Erratic

In about a week, Gov. Mark Dayton will be sworn in for his second term as Minnesota governor. It was reported recently that Dayton will make education one of the primary focuses of this next legislative session. When one is a far left governor and said gov pledges to make something a top priority, it essentially means continuing to throw money at a system that is already floundering.

As such, Minnesota Action Network, an organization which former US Senator Norm Coleman is affiliated, released an ad recently which was critical of how school teachers are retained. 

As usual, Gov. Dayton gave a very thoughtful, substantive retort.

“I guess there’s an ad out now from Norm Coleman’s group,” Dayton said. “Norm should stay in Washington and hang out with his rich friends.”

Dayton said Coleman should “leave education policy to those who live here and whose careers are here.”

“Even before the session’s starting, running ads about denying some child a good teacher based on their ideological premise, to me is insulting, beneath what should be his dignity,” Dayton said.

He called proposals for ending teacher tenure “the usual garbage.”

Yep. Four more years (or less?) of an erratic, thin-skinned member of the executive branch who has the audacity to chide others' financial status all the while ignoring the fact he used his inherited wealth (and his ex-wife's) to buy political office to push a progressive agenda. Nice gig if ya can get it.

Oh, and in case you think the word "erratic" might be a bit harsh, consider this pivot from priority issues like transportation and education.

"They talk about the concern about attendance at the Gopher games -- they start them at 11 o'clock in the morning," Dayton said Tuesday in an interview with the Pioneer Press. "I'm going to propose that we pass a law that no (Division I FBS) football game in Minnesota can start before noon."

Dayton said 11 a.m. kickoffs -- as the Gophers had for home games this year against Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa and Ohio State -- are just too early.

"If you want to tailgate, you have to be there by 9 a.m.," Dayton said. "Most students I don't think are awake at 9 a.m."

You mean to tell me we're going to get government involved in an endeavor like college football so college students aren't deprived of a bratwurst and a cold beverage four Saturdays per year? Goodness gracious, isn't bad enough that these young adults are already dependent on government for so much before they're even in the job market (e.g. government subsidized student loans, ability to remain on parents' health insurance until age 26, etc)?

Once again, this is a cautionary tale of bigger government. Since the state of Minnesota is on the hook for nearly half the cost of the Gophers' home venue of TCF Bank Stadium, government feels they can dictate terms of the operation. We've already seen a glimpse of that with the Vikings' new stadium.

The sad part is this behavior displayed by Gov. Dayton isn't exactly a deviation from his first term. Despite that, somehow he received more than 50% of the votes cast for governor eight weeks ago. Utterly stupefying.

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