By Pat Anderson
St. Paul Pioneer Press, Jan. 23, 2010
When I terminated my campaign for governor to enter the race for state auditor, it stirred up a lot of talk about whether or not Sen. Norm Coleman would throw his hat in the ring for governor. A week ago, Sen. Coleman made it clear now is not the time for him to make another run at public office.
As a former mayor, I concur with the Pioneer Press editorial asserting that it is Sen. Coleman’s executive experience in government, not his reputation as a “moderate,” that would have made him a formidable candidate in the governor’s race. Addressing the reality of the state’s structural budget deficit and a level of government intervention that is no longer sustainable requires a big-picture executive perspective.
However, the real insight of the Pioneer Press editorial, “Moderation has it limits,” is the observation that it “defies reality” to think that “We’ll be fine if we just cut a little more and tax a little more, so we need a ‘moderate’ governor who’s willing to do both.” These times do not call for moderation. They call for “radical thinking, leadership and action” opines the Pioneer Press.
Unfortunately, that line of reasoning is rare. Moderates of either political party, in defiance of reality, are conventionally regarded as somehow more acceptable and electable than their more ideological peers. I disagree with that view. Further, I argue that only a fiscally conservative governor who understands and creates policy based on clear economic principles can achieve the reforms necessary to keep Minnesota competitive and prosperous in the 21st century and preserve our vaunted and valued quality of life.
The Republican candidate for governor must have both the wisdom to redefine the role of government based on constitutional obligations and essential services and the courage to step outside the ideological box and recognize Minnesotans are worried and their concerns are real. He must think and act consistent with economic principle and form coalitions with like-thinking, not necessarily like-labeled legislators. He must be about reducing the scope of government, not just the size of government, and about reducing the total tax burden on Minnesotans, not just reducing discrete taxes.
While I am a candidate for state auditor, not governor, I remain a fiscal conservative and a Minnesotan with a lot at stake in the governor’s race. Minnesota’s current progressive high tax/high service model of government has morphed into a state of ever increasing demands for public services producing huge budget deficits — the result of consistently compromising economic principle to an unrealistic imposition of “fairness” and an antiquated tax system.
Before the new governor can reduce taxes, he must address the structural problems of the state’s tax system. He must move Minnesota away from job-killing corporate and personal income taxes toward a low-rate, broad-based sales tax. He must have the courage to be open and honest with Minnesotans about what he is doing and the knowledge to make his case not with sound bites but with sound economics.
The war we are currently waging between “tax the rich” and “no new taxes” is a political quagmire and our state’s prosperity is collateral damage. Keeping Minnesota prosperous requires a new strategy that charts a course based on economic principle and limited constitutional government – and only a limited-government, fiscally conservative governor at the helm can steer that course.
Minnesota needs serious tax reform and a serious redefinition of the role of government at both the state and local level. That means eliminating inefficient taxes in favor of a more efficient tax system. It means eliminating services that are outside government’s constitutional responsibilities but expanding (albeit effectively and efficiently) government in areas where it is not meeting those constitutional obligations. Minnesotans will not trust a liberal or a moderate to carry out those necessary reforms.
As the saying goes, “only Nixon could go to China,” and only a conservative governor can credibly apply economic and constitutional principle, free of ideology, to the kitchen table concerns of Minnesotans. Only a forceful and uncompromising fiscally conservative governor can break ideological gridlock and end the long-standing and unproductive “tax the rich/no new taxes” debate. Only a fiscal conservative with unimpeachable credibility can bring left and right together without compromising principle.
None of the liberal, moderate or “suspect” conservatives in the race can be that guy. A reform-minded conservative who can apply principles to problems must emerge from the GOP field. The future of Minnesota hangs in the balance.
Pat Anderson, former mayor of Eagan, Minnesota state auditor and state commissioner of employee relations, is currently a candidate for the Republican nomination for state auditor.
