You won't get rid of Peter Bell! He is only doing what he is told and so long as he stays on the straight and narrow path marked for him, he will be there as long as Mr. Pawlenty is governor.
Many of us can't remember what it is like to have an ideologue in the Governor's office! Governor Ventura, Governor Carlson, and Governor Perpich acted in what they believed was the best interest of the state and its people and did not care what their respective party platform said or ideology was. One may agree or disagree with any or all of their actions; one may have disliked any or all of them as individuals or found their style of governing distasteful, but the fact is that they did not govern with their party platform in one hand and a Bible in the other. Gov. Pawlenty and his cabinet are doing exactly what we should have expected. They dislike unions and the people who lead them and regard them as anachronisms. If Gov. Pawlenty wanted the strike to end, Mr. Bell would move quickly to end it. Instead, the Pawlenty Administration views the strike as an "opportunity" to look at "alternative strategies" for urban transit, hence this willingness to use "strike savings" to fund social service providers to furnish transportation to transit dependent people. I was told on Friday by a source in the Administration that they expect - hope - several churches or other religious organizations step forward and claim a share of the money to provide the service which will further another part of the agenda. How do we stop Gov. Pawlenty? What will it take? We have an election this November; every seat in the House is up for election. Ending Republican control of the House is the only short term solution for stopping him! It would also help if a couple of DFL senators would quit voting with Republicans most of the time! Longer term, we need to make 2006 watershed year where the people of Minnesota reject this hard shell conservative governance and replace it with new leadership that is pragmatic and focused on the public welfare and not corporate welfare. Since Gov. Pawlenty is poised to run against Sen. Dayton, and the Republican Party will have the three "Ladies In Waiting" fighting for the nomination (Lt. Gov. Molnau, Secretary of State Kiffmeyer, State Auditor Anderson Awada all want to be governor - badly) with each trying to be the most conservative setting off a terrific intra-party fight, there could be a huge opportunity for the people to re-claim the Governor's office. Jim Bernstein Fulton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Shove Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 1:27 AM To: Dan McGuire Cc: Mpls Forum Subject: Re: [Mpls] Peter Bell on Almanac So how do we get rid of Bell? How can we stop Pawlenty? What will it take? --David Shove On Fri, 12 Mar 2004, Dan McGuire wrote: > Peter Bell's haughty, take it or leave attitude on Almanac was hard > to watch. He clearly gave the impression that he was not interested in > negotiating and that he thought that negotiations were not necessary. > He already had it figured out and the bus drivers simply needed to > accept what he decided. It appears that he thinks he can get away with > it politically. > We will all lose, and especially Minneapolitans, if he does get > away with forcing the workers to shoulder the cost increases. It was > clear that he wasn't worried about his copays or prescriptions. > Everyone who is part of a group health plan should be concerned if Bell > and Pawlenty win this one. I don't doubt that they will be rewarded so > that their copays really won't be an issue for them. > Their bread and crumbs for the masses is insulting. > Dan McGuire > Ericsson > > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
