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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Joe Atkins

583 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4192

For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406

Posted: 2010-02-22 00:00:00
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NEWS COLUMN

BIPARTISANSHIP DOESN’T JUST SOUND GOOD, IT WORKS

I just learned that I passed more bipartisan bills in 2009 than 29 other legislators combined. In 2008, I also passed more bipartisan bills than any other state representative.

Now that Democrats are in the majority in the Minnesota House, some of my colleagues wonder why I work so hard to get Republican support for my bills. With 87 Democrats in the House, and only 68 votes needed to pass, they question why I feel it is important to get Republican votes at all.

My answer is simple: because bipartisanship doesn't just sound good, it works.

Most work we do in the legislature isn't partisan at all – it's about fixing a problem. So when firefighters had legislation last session to address an issue they needed help with, for which I was the chief author, the first thing I did was look for a Republican co-author. I ended up with dozens of supporters from both sides of the aisle, sending the message that this was about helping firefighters, not about political parties.

I took the same approach with other bills, ranging from toughening Minnesota's meth law, to making health care more affordable for out-of-work Minnesotans, to assistance for local car dealers and their employees forced out of business when the American auto industry hit hard times last year. All passed the House and Senate. All were signed into law.

It's that sort of cooperation that's going to be needed as Minnesota faces the daunting challenges that lie ahead, not just this coming session but in years to come. Budget deficits loom even as the economy starts to churn again. An aging population presents new challenges for our health care system. Our school kids aren't just expected to compete with kids from Wisconsin and Iowa, but with kids from China, India, and Japan.

Extreme partisanship reminds me of a kid in my neighborhood who rides a unicycle. Dillon works really hard, pedals like crazy, and goes mostly in wobbly circles on his one wheel. That's what Democrats and Republicans are like when we try to go it alone. Bringing both Democrats and Republicans together to find solutions is more like a bicycle – it makes for a lot steadier ride and we get a lot further down the road.

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