The possibilities and opportunities thatseemingly opened up to the Northland in the wake of Tuesday's election are almost intoxicating.
But before the region, long loaded with Democrats, begins to feel drunk with power, it ought to remember: With great influence comes great responsibility. And no one -- not in Washington and not in St. Paul -- is going to simply open a spigot of spending on Northeastern Minnesota or on Northwestern Wisconsin, no matter which party is in control.
"You'd think ... this area is going to be helped because it's DFL country," Craig Grau, a retired University of Minnesota political science professor said last week after Democrats took control of the Minnesota House (turning a 68-66 Republican edge into an 85-49 DFL majority) and strengthened the party's grasp on the Minnesota Senate (increasing its majority from 39-28 to 44-23).
"But we'll have to wait and see," he cautioned.
Indeed. Minnesota's governor, who wields veto power, remains a Republican. Perhaps a Republican now more willing to compromise across party lines, however: "I'm going to really, really double and triple my efforts to reach out," that governor, Tim Pawlenty, told reporters in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. "We're going to build a commonagenda to make Minnesota an even better place."
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Let's hope so.
Let's hope, too, that the Northland's senior Democratic legislators wind up in positions of power power and influence. Rep. Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, was named last week House majority leader. Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, was considered for Senate majority leader before Larry Pogemiller of Minneapolis was named instead.
With chairmanship comes influence and a better opportunity to succeed with key initiatives like property tax relief; improved health care; additional spending on schools, especially rural schools; and restoring local government aid. Those and other issues were cited as key to the DFL agenda by Rep. Loren Solberg, DFL-Grand Rapids, whose statement that "we're ... not going to lose sight of what brought us to victory" was welcomed and reassuring.
The Northland's Democratic leaders in D.C. similarly need to be careful not to lose sight of their priorities. They'll certainly be in position to be effective. For the first time in 32 years in the House, Rep. Jim Oberstar, a Democrat from Chisholm, will take control of a full committee, the powerful Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. It oversees shipping, highways, ports, aviation and more. Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat from Detroit Lakes, will be chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, which sets the nation's farm and land-conservation policies. AndWisconsin Democratic Rep. Dave Obey of Wausau will lead the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for paying for all federal programs from the military to transportation and agriculture.
Pretty heady positions.
But the Northland shouldn't automatically assume a big head. "There will be no wheelbarrows of cash heading into the region," was the way the News Tribune's John Myers and Chris Hamilton put it last week. However, "pet projects and regional issues should get favorable attention as lawmakers seek to make friends with the chairmen."
That spells opportunities and possibilities -- and a fun ride.
