Gov. Pawlenty Predicts Taxpayer Revolt

That Gov. Pawlenty is predicting a taxpayer revolt is fantastic news for someone who created a blog called Taxpayer Revolt: We Are Not ATM's. Here's how Gov. Pawlenty made that prediction:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty today predicted Minnesota taxpayers would revolt against the gas and other tax increases that Democrats in the Legislature imposed on them Monday by overriding his veto of the transportation bill.

"Yesterday the DFL had their day raising taxes," Pawlwenty said at a Capitol news conference. "Now the taxpayers of Minnesota will have their days between now and when they get to decide how they want this Legislature to run in the future and who's going run it.

"Yesterday will be the day that began a tax revolt in Minnesota," he said with uncharacteristic passion.

Consider that the opening salvo of the 2008 campaign to return GOP to majority status in the Minnesota House of Representatives. I've seen people react with a white hot passion to this tax increase. Outstate Democrats & Republicans should be worried this fall if they voted for the transit tax increase.

The first indicator of people's disgust with tax increases came in November when Minnesotan rejected a significant number of school board levy requests. Another indicator nationally came when Oregon rejected an 85 cent per pack cigarette tax increase. By itself, that would've been newsworthy. That they rejected that tax even though every penny of that increase would've gone to pay for a children's health care program is startling.

This week & weekend, county & district BPOU's will hold their endorsing conventions. It's a formality that Ron Erhardt won't get endorsed. Other BPOU's might send a similar message to the Wayward 6.

Here's another 'reminder' from Gov. Pawlenty:

"The Republican brand, the Republican credibility depends on keeping a lid on and reducing taxes," he said. "That's who we are. That's what we do." He hinted that he would pay back legislators for overturning his veto.

"I guess the announcement over the loudspeaker on the airplane will be: 'Please
buckle your seat belts because there may be some unexpected turbulence,'" he said.

Personally, I'd love finding out that Gov. Pawlenty's staff had compiled a list of all the unjustifiable spending items being considered for inclusion into the bonding bill. Once it passed, I'd use the line item veto to cancel out anything that's wasteful. Like say this item:

$18,197,000, this appropriation is to the commissioner of administration for repair and renovation of the exterior of the Department of Transportation Building

or this:

$23,983,000 for design, construction, furnishing, and equipping a new Department of Transportation district headquarters facility in Mankato

or this:

$4,299,000 for predesign, design, construction, and restoration of historic roadside properties on the Great River Road

Unfortunately, these items can't be vetoed because they were in the Transportation Bill. That said, there won't be a shortage of targets in the bonding bill. If there's anything guaranteed other than death & taxes, it's that politicians seeking re-election won't run out of ideas to waste taxpayer's money.

Technorati: DFL, Tax Increases, Ron Erhardt, MNGOP, Tim Pawlenty, Bonding Bill, Taxpayer Revolt, Election 2008