Senatorial Partisanship

On August 21, Senator Rick Olseen (D-17) wrote a news release entitled Time to Invest in Transportation Infrastructure. With the need to rebuild the I-35W bridge is mind, he wrote:

The time is now to come together in the spirit of compromise and bipartisanship to reach a solution that properly addresses the funding deficiencies that have been plaguing our transportation system for many years.

On September 12, he wrote about the one day special session to provide disaster relief, saying:

I’m pleased that the governor and Legislature were able to work together and deliver this much-needed relief to those who have been affected by this disaster. Although I am disappointed that this special session did not address the broad safety concerns facing our state’s roads and bridges, I’m hopeful that this spirit of compromise will continue and an agreement on a comprehensive transportation package will be reached in time for the 2008 Legislative Session.

While we may not agree with all of Senator Olseen’s solutions, his tone is much appreciated. He expresses that the Governor, Senate and House must work together for Minnesota, laying partisanship aside.

After this seeming good start, however, Olseen is now lining up with his DFL buddies against the Pawlenty administration, calling for the resignation of Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau. T.W. Budig reports about Olseen:

"The best possible thing for her (Molnau) is to gracefully resign and pass the torch to someone else," said Sen. Rick Olseen, DFL-Harris, speaking at a Wednesday (Sept. 26) press conference in the shadow of the Lafayette Bridge on the Mississippi River in St. Paul.

What happened to the spirit of compromise and bipartisanship? He has joined the attack dogs. Without adequately stating publicly any actual causes or reasons, the wolf pack just wants to take her down. The dogs smell blood and will not be satisfied until they get it.

With this latest declaration, we now should return to his two press releases. Perhaps we need to read them as a statement that the Republican Governor needs to demonstrate a spirit of compromise and bipartisanship and that Olseen was not personally adopting a spirit of compromise and bipartisanship. If that is not the case, he has changed his attitude from August to September.

Once this attitude is adopted, Molnau will not be able to do anything right in the eyes of the attack dogs. Anything that goes wrong (and there is plenty of that), will be her fault even if it is not her fault. We had hoped for a statesman; we are getting a partisan politician.