Letter: Dayton reaches out to people of state

I read your editorial of July 13 regarding Gov. Dayton’s travels across the state, and it was clear to me that that you missed the point. Gov. Dayton’s road trip across Minnesota was not, as your reporter says “an effort to convince Minnesotans that it is worth shutting down state government to get a budget from the Republican controlled legislature.”

As reported in other papers across the state, the governor was showing Minnesotans “what’s at stake.” The governor took the issues that caused the shutdown out of the capital, where they were mired in partisan politics, to seek perspective where the rubber meets the road.

I watched Gov. Dayton’s meeting in St. Cloud via webcast. The governor met with citizens and sought their input. He heard what they wanted. At least one person stood up and challenged the governor, and Dayton’s response was to insist that the crowd politely hear what everyone has to say.

Gov. Dayton was reaching out to the people of the state and asking us to help end the crisis. The Republican legislative leaders refused to negotiate.

As WCCO news Fact Check documented, Republicans added “poison pill” clauses to their legislation, blocking any chance of agreement. 

Gov. Dayton made multiple compromise offers, all of which were rejected by GOP leaders. Going to the people, hearing their concerns and then asking them to speak to their legislators seems the wisest course left to him. After all, we are the employers of those obstinate legislators. The real power lies with us.

I, for one, am glad Gov. Dayton went out on the road and kept working toward a solution instead of sitting around in St. Paul.

Tags: opinion, letter