When bonding bill turned into political theater

I don't remember the last time I listened to a floor debate at the Minnesota Legislature, but the two hours I spend listening to the debate online over the bonding bill Monday jump started my blog idea list again.

So here goes.

I generally think people in public office are fine people. Ninety-five percent of them have a true desire to serve a given public, though many more than that have sometimes "different" ideas of who that public is.

Still. I like elected leaders or candidates. They are generally smart people who want to do good. They will engage you in intellectual conversations and most have learned how to argue fairly and respectfully.

But sometimes, you just wonder where some of this stuff is coming from given floor debates.

A few examples.

When Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL and Iron Ranger, got up to offer his amendment that would help solar equipment manufacturing companies in his district and others get a provision that would encourage bonding projects to use solar, he was met by Mary Franson, R, Alexandria, who asked if Rep. Rukavina knew what "Solyndra" was.

Of course, Solyndra is a solar energy company that has defaulted on similar federal loans in a big way.

After a short speech by Franson, Rukavina responded that Franson's steel worker union grandfather was turning in his grave and he would be supporting jobs through this initiative. (Sounds like a line out of the Godfather)

Franson responded that yes her grandfather was turning in his grave because of the excessive spending of government.

Another representative got in the middle of this debate to point out Solyndra's default came in a federal program that was established by the Bush Administration, just to get that on the record.

Franson appeared to be done making her point and said she didn't agree with Bush all the time.

In another exchange on the bill, Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R, Mazeppa, raised his voice against the solar bill arguing that a company owned by billionaire T. Boone Pickens was suing and 85-year old grandmother's with Alzheimer's near his district in a wind project dispute.

It could be true, and it certainly is a dramatic story to introduce into a debate about solar energy incentives. There is apparently a property dispute with landowners on the project near Red Wing.

Actually, what politicians say on the House floor doesn't have to be true. The law exempts elected leaders in the center of a public debate like this from libel laws.

The vote on the solar enticements went down in the House, 62-69.

But it was fun watching this political theater play out. Ok. I'll admit, if I think this was fun to watch I may not have enough fun things to do, but Act I is barely over.