Almanac: At the Capitol

At the State Republican Convention Governor Tim Pawlenty just challenged the Republican Party to have broad appeal and reach out. He told the story of his working class siblings who are all Democrats. And when he pointed out how they had common ground on many issues like education, healthcare and security, he asked them why they weren't Republicans and they said "they're not for the working people."
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It wasn't always pretty, but this group of leaders proved they can lead. It may have been a deal cut behind closed doors, but they all walk away winning. The public and the press had a hard time getting access and information along the way, but this session will have delivered on all the biggest issues: education, healthcare, property taxes, transportation and the environment. That's quite a list for what's supposed to be a short bonding session. Gov. Pawlenty said “this process yielded common results.”
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Leaders and the governor have been back behind closed doors trying to finalize a deal on education, healthcare and property taxes. Hmmm, those are three issues Democrats ran on, won the House with and declared "we'll be focused on these like a laser beam." It would be a big win for the House and Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher if they can deliver on that.
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Gov. Pawlenty is weighing in heavily in floor debates today. First Republican House Minority Leader Marty Seifert apparently heard from the governor along with the speaker and Pawlenty asked them to stop debating an education bill without a global deal and that it created a situation of "negotiating in bad faith."
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Lawmakers and the governor will go back behind closed doors tonight, but the optimistic tone that echoed through the Capitol is growing softer. The past few days it seemed they were all making quite a bit a progress and could maybe wrap this up early. The governor essentially gave up on his use of the healthcare access fund. Democrats offered the governor his request for a cap on property taxes. It seemed they had about $300 million worth of budget cuts worked out, but now that may not be the case.
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