the House, the principal architect of the maneuver to get the Legislature to
give the Wilf brothers almost $2 billion in subsidies for their Viking Stadium,
who cleverly allowed all the Minneapolis legislators to vote against the
stadium (as long as they were quiet about it) as he rounded up votes outstate,
said there are two big challenges he would face: âThe biggest job of the next
governor is going to be standing up for everyday people in the face of economic
changes,â âAnd, figuring out a way to govern so people feel like they actually
have a voice in their future again.â
This is unbelievable hypocrisy.
âstanding up for everyday peopleâ cannot mean imposing a sales tax on
Minneapolis shoppers downtown to pay for a stadium. A sales tax is a
regressive tax. It hurts âeveryday peopleâ most. You know that, Paul. And
you know thatâs one of the reasons people donât shop downtown any more.
He wants people to âfeel" like they actually have a voice in their future
again. He doesnât actually want them to have a voice in their future. That
would have meant allowing people in the City of Minneapolis the right to vote
on whether they wanted to pay for another football stadium, a right the people
of Minneapolis established through two amendments to the Minneapolis Charter.
He doesnât want us to actually have a voice, he just wants us to âfeelâ like we
have a voice.
Rybak dismissed the idea of people voting on whether they should have a stadium
by saying, âMy re-election will be the referendum.â Of course, he decided not
to run. So, Thissen is the next best opportunity to vote against the stadium.