Tim Walz's dishonest State of the State Address, 2023 edition

Predictably, Tim Walz's State of the State Address was dishonest. His jealousy towards Florida's GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis really showed when he said that Florida was banning books from schools. While that isn't a total fabrication, it's heavy on the deception, light on the accuracy. What's happening is that Gov. DeSantis is preventing pornographic material from being distributed to children. Omitting that detail isn't insignificant, though it's the Walz Way.

Another shameful moment happened when Gov. Walz, like all other DFL politicians, highlighted the fact that he's without principles on major issues. That's when he said "I know guns as well as anyone else in this room... I'm not just a veteran, or a hunter, or a gun owner. I’m a dad. And for many years, I was a teacher. I know that there’s no place for weapons of war in our schools, or in our churches, or in our banks, or anywhere else people are just trying to live their lives without fear ... I got an A rating from the NRA my first term in Congress. Now I get straight F’s. And I sleep just fine."

I think that means that Gov. Walz doesn't have a conscience. It doesn't seem like he has a conscience. Then again, it hasn't been proven that he's got much in the way of common sense or the ability to chart the right priorities.

For instance, MNSCU is struggling. With a $17,500,000,000 projected surplus, it'd be a perfect time to propose something that'd revamp the 30-year-old system while bringing it into the 21st century. That isn't a priority for Walz. It's likely that, rather than being proactive, Walz will deal with the MNSCU crisis when his options are limited and unappealing. Leaders are proactive. Walz isn't proactive. This is laughable:

"When it comes to showing people what comes after gridlock, what they can have instead of the gridlock, what we can do when we set aside the dumb fights and choose good ones instead – well, there’s nowhere quite like Minnesota right now," he said. "We’re drawing a roadmap for 49 other states by doing whatever it takes to be a state that works – for everyone."

Meanwhile, North Dakota, especially Fargo keeps growing. Moorhead keeps shrinking. Does Gov. Walz think that's coincidental? They both had populations of 50,000 people. Twenty-five years later, Fargo's population is 260,000; Moorhead's population is 30,000. Capital outmigration from Minnesota will accelerate from this point forward while population will stay roughly the same.

Finally, it'll be interesting to see what Gov. Walz says when Minnesota goes from having a record projected surplus to a major deficit in 2 years. Will Gov. Walz still talk smart when he's forced to deal with that deficit? Then there's this:

Personally, I wish we did things more like Iowa or North Dakota. They're states that are actually well-run and that don't have wild-eyed agendas. They simply do things that work. Minnesota does things that are trendy and stupid.