Night of the Living Shinebox!

I'll never forget the town bully picking a fight with the quiet, smart kid on the playground at Wickford Elementary School, in Rhode Island.  The quiet kid was already a blackbelt, something the bully didn't know.  The quiet kid tried to walk away and tried to tell the bully he was making a mistake.  The bully kept pushing him.  The quiet kid proceeded to lay down one of the worst beatdowns I've ever seen in my life; a brutal assault which led to the bully actually transferring schools.  The lesson: bullies are not smart enough to know when to walk away.

Speaker of the Minnesota House Kurt Daudt is the bully on the Minnesota Government playground.  He wants everything done his way, relying on lies, deceit and pushing people around to move his agenda forward.  He angrily attacks anyone he feels is in his way.  He's Don Quixote, looking for windmills to slay.

He's set his sights on the quiet, smart kid on the playground, Governor Mark Dayton.  They're supposed to play together as a team, but Daudt hates Dayton.  After getting one cheap shot in on Dayton a few years ago, Daudt has been consistently flicking at the Governor's ear.  Time and time again, the Governor has turned to face his bully, warned him to stop, and then effectively dismantled him, handing Daudt beatdowns which are simplistic and vicious.  It's so bad, at this point, I'm starting to hope Daudt, for his own mental stability, is not dumb enough to go up against the Governor again.

But Daudt is not smart enough to walk away.

Let's take you back to the Progressive Citizen X post from September, 'Return of the Shinebox!'  In it, we recapped Governor Mark Dayton winning against Kurt Daudt and the Minnesota Republicans at the Minnesota Supreme Court.  The Republicans, after trying to force the Governor's hand (meaning the Legislative Branch tired to force the Executive Branch to do their will) were incensed when Dayton line item vetoed the budget for the Legislature, effectively counterpointing their initial meddling, and telling them they need to negotiate honestly.  Oblivious to the irony, they bellowed the Governor was illegally controlling the Legislature.  The MNGOP sued the Governor.  The Minnesota Supreme Court initially ruled in September the Governor's line item veto was Constitutional, and ordered the Minnesota Congressional Republicans to go to mediation with Governor Dayton.  This was an undeniable win for Dayton.  Read about it here:  https://progressivecitizenx.blogspot.com/2017/09/return-of-shinebox.html

Two things I want you to take away from that story.  First, Kurt Daudt insisted the Minnesota Congressional Republicans hadn't lost, even when they clearly had.  The second was how the Republicans feel as if jeopardizing the well being of all Minnesotans is a bargaining chip.  They DO NOT CARE about the quality of life for the vast majority of Minnesotans, only that they 'win.'

Almost immediately after the court ordered mediation began, both parties walked away from it.  Republicans refused to budge one inch, while the Governor just wanted to negotiate honestly.  Honesty is not a Republican virtue.  Also, the Minnesota Supreme Court called out Daudt and the Republicans for dramatically underreporting the amount of money they had at their disposal for Congressional day to day operations.  The MNGOP was trying to make it seem like they had no cash, but in reality they had more than enough money to take them into the next Legislative session.

After having their hand forced The Minnesota Supreme Court had to come to a final resolution, and on Thursday they did, handing Daudt and the Republicans another stunning defeat.

The MN Supreme Court, in a 5-1 ruling, stated it was completely legal when the Governor line item vetoed the Legislature's budget.  And considering the Republicans at the Legislature actually had enough money available to them to make it to the beginning of the next Legislative session, and considering the MN Supreme Court does not have the authority to 'pass' funding bills, they ruled they had no authority, or need, to force the Governor to expand the Legislature's daily operating budget, stating the Legislative Branch can solve this problem themselves when the next Legislative session begins.

The Court did not weigh in on if the Governor's actions constituted a 'coercing' of the MN Congressional Republicans.  The Republicans have the power to fix this when they reconvene, so 'no blood no foul.'

The reluctance of the Republicans to mediate with sincerity, and their lies about how much money they had at their disposal, set the stage for the MN Supreme Court to fall back on the easiest option; "you guys solve this when the next session begins."  It should also be pointed out, back when arguments for this case were being heard, the Supreme Court Justices made a point of how the Legislature was solely to blame for the timeline on this issue.  The Governor had nothing to do with the Legislature waiting until the last second to pass all these bills and then immediately recessing.  That was the decision of Legislative leaders, meaning this outcome should've been something they considered.

This also means the Minnesota Supreme Court has washed their hands of this, with the clear message "if you can't solve this on your own during the next session, DO NOT COME BACK TO US!  This is on you!"  The Republican's two options are either to work with Governor Dayton, or to shut their pie holes.

Once again the delusional nature of Speaker Daudt came to light.  After the ruling left him sputtering, he picked a fight with reality, insisting the matter remained 'unsettled.'  Well, outside of that binding Minnesota Supreme Court ruling...pardon me a second...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Here's where Kurt Daudt and the Republicans dropped the act, and showed how little they care about the vast majority of Minnesotans.  In retaliation for their loss, as they were throwing a temper tantrum, Republicans vowed to stop making payments on the new Senate Office building, potentially ruining the state's bond rating, and in turn limiting the ability for the state to borrow money for other future projects.  They're only doing this out of spite!  What a bunch of f-ing crybabies. This is the latest example of Minnesota Republicans going out of their way to outright threaten their constituents.  It's a misguided attempt to find a victory in another stunning loss.

Because Kurt Daudt and the Republicans are unlikely to be grown ups, the 2018 Legislative session might already be a lost cause.  They might pass a bunch of bills which have similar language as the 2017 tax bill did, only targeting other government departments.  "Pass this massive pork project bill for Republican districts, or we completely defund the Minnesota Department of Education!" Dayton could just veto the bill anyway, and when the school year begins, during the months before an election, the MNGOP will have to beg the Governor for a special session to fix their incompetent maneuvering.  Then again, Dayton might just line item veto everything in the entire bill, but the "sign or else" threat, and then sign the bill.  That would be hilarious!

The best thing for Kurt would be for him to give up.  He's undeniably lost again and he can't beat Governor Dayton in a fair fight.  It won't stop him for trying.  He's really not that smart.

Mr. Speaker, K-Dogg, Kurty, you know the drill!  Go grab your shinebox, the Governor is waiting!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!