The Minnesota Legislature demonstrated uncommon good sense and overrode Governor Pawlenty’s veto of a comprehensive and long-overdue transportation bill. Overrides of gubernatorial vetoes are a rare thing and the six House Republicans who voted with the majority deserve special recognition. Their collective act of political courage has put Minnesota on the path to a more sustainable and prosperous future. The state’s roads and bridges will now receive the attention they so badly need and the metro area could finally get a modern public transit system.
Minnesota has long had a reputation as a state that understood the need to invest in public services to maintain a high quality of life. Over the last few years, our political leadership succumbed to the influence of anti-tax forces that showed nothing but contempt for the kind of public stewardship that has served Minnesota so well over the last several decades. It’s too soon to tell, but I like to think that this veto override serves as a rebuke to those who value having a few more dollars in their pockets rather than any kind of vision for the future.
sad, then, that a few of the republicans have already been stripped of their authority positions on committees, and that the minnesota GOP leadership is already threatening to withdraw its re-election support from their campaigns. *sigh.*