True North

According to this Strib article, the DFL is crying foul because Gov. Pawlenty won't sign off on their government-run health care reform bill. Here's what they're saying:

DFL leaders said that Gov. Tim Pawlenty had abruptly withdrawn his support for the bill because, they were told, it lacked support from Republican House members.

"It's very disappointing," said Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis. "This is exactly the framework we negotiated, and now he's backing out."

Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said that Pawlenty, in fact, "never supported this bill," because it expanded health care rolls without offsetting savings. McClung warned that if legislators proceeded, "they know that a veto is among the options."

I'm not willing to trust Sen. Berglin's characterization at this point. After talking with Gov. Pawlenty several weeks ago, I didn't get the impression that he favored a tax increase mechanism wrapped in a reform label, which is what the DFL's bills are.

In fact, a dedicated LFR reader tells me that "Things are a'brewin' on the health care reform front." This dedicated reader also included this caution:

DON'T let the Democrats get away with saying the GOP or Pawlenty walked away from health care reform.

According to this reader, true negotiations are now possible because the House GOP Caucus won't give into the DFL's my way or the highway plan. Let's hope that Gov. Pawlenty's veto threat produces real bipartisan negotiations. If it doesn't, then a healthy share of the blame will rest on the DFL's shoulders.

Comments welcome at LFR.