| ... numbers don't lie, but GOPers use numbers.
Well, it could also be: ...those that forget the lessons of history tend to vote GOP.
 Actually, it's "both" and it has to do with Pawlenty in 2009 doing something with the budget process that the State Supreme Court, in 2010, said he couldn't, and recent claims by the Minnesota GOPers that - surprisingly - bring Pawlenty's unallotment actions up at, coincidentally, the same time Pawlenty officially announces his presidential run.
Here's the deal - in January of 2010, I wrote a post titled "The Minnesota Budget Crisis, By The Numbers". The post was about how Minnesota got into Governor TBag's Unallotment mess. Suffice it to say, GOPers were makin' (stuff) up about THAT deal, too.
In a nutshell, here's what happened during the 2009 Legislative Session: the February 2009 Forecast predicted revenues of $31.1 Billion (rounded). Knowing that number, Gov. TBag proceeded to sign Spending Bills of $33.8 Billion (rounded) anyway.
This created a deficit of $2.7 Billion (rounded) from Governor-approved spending -- remember, when TBag signed those spending bills, they were now law). A bill to balance that deficit, HF-2323, was passed and presented to Gov. TBag to sign. Except, TBag didn't sign that revenue bill to balance the budget; he vetoed it.
Upon creating an unbalanced budget, rather than call a Special Session, TBag immediately claimed unilateral power to fix the problem he created, and then hit the campaign trail. As to TBag's actions creating an anticipated budget problem, then using powers to deal with unanticipated budget problems? The Court was not amused.
The only reason GOPers today can use that "$32 Billion" number, is because in 2009 Pawlenty did something the Supreme Court ruled he couldn't.
The reality is that the "$34 Billion" compromise number the Kochzellerstan crowd is crowing about today, is really the same "$33.8 Billion" number that Pawlenty signed into law, before he went all Nixonian by utilizing excessive - and illegal - Unitary Executive Power (Nixon would be so proud!)
The bottom line is that in 2009, GOPer Governor Tim Pawlenty took state budgeting into unchartered waters; waters the Supreme Court eventually found illegal. In 2011, GOPer Majorities in both the State House and State Senate are again taking the state into unchartered waters - by refusing to negotiate and submit budget bills Governor Dayton would be willing to sign.
The fact that they are making (stuff) up by claiming to have "compromised" to a number Pawlenty already was at 2 years ago only goes to show, once again, that numbers don't lie, but GOPers use numbers.
And, of course, anybody that falls for the BS GOPer line that they compromised to $34B also goes to show, once again, that those that forget the lessons of history tend to vote GOP.
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That picture, above? I found it via a tweet by GOPer Freshman State Rep Kurt Daudt:
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