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State Representative Paul Thissen
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5375
For more information contact: Carrie Lucking 651-296-4169
Press/News Releases
THISSEN: GET OFF THE SIDELINES AND ONTO THE FIELD, DON’T TALK TOUGH, BE TOUGH Statement on fake budget floor vote from House Minority Leader Thissen
The Majority has had the luxury of sitting on the sidelines criticizing the Governor’s budget for several weeks now – acting as armchair quarterbacks in what you seem to think is a political game.
In this game, you play around with gotcha votes, piecemeal budgets, and even the facts, all while standing off the field criticizing those who are actually doing the work. If this is a game, then it is time for you to get off the bench and get on the field.
That’s what today’s vote is about. It’s about objecting, once again, to a partial fix and urge us to find a complete solution. This vote is about objecting to the illusion that you are trying to present – the political theatre that has a magician snap his fingers up here while he steals your watch out of your pocket.
And it is about objecting to the very idea that all of this is a political game or theatrical event. More than anything, Minnesotans went to the polls last November and said to us – “knock it off!" They asked us to candidly, openly put our plans out so that they could see them and make a choice, based on their values, about what is best for our state. They asked us to be honest with them, keep our promises, and do what we said we would do; pretty basic and fundamental Minnesota things, when you think about it.
Governor Dayton has laid out his plan, he has said that it is far from perfect since we face difficult times, and he and the people of Minnesota have asked you to do the same. We will not vote on any partial budget until you do.
That’s why it’s time for the Republican majority to produce their long-promised all-cuts budget. We have exactly 3 short weeks until the Republican super-secret, property-tax increasing, all-cuts budget has to be through all of the Committees. That is literally no time at all.
For the party of self-proclaimed tough choices, you’re certainly having an easy time sitting on the sidelines. After all, on the sidelines, you can say one thing and do another. On the sidelines, budget realities are all wiped away by the magic wand of living within our means or “reform.” It’s easy to talk tough and give lectures about responsibility, but much harder to actually be tough and act responsibly.
Until your property-tax-raising, all-cuts budget is on the table, all you are is a party of tough talk that refuses to make any difficult decisions.
And until that budget is produced and Minnesotans see for themselves what it is that you stand for, we will reject the political game. We will reject piecemeal budgets. And we will reject the recklessness that says we can vote on part of a budget plan without seeing what our options are.
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State Representative Paul Thissen is DFL Minority Leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He Represents Richfield and part of Minneapolis.
News Items
- DFL Leaders Eager to Confront Minnesota’s Challenges with Focus on Economy and Middle Class - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 2:21PM)
- State Representative John Persell appointed Majority Whip - (Posted: Dec 21 2012 1:11PM)
- Speaker-designate Thissen to Establish Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs - (Posted: 2012-12-19 00:00:00)
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