A lesson in politcal etiquette

We have previously noted that Minnesota is in the midst of a budget battle pitting the governor against the DFL majority in the state senate as well as a few weak-kneed members of the Republican party, mostly in the state senate as well. Governor Tim Pawlenty was elected to office in November on a no-new-taxes pledge. For weeks the Minneapolis Star Tribune has waged a relentless New York Times-style campaign, on both the news and editorial pages, supporting the DFL effort to break the governor and force his capitulation to a variety of tax increases.
Yesterday’s contribution to the Star Tribune campaign was a news story featuring the advice of four former Minnesota governors (two of them Republican) to increase taxes: “Four former governors say taxes should be increased.” David Strom of the Taxpayers League — the invaluable Minnesota organization that secured the governor’s original no-new-taxes pledge — has written a powerful response to the Star Tribune story. At our request, Strom has kindly posted his response on the organization’s Web site so that we could make it available to our readers: “Gee, thanks for your advice.”

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