Mitch Berg at Shot In The Dark has been in rare form taking apart the Minneapolis Star Tribune's latest (1/28) communiqué from Planet Lori.  He needed two posts (1 2) to cover all that nonsense.  But Sturdevant's submission wasn't the only interesting column in this Sunday's Opinion section.  Tom Horner and Tim Penny co-authored "The Good and the Not-so-good In Dayton's Budget" and incredibly, these alleged centrists / moderates actually criticized a Democrat!

"The Man with a Plan" took shots in each of the first six paragraphs.  Some excerpts:

 

• "Many of the tax reforms he proposes now are similar to those he attacked as a candidate in 2010."
• "[...] his specifics fall short of his own articulated goals [...]"
• "[...] undermines a key economic imperative -- creating and retaining good, well-paying jobs."
• "[...] fails to put the state on a long-term course of fiscal responsibility."
• "[...] promises more government spending with little or no demand for reform or accountability."

Both Horner and Penny are former Independence Party candidates for Governor.  Both campaigned similarly, on each issue either agreeing with the DFL or punting with a "pox on both your houses" remark.  Republican positions were always wrong somehow, and were again in 2010-2011 according to this article.

But now they're out of Republicans to criticize in that the GOP is all but powerless this session.  Fortunately, Mark Dayton's maverick status in the DFL gives them cover to demand that the Governor:

• [Make] the case of why true tax reform is needed for Minnesota's future prosperity.
• [Redefine] what it means to be fiscally responsible.
• [Show] the courage to say what everyone knows. Personal behavior matters.
• [Better] define the really big questions that are critical to Minnesotans' future.   [Then,] ask what we are willing to pay to get the results we seek.

This is man bites dog role reversal.  To Tom Horner in particular I would ask, if this is what you really believe, why did you help Mark Dayton get elected?

Cross-posted and comments welcome at Speed Gibson.