Governor Dayton thanks his fishing guide, Buck Lescarbeau, with a fist bump after a successful fishing expedition. Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and House Speaker Kurt Daudt look on. (PHOTO: Office of the Governor)
Last weekend brought the opener of the Minnesota walleye and northern fishing season, one of our northern state’s most cherished traditions. Each Opening Day our state’s governor is expected to navigate the cold waters of a lake on a borrowed boat to catch a walleye regardless of his or her skill or interest in doing so. In this act, the thin line between man and nature is enforced while tourists learn that even grit-grinning politicians can catch walleye in the North Star State.
This year, the event took on political significance as Gov. Mark Dayton (DFL-Minn.) invited State Senate Majority Leader Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) and House Speaker Rep. Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) along for the trip. These three leaders hold the cards to the conclusion of the Minnesota legislative session, which is required to adjourn by the end of Monday, May 18.
While the party managed to snag 35 fish, the prospects for an orderly conclusion to the session seems much less likely.
For one thing, we are again entering the same budget conundrum that has been part of the state’s politics for almost 20 years. Republicans who firmly believe that the budget is too big demand tax cuts, spending cuts and no new spending. DFLers who firmly believe that Minnesota’s more vigorous spending is a key to its relatively stronger quality of life want investment in schools, colleges, health and services. The House is controlled by the GOP; the Senate by the DFL.
Historically, there are two advantages in the negotiations. The state executive has an inherent horse-trading advantage, but the party that is content with disruptions to government has less to lose in a game of chicken. Normally, with a big surplus and a DFL Governor and Senate, you’d expect a DFL-leaning solution that moved about “33 percent” toward House GOP priorities. But it doesn’t inherently work that way.
One thing that is different is that both parties seem equally invested in a transportation bill, spending on roads and infrastructure. Highways and bridges are a more universally popular form of government spending. But even in this area of large-scale agreement, the means to pay for it is so widely disagreed-upon that even the success of a transportation bill is in question.
Adding further drama is the fact that the day after the session is to close on May 18, the whole State Capitol is closing for a major remodeling project. If lawmakers fail to pass a bill that Gov. Dayton will sign, any special session would be held in a hotel ballroom or rented hall. Hell, maybe a bowling alley. Who knows?
So what did these guys talk about on the boat? Fish, apparently. All three told reporters that the state budget was not discussed.
There’s only so much you can do in boat on a windy, cold day — a truth that spans untold generations of fishing and politics alike.
Is this still a tradition that is needed? As one who lives on Vermilion, I sure don’t think so. Seemed more like hype and bad pandering to me.