Bob CollinsThe vacation is over. It’s back to work.
I had planned to spend most of the day — and night — at the Capitol for the “greatest show in town” — the last hour of a session. Alas, goodwill and bipartisanship decided to make a comeback over the weekend and the governor and all the pols gathered for the singing of the unofficial state song — Kumbaya.
The initial reviews have been fairly positive. The exception is the process by which the agreements were reached. Says the Star Tribune editorial:
While there’s much to admire about Sunday’s agreement, the process that produced it was not pretty. It was the result of two weeks of private talks between Pawlenty and a handful of legislative leaders. They were shielded from public scrutiny while hammering out the year’s most important decisions.
And yet, the process seems to have worked.
One of the reasons I started the Minnesota Fantasy Legislature last year was to provide some illumination on the work of 201 legislators, instead of just a half dozen or so “leaders.” But maybe the reality is that a half dozen or so legislators, a governor, and a closed door is what leads to session results that — as the Star Tribune editorial said — “will move this state in a positive direction, in ways big and small.”
Your opinion?
