Letter: DFL, GOP must tackle state issues together

To the Editor:

The elections are over, thankfully! Congratulations to all of the victors. To the defeated, bravo for having the fortitude to put your name on the ballot.

Now the difficult and tedious business of running government begins.

As a Democrat and a person who strongly believes in representative government, I was elated with the overall results of the evening, especially the defeat of both constitutional amendments.

Going forward, this election does not give carte blanch to the new DFL majorities to run state government as they see fit. While out door-knocking for several candidates, I heard full-well that the voters were fed up with the Republican over-the-top partisan bickering, the cavalier way in which the Republicans shut-down government, their failure to negotiate in good faith with Gove. Mark Dayton and their abdication of their duties in regard to the proposed constitutional amendments.

With that said, there are Republicans who are willing to work across party lines to legitimately address the most pressing issues facing our state; the DFL should welcome their ideas and suggestions, for no one party or one person has a monopoly on all of the best solutions.

Our state faces a gauntlet of serious and potentially crippling issues that have not been properly addressed since 2001. Our state’s budget has not been actually balanced since the last years of the Ventura administration. The trickery and slight-of-hand that resides within our budget needs to be fixed and fixed in a balanced and thoughtful approach.

This means that there will be tax increases for some and a reduction in benefits to others. Spreading the pain is the only prudent path forward. Governor Dayton is ready to deal with these issues head-on, now it is up to the Legislature to meet him in the middle.

Congratulations to all those who were elected … now roll-up your sleeves and put your shoulder to the wheel. It is going to be a long and hard slog to the end of the 2013 legislative session.

Steve Murphy

St. Paul

Steve Murphy, former District 28 senator from Red Wing, retired in 2010.

Tags: opinion, letters