proposal he's placed on the table. At a minimum, he should take into consideration the fact that, six years into the reign of George II, the public has caught on to this kind of cheesy sleight-of-hand.

Yesterday was the busiest day so far this session. With the governor's budget and reaction and Roe v. Wade pro and con rallies, we didn't even get to pause to wolf down some lunch until nearly 4:00. Today couldn't be more different. I've been struggling to find 80 seconds of news for my nightly update. Rest assured we have plenty of content to fill Wednesday's Almanac: At the Capitol. My point is that it seems we're settling into the post-budget pre-forecast lull. There are just no big events until the end of February when we find out exactly how much money lawmakers really have to spend. So my suggestion to lawmakers or interest groups eager to get some attention: have a press conference within the next month. You're sure to get some attention. Be bold. Be visual. Be fun. Be innovative. The press corps needs you.