Almanac: At the Capitol

Labor and Industry Commissioner Steve Sviggum's confirmation just sailed through a Senate committee despite warnings that he could be in trouble. In her weekly briefing with reporters on Friday, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark signaled that there might be "problems" with Sviggum and "people question him being in that position." There were no real tough questions today in committee, though. Clark said Sviggum, the former Republican house speaker, "background is not in this area and his track record on labor is very low."

I don't know if Clark is out of the loop or lawmakers got gun shy, but it was sweetness and light for Sviggum today. Chair James Metzen signaled there wouldn't be problems at the outset saying he was "personally satisfied" with Sviggum before anyone even asked him any questions. There are rumblings in the Press Corps and the Democratic Senate caucus that Majority Leader Pogemiller is not keeping Clark in the loop so she really doesn't know where issues stand politically when she does her weekly briefings with us.

It will be a rare display today when Gov. Tim Pawlenty holds a press conference with his cheif rivals Sen. Larry Pogemiller and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher along with Minority Leaders Seifert and Senjem. These five people rarely stand together on anything. I hear there may not be a lot of news, other than the fact all the state's "big dogs" are getting together to weigh in on NWA merger. They want to and need to look like they're out front on what would be the world's largest airline. The concern is the money NWA owes the state and the jobs politicians want to retain. Sen. Metzen made big news last week when he announced hearings. I hear some of the higher ups didn't want Metzen to take the lead on this and want to get it "under control."

The big unexpected story out of the Capitol today is Senate hearings looking into a possible Northwest Airlines merger. Sen. James Metzen (DFL-South St. Paul) crashed Tarryl Clark's weekly briefing with reporters. He said he was just going to come and tell Bill Salisbury from the Pioneer Press but decided to talk to all of us because he said "this scares the dickens out of me." The NWA headquarters are in Metzen's district. He says Congressman Oberstar will also be attending hearings he's hoping to hold next week at the Capitol. Metzen, who's the Senate President, says "we'll ask a lot of tough questions." Metzen will be live on Almanac tonight.

The House isn't jumping on board yet on the hearings, but they are concerned. Speaker Anderson Kelliher said "the loss of a hub would be dramatic; the job loss could be very severe." The governor just weighed in too, sending a letter to Northwest and Delta's CEOs. He reminded the airlines that the state gave $445 million in loans and leases and said "we trust and expect these commitments will be honored." Pawlenty also went on to say that "we are willing to make additional commitment to keep the hub at full operation and the headquarters in Minnesota."

Not bad. Not bad at all.

That would be my rating for the Governor and the legislative session this year.

Of course, I do tend to be more forgiving than others might be about legislative performance and behavior, given I served in the legislature and have a personal fondness of the place that overlooks the occasional faux paux or partisan invective hurled in debate.

Moreover, I'm aware that we've been doing this legislative thing in Minnesota for nearly 150 years and have gotten pretty good at it. And, after all, one of the legendary heroes of the place, whose portrait graces a Senate committee room, stole a bill as his claim to fame, which kept the capital in St. Paul and would be a felony if done today (and probably was then). Having someone pulled over after a little too much partying after the session, as happened to the President of the Senate, pales in comparison, and at least reminds us these people are human, after all.

We knew going in that the DFL had a large and largely inexperienced majority in the House with an untested leader. We also knew going in that Tim Pawlenty had moderated his tone somewhat, but would still be the key player, as Governor, in the ultimate outcome. Pogemiller in the Senate would be the wild card.

All that, and they got through doing no real harm to anyone — and on time.

There was just enough "kumbaya" in the energy and smoking legislation to show that the DFL majorities and the Governor could work together. The flameout at the end of the session was largely the result of a lack of trust and the parties not being familiar enough with each other to know who meant what when. It helps to know and be able to read your opponent when playing poker. The Democrats saw a bluff where there was a flush.

It certainly was not a good thing to have the Governor's office copying and verifying all correspondence because they could trust the Democrats to tell the straight story about the negotiations. But ultimately, "lights on" bills did pass, and Tim Pawlenty has shown the Democrats beyond any doubt that he will, in fact, veto bills.

Reasonable caution prevailed in this potential political minefield. This frustrated many constituencies in the short term, who seem to be on the DFL majorities for their supposed lack of nerve and conviction. But we do our legislatures in two year doses in this State. And with the Governor and legislative majorities more used to each other, and the House facing an election, next year's short session will be a real firecracker fueled by DFLers that are obviously now starting to feel their oats.