A John Marty message. As American as Apple Pie. About dealing with the Unalloter's Manifesto.

It is an email from "jmarty@apple-pie.org".

If you are unfamiliar with the Apple Pie Alliance, check the website:

http://www.apple-pie.org/aboutapa.htm

I could not find the recent item posted there. I do not have an item link. Hence, I will report the message via an excerpt from the Marty - APA emailing.

Start with the title, which in a way excerpts the entire thing, or at least gives the gist of a more detailed and cogently argued presentation:

to Progressive Friends
date Fri, May 14, 2010 at 4:38 PM
subject fyi. Here is a letter I sent to DFL legislators today. Any ideas how we can get people to stand up to the governor?

I quote more below.

However, let us start by remembering the defining moment in the governance of our State by this individual, for which I acknowledge the worthy blog, Norwegianity, and its terminology "Governor BridgeFail" for the one person who's done most to begger the State's meeting its duties.

When the Bridge did fail, this is the esteemed individual who "manned up" to the responsibility being his for fiscal neglect, by throwing one of Molnau's two hats under the bus. I mean none other than the Mighty Tim.

 Being less creative, I call him, "The Unalloter." Sort of reminescent of the "Unabomber," each raising havoc in his own way until stopped; and each with a manifesto, where I need no link to the Unalloter's manifesto, since it's manifest in how he's mishandled his job.

Enough prelude. With that as an arguably superfluous introduction, moving to the text of the Marty message on standing up against the Unalloter's deranged chutzpah and his unending absurdity, which few can match.



Sen. Marty notes:

Remember that the legislature offered him a balanced budget last year, but he decided to veto the tax bill to pay for it, and rather than negotiate with the legislature, he chose to resolve the matter on his own.

Now, the Minnesota Supreme Court dealt Governor Pawlenty a big defeat in its ruling that he exceeded his authority by unallotting $2.7 billion in state programs and services. That left him with a massive budget problem, and little time to resolve it.

It is a big mistake for the legislature to take it on as the legislature's problem, because that is simply enabling his reckless behavior. It enables him to walk all over the legislature and do whatever he wants.

There is no way that the legislature can solve his problem, because he is unwilling to negotiate. Whatever the legislature proposes, he says no. He understands that the more often he says no, the more praise he gets in the Wall St. Journal and from the national conservative audience he is appealing to.

That's why his two day trip for the fishing opener helps his national stature -- he can remain above the fray and attack the legislature for failing to address its problem. Pawlenty couldn't do a better job of orchestrating a bold image. If he's criticized for being disengaged, one can imagine him ridiculing the legislature -- "It doesn't matter that I'm gone fishing...they'll still be bickering with each other when I get back..."

As long as we facilitate his irresponsible behavior, he gets his way on policy, AND he wins political points at the same time.

What is the alternative? Hold him accountable. Tim Pawlenty is the one who failed to sign a balanced budget. Tim Pawlenty is the one who illegally unallotted entire programs. Tim Pawlenty is the one that the court held accountable. Pawlenty broke the law. Pawlenty failed to balance the budget. Pawlenty preaches "personal responsibility." It is time for him to take responsibility for his own problems.

Tell him to come up with a solution. Now that he has left for the fishing opener -- as Steve Murphy pointed out to our caucus, nobody goes fishing when their house is on fire -- tell him we are not going to waste taxpayer time and money in session until he is ready to face up to his problems. We stand by, ready to work with him, as soon as he takes his job seriously, [...]

Because I expect the Apple Pie Alliance webmaster to have the item up soon, I will not steal all the thunder by posting its entirety, as an "excerpt." Once it is prominently posted at the APA site you can read it all, and readers correct me if I have mis-navigated and it already is posted there.

I think that abuse, clear and intentional abuse of the unallotment statute may ultimately be as great a landmark and defining moment for Gov. BridgeFail (I do like that name) as his responsibility - fiscally - for the failing falling bridge disaster.


______________________
And this mediocre GOP hack has ambitions of national office. We in Minnesota should feel duly embarrassed. [credit: Unaltered Unabomber image from this site].

______________UPDATE____________
In looking at the APA website, its most recent item - or the most recent I could find - is worth a screenshot posting to encourage readers to examine the site. And incidently, Marty is correct in noting that the budgetary "elephant," IS the GOP's elephant. So why exactly has Obama so unquestioningly adopted and nurtured it as if his own? Disappointments abound:

____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
I should note, tying the elephant in the room to Obama's inaction in changing things is my complaint alone, not a part of the Marty email.

Indeed, I just got criticism from a friendly linear thinker, over mixing two themes together that I thought a grade-schooler could keep apart - the email on the Gov's hubris and his getting away with it because --- why, I don't know; and a separate APA theme on war cost.

I am sorry and apologize to those I might have confused.

I am unaware of how wide an "activist" circulation the email attained, but in any event it reminds me of the story, probably a folk tale of long standing but I heard it as a Ross Perot story. Somebody threw a snake on the table at a board meeting. A half dozen, perhaps a dozen voices noted in unison, "A snake!" Perot was the only one who thought to beat it to death with a stick. Why I get that thought again in mind, I cannot exactly say.

I'd expect some hold sticks in the legislature. I'd hope some remember how and when to use them.

Anyway, back to the Eric Black "Read This" item I linked to in the body of the following post; see, this link.

It appears the BridgeFail man fishes while the government works because he's packed the court; readjusted the majority nose count; and probably feels he can unallot again and get a different result; somber sophistry and all.

It is offensive that those with little or no wealth are getting raw deals dealt to them, courtesy of the absentee fisherman, while he vetoed a miniscule heightened tax upon the rich.

It is bad, bad, bad, BAD government and I am glad we at least have Sen. Marty to be saying so.

I agree with him, 100%, and do not like the gone-fishing Emperor's clothes.

Nor do I think much about packing the Court. Nor is there much merit in having a situation in the legislature where some GOP members have their own spending pets and likes and are willing to work across the aisle, while the Governor is saying, in effect, screw Minnesota I have my own ambitions and agenda.

__________FURTHER UPDATE_________
I am so rankled by this it's hard to let the post stand without one more UPDATE, and apparently John Marty is also quite angry, upset and frustrated. That is the look of things. I promise this will close out the post. I worry that John Marty is climbing on his war horse, saying, "Follow me," and that perhaps he's saying it to a bunch of coat-holders. "Way, to go," and "Attaboy," will improve nothing.

So ---- I post yet more of what Marty wrote. Concluding paragraphs.

I ask for us to stand up to him, not to score political points (though legislators are going to have an interesting time campaigning on a platform of "we capitulated to the governor because we had to.")

I write because I am tired of being bullied by someone who doesn't care about the people of this state. Pawlenty doesn't care that his illegal unallotment of GAMC throws the lives of thousands of sick people into crisis. Pawlenty doesn't care that his illegal unallotment of the rent credit is a tax increase on those least able to afford it.

If he becomes known as a governor who needs to send out IOU's to creditors because he has a cash-flow problem, that is his problem. When he is ready to resolve the budget crisis that he created, we will work together with him. Until then, we should not destroy this great state in order to help him score political points with the Wall St. Journal.