Fixing Potholes On The Road and At The Top

A transportation package that would benefit roads, bridges and mass transit is a reality because, for the first time since Republican Tim Pawlenty became Minnesota's governor in 2003, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-dominated Legislature overrode one of his vetoes. And, for good measure, his lieutenant governor Carol Molnau no longer moonlights as the head of the transportation department.

The new law, which goes into effect later this year, would raise $6.6 billion dollars by levying the first Minnesota gas tax in 20 years. It would go up by at least five cents the first year, then a little more thereafter.

Six Republican House members joined 85 DFLers in voting to override the veto 91-41. (The Senate voted 47-20) For their trouble, the six were called on the carpet by the GOP leadership for the sin of (A) commiserating with the enemy, and (B) breaking from the conservative mantra that any tax is a bad tax, no matter how much it might benefit your constituents.

Governor Pawlenty has used his Magic Veto Pen 37 times since taking office, in the name of cutting the budget. Which is all well and good, unless the end result is a state that's so screwed up, no amount of money can undo the damage.

Granted, this is not the best time to launch an ambitious transportation program. As it happens, the economy's in the tank. Foreclosures are rampant. Unemployment is up. Four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline is a real possibility. But in the wake of the 35W bridge collapse, and with so many roads and bridges falling apart, it needed to be done.

Which leads us to Molnau, for whom the Senate decided to take away her role as head of Minnesota's Department of Transportation. From all reports, she made a mess of things when she mistook political considerations for leadership, possibly endangering thousands of lives in the process.

Governor Pawlenty has been campaigning for John McCain's presidential run, allegedly on his own time and spending his own money, and has been rumored to be in line to be the Arizona senator's running mate. One wonders whether the ouster of Molnau was a wise thing to do, given the possibility that she could become governor should McCain be elected President of the United States and Pawlenty becomes his Vice President. In that case, what was the DFL leadership thinking?