Almanac: At the Capitol

Looking back at the week, I'm not sure which Tim Pawlenty to believe. On Tuesday, after being overidden for the first time he had a press conference where he was visibly angry and annoyed. It was a rare display. Most reporters think he had to put on some of the anger to please the conservatives who questioned how hard he worked to stop the override. Then there's yesterday's press conference where he was good 'ol TPaw, joking, sarcastic, easy-going — and that was minutes after his transportation commissioner was fired. Maybe it was anti-climatic. Maybe he wasn't all that sad to see her go. Maybe he's worried about his nice guy image in the vice presidential race. Maybe we are all just tired. It really was the busiest week in the decade I've been covering Capitol politics. Minnesota Monitor has an interesting round up of the VP Pawlenty developments this week.

Carol Molnau is out as transportation commissioner. The 22-44 vote appeared to be party-line. The tone was sober. Sen. Murphy said he took no pleasure in this act. Molnau quickly issued this statement:

The Minnesota State Senate today exercised its constitutional authority in deciding to withhold my confirmation as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Serving as the state's transportation commissioner these past five years has been one of the best experiences of my life. It has been my honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Minnesota alongside the dedicated professionals in the department. I am proud of the agency's accomplishments in increasing infrastructure investment, improving efficiency and advancing innovation.

I look forward to continuing my service to this state in my role as lieutenant governor. I remain committed to representing this great state, its people and its accomplishments in whatever way I can.

Seconds later the governor had this to say:

Over the past five years, under Lt. Governor Molnau’s leadership, Mn/DOT has completed more road and bridge projects than in any other comparable period in the state’s history. We accelerated a number of major projects around the state, from the expansion of I-494 to Highway 14 to Highway 53 and many in between.

The DFL’s decision to remove the Lt. Governor from her post at Mn/DOT is disappointing. It also shows they’re more interested in partisanship than working together on the important issues facing our state.