Democratic and Liberal political analysis and commentary

Actually, Gov. Pawlenty is getting high marks from Minnesotans for his handling of the bridge disaster.

And why is it that every time there's a tragedy or disaster, the Left's first impulse is to raise taxes, not to ask why the government, already funded with gazillions of billions of dollars, apparently squandered or wasted the money it already had for the very thing that the liberals now want to raise taxes to pay for?

Why not first eradicate the pork from the budget - I'm sure Minnesota has gotten its share of pork thanks to its various Dem and GOP senators and reps - and use that money to fix the bridges?

Why always go immediately to the taxpayers, who are already paying plenty of taxes? It's as if the Left, subconsciously, blames "the people" for the bridge collapse because "the people" aren't paying enough taxes.

KSTP, a TV station in Minnesota, did a poll on the gas tax.

Turns out, the majority of Minnesotans DO NOT want an increase.

Minneapolis blogger Ed Morrissey has the details:

Fifty-seven percent of people surveyed say the state should not increase the state gas tax. Only 38 percent say it should go up.

As always, the internals are even more interesting. Large majorities credit Governor Tim Pawlenty for his handling of the disaster. Only among Hispanics does he get less than a majority of favorable opinion. Otherwise, he ranks high in every demographic, including 70% of Democrats and 63% of self-identified liberals on his way to 75% approval overall.

Interestingly, Minnesotans approve of George Bush's handling of the disaster as well. He gets a 65% rating overall, but less strength in the demographics. Forty-six percent of Democrats approve and 49% disapprove, but he gets 63% from independents, and 65% overall.

But the internals on a tax increase should make the state's political class take notice. As KSTP reported, 57% oppose new tax increases at all, compared to 38% who want some increase. That majority holds in every single demographic in the poll, except for people 55 and older. Eighty-nine percent of blacks and 90% of Hispanics oppose it. More Democrats and independents oppose it than Republicans. Liberals oppose it 60%-36%. More women than men oppose it. And every region opposes it as well, especially the more liberal northeast, where 71% said no to higher gas taxes.

And that's not the end of the surprises. KSTP asked whether any increase in taxes should be used solely for roads and bridges, or whether it should fund mass-transit options. Two-thirds of Minnesotans rejected the mass-transit option, with majorities in every demographic except among blacks. Democrats stood 57% opposed to funding mass transit, and self-described liberals opposed it 52%-46%.

If the government of Minnesota is listening, the message is no new taxes. Let's find out what caused the bridge collapse -- and then let's find out what Minnesota did with its $2.2 billion annual MnDOT budget instead of automatically assuming we need to demand even more money from taxpayers.

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If Pawlenty listens to the people of his state, he will reject liberal calls for higher taxes.

Here's
the link to the Ed Morrissey blog post I referenced in the previous comment.