Apr 9, 2008 11:06 pm US/Central
Reality Check: Bonding Vetoes, Politics Or Policy?
(WCCO)
Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty left Minnesota Democrats sputtering in anger this week after he vetoed $200 million of their favorite construction projects. So was the governor's veto about politics or policy?
For some lawmakers, Pawlenty's vetoes were the unkindest cuts of all. Of the vetoed projects, 98 percent belonged to Democrats, including every one in Minnesota's capitol city.
"Every project in St. Paul is vetoed," said Democratic Reps. Sandy Pappas and Ellen Anderson. "What does the governor got against St. Paul? What have we done?"
It's TRUE.
The governor took his veto ax and gave St. Paul 11 whacks; everything from Como Park's gorilla cages to the Central Corridor commuter rail line connecting St. Paul to Minneapolis.
Pawlenty called the bill too expensive and said that the cuts were nothing personal.
"They overspent the budget," he said. "They had a very difficult time saying no to anybody."
Reality Check's Pat Kessler thinks that's a FAIR claim.
The vetoes included Democratic projects with the highest price tags. In fact, in this massive $925 million bonding bill, Democrats tucked in $894 million of their pet programs while Republicans got only $31 million.
Whether or not politics are involved in the veto decisions is another question.
"There's a difference between supporting hockey and playing hockey and having a reasonable expansion of hockey arenas," said Pawlenty. "But making sure other priorities also get funded."
Here's what you NEED TO KNOW.
Last week, the governor criticized hockey arenas in the bill as maybe too expensive but he didn't veto them. And this week, he's on a kind-of victory tour around the state, ceremonially signing those hockey arenas into law.
That's Reality Check.
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