An inspired Mark Dayton delivered a rousing speech to about 400 DFL faithful today at the party’s Central Committee meeting in St. Paul.
His remarks came soon after the assembled delegates voted by acclamation to endorse Dayton and his running mate, Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, as the party’s candidates for governor and lieutenant governor.
Dayton, of course, defeated the party’s previously endorsed candidate, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, in the August 10 primary election.
“It’s great to be together again on the same side,” Dayton told the DFL activists. “Margaret ran a great campaign, and the DFL party gave a tremendous effort in her behalf. … That’s why it was so close and that’s why it’s so hard. But [what] would be much harder and much worse for us … would be four years under Gov. Tom Emmer.”
Dayton went on to criticize Emmer, the GOP candidate, and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner for not being willing to increase the income taxes of the state’s richest citizens.
In recent years, Dayton said, most of the tax burden has fallen on middle-income and working Minnesotans.
“It’s fundamentally unfair, it’s fundamentally wrong. Tom Emmer and Tom Horner think it’s terrific, and Yvonne and I think it’s terrible,” he said to a roaring crowd of supporters, adding: “I think most Minnesotans who can afford to pay more taxes — the top 10 percent — are willing to do so … for the sake of the future of Minnesota. And on November second we’ll find out.”
He vowed an end to the “bashing” of teachers and public employees during his administration and support for “universal health care” in the state.
After all that red meat, the delegates and others moved on to the party’s annual barbecue, where Emmer and Horner were most likely on the menu.
…on the barbie
“Well I woke up this morning and got to thinkin ’bout all things been said…” (Aerosmith “Eat the Rich”).
Tax The Rich is one thing but doesn’t fill the bill. Eat them at the barbie, fry ’em on the grill.
Rich man’s greed is hard to swallow… “but go real good with wine…”
“In recent years, Dayton said, most of the tax burden has fallen on middle-income and working Minnesotans.”
Right. And according to his income tax statement, Dayton is middle income….never mind the tens of millions he’s got stashed in the bank….he’s one of us.
Another Democrat fraud.
Earlier in the year, before the “season” even began, I really thought that with a $6B biennial deficit and a longer-range structural deficit staring us in the face and the national/state economy headed into the crapper, we could not possibly countenance a 2010 gubernatorial contest filled with the usual cutesy, bizarre and false personal attack ads, irrelevancy and misdirection.
How wrong a guy can be.
Now, with 3 months to go, we are still up to our necks in wandering eyeballs, one-pony tricks (tax the rich), ancient DWI arrests, “I’m from the farm” misdirection, candidate discussion that shows they have no earthly idea how the state budget works, avoidance of the gorilla in the room, and guys whose easy budget-fix solution is to cut the guts out of the budget now demonstrating their testosterone levels by showing us their cute wives and kids.
Once again, the intelligence of the electorate is under-respected, and the stage is being set for a whopper of a January surprise.
We are so screwed.
(BTW…I am well into production of a history of Minnesota’s U.S. senators…if you have ideas, leads, suggestions, stories, something to add or just want to comment I’d be glad to hear from you.)
Swift (above) says: Right. And according to his income tax statement, Dayton is middle income….never mind the tens of millions he’s got stashed in the bank….”
Well Swift, in the years he EARNED those large amounts, under his proposal, he would have paid more tax!
It’s an INCOME tax he proposes, not an IN THE BANK tax. Duh!
The GOP track record on saving money is completely blemished. 2002-2003 was the largest increase in the size of MN state government in the last fifteen years. The GOP was in charge then, both in Minnesota and nationally.
On many votes over many years, numerous GOP legislators voted against and our governor vetoed $200 million efficiency savings per budget by pooling K-12 teacher and staff health policies statewide. Our governor’s own budget office produced a study to show these impressive savings. Wouldn’t this have been the most successful example yet of the savings Tom Emmer claims he wants to achieve by reducing redundant government services?
The NFIB says health care costs are the #1 factor hurting businesses in America. You have to deal with this. Otherwise, you can’t claim to create jobs.