Dear Mr. Sertich, The Sham is Your DFL Leadership
Posted by Andy on May 21st, 2007
Your DFL majority is the sham and a gimmick.
House Republicans Saturday afternoon (May 19) attempted to pass a late session transportation finance bill to avoid a possible “lights on” style bill.
House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, motioned to suspend House rules to bring forth the just-introduced legislation that contains $1.7 billion in highway bonding and $250 million in one-time money.
On the House floor, Seifert argued Democrats have taken a take-it-or-leave-it attitude to transportation funding this session.
Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, said the new legislation, which contains no tax increases, would be unlikely to be vetoed by the governor.
It’s not a perfect bill, Holberg said.
“(But) it’s more than a lights on bill,” she said.
Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, speaks on behalf of a House Republican transportation finance bill Saturday (May 19) afternoon on the House floor. The bill was tabled.
But House Transportation Finance Committee Chair Rep. Bernie Lieder, DFL-Crookston, criticized the bill for the use of one-time money — budget surplus dollars.
Lieder, in recent days, has spoken of having a “lights on” bill should the transportation finance bill vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty not be overridden.
The veto bill contains a gas tax increase and other revenue raisers.
House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, took issue with Seifert’s use of the term compromise in his floor remarks.
“Saying ‘No’ is not compromise,” he said, referring to Pawlenty’s veto.
Sertich styled Seifert’s transportation bill “a sham and a gimmick.”
The House, on a 87 to 34 vote, tabled the legislation.
(Hmmm, aren’t there 44 Republicans?)
Anyways, Mr. Sertich, let me explain this to you. Roads & Highways are one time money. You build them, and do it right, and you won’t have to rebuild them for decades. Your DFL and RINO supported transportation bill had one single goal, raise taxes because you wasted all the money elsewhere on your pet projects and special interest handouts.
Don’t you dare try to argue that YOU are not running a sham and gimmick game of 5 card draw in the House. you and your liberal cronies want to make Government bigger, not better. You have abused the power given to you by voters, and words will not dig you out of the liberal hole y’all have dug. I’m calling your bluff, er ah, the House Republicans did.
Voters have memories. they will remember that at the end of the day, the DFL and RINOs tried to railroad (read light rail) billions and billions in new taxes upon them.
The House Republicans tried to pass a responsible transportation bill that would have solved problems with out destroying the state’s economy and ripped money from the middle-class families.
Shame on you Mr. Sertich. All you want to do is make Government bigger and more burdensome.
So which 68 House seats are the Republicans gonna win in 2008 to put the adults back in charge of the people’s House and um, money?
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May 21st, 2007 at 8:34 am
Now THAT is the right question on transportation! Why, with $34 billion in hand, including a $2 billion surplus (whether it’s one time money or not, it’s “surplus” in that it’s not committed to anything) can the DFL not figure out a way to fund its “highest priority” of transportation? Usually, if something is your highest priority, you spend on that thing first, and maybe you give up something else when you run out of money at the other end.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:34 am
There’s actually 85 DFLers & 49 Republicans in the House but who’s counting?
I’m guessing that Ron Earhardt was one of the GOP voting with Sertich but it’s nothing more than a guess.
The good news is that the GOP prevented the flood of tax increases, provided property tax relief that’s verifiable & real & offered a common sense transportation bill that GOP candidates can beat their DFL opponents over the head with in 2008.
Happy days will soon be here again.
May 21st, 2007 at 6:17 pm
2008 seems like an awful long ways away right now with these drunken sailors at the helm of the State’s coffers.
(I mean no disrespect to drunken sailors)
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:58 am
Andy, please don’t repeat the drunken sailor joke ever again. It’s old and worn out, much like a certain GOP candidate that has repeated it at every debate.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
[...] you wasted all the money elsewhere on your pet projects and special interest handouts source: Dear Mr. Sertich, The Sham is Your DFL…, Residual [...]