Dear
Constituents,
Many
folks
view
a
legislative
session
as
a
battle
between
Republicans
and
Democrats.
I
want
to
rethink
that
depiction.
Instead,
I
choose
to
use
a
metaphor
-
a
baseball
game
with
all
the
Senators
playing
on
the
same
team.
So
here
at
the
Capitol
we
have
the
Minnesota
Senators,
a
team
owned
by
the
citizens
of
the
great
state
of
Minnesota,
playing
together
to
do
good
things.
Instead
of
pitting
Republicans
against
Democrats,
I
see
a
group
of
people
elected
to
“pull
the
rope
in
the
same
direction.”
The
Senators
are
opposed
by
the
Gridlockers,
a
squad
dedicated
to
thwarting
lawmakers
from
getting
their
best
work
done
and
opposing
the
common
good.
The
fans
in
the
stands
(voters)
remember
well
the
dismal
outcome
of
the
last
season
when
the
Gridlockers
prevailed.
The
acting
majority
(on
any
given
day)
is
responsible
for
managing
the
Senate
crew
and
maximizing
teamwork.
The
play-by-play
announcer
will
be
none
other
than
the
Senator
from
Carver
County,
Scott
Jensen
(R-Chaska),
a
family
physician
practicing
in
Watertown
for
thirty
years.
“Doc”
is
from
Sleepy
Eye,
a
quiet
little
town
in
southern
Minnesota
known
for
turning
out
stellar
baseball
players.
Unfortunately,
the
baseball-loving
doctor
is
best
remembered
as
a
decent
bat
boy
and
one
of
the
few
little
leaguers
to
never
sport
a
batting
average
in
triple
digits.
FIRST
INNING
With
great
enthusiasm,
the
Senators
took
the
field
against
their
feared
opponent:
the
mighty
Gridlockers.
As
the
players
warmed
up,
catcalls
from
the
stands
reminded
the
Senators
of
past
failures
and
how
closely
the
fans
follow
their
team.
The
Senators
lineup
had
majority
leader
Paul
Gazelka
(R-Nisswa)
starting
at
the
mound
with
proven
veteran
Tom
Bakk
(DFL-Cook)
catching
behind
the
plate.
At
first
base,
the
Senators
were
relying
on
Jeremy
Miller
(R-Winona)
-
a
good-natured
team-player
-
to
snag
the
in-the-dirt
throws
and
keep
the
infielders
relaxed.
At
second
base
was
the
smiling
and
reliable
Gary
Dahms
(R-Redwood
Falls),
and
the
speedy
and
determined
Michelle
Benson
(R-Ham
Lake)
took
on
the
busy
shortstop
position.
At
third
base,
making
the
long
tosses
across
the
diamond,
was
the
vigilant
Eric
Pratt
(R-Prior
Lake).
The
demanding
leftfielder
position
was
occupied
by
the
confident
and
vocal
Ron
Latz
(D-St.
Louis
Park),
and
his
neighbor
in
centerfield
was
the
feisty
Dave
Osmek
(R-Mound).
The
sensible
and
conservative
right
fielder
Roger
Chamberlain
(R-Lino
Lakes)
was
assigned
the
duty
of
covering
the
taxing
shadows
in
the
deep
right
corner.
Lead
umpire
Michelle
Fischbach
(R-Paynesville)
threw
the
game
ball
to
the
starting
pitcher,
Paul
Gazelka,
at
noon
on
January
3
and
shouted,
“Play
ball!”
(Actually,
she
said,
“the
Senate
will
now
come
to
order,”
but
a
little
literary
license
was
taken.)
The
game
started
smoothly
enough
for
the
Senators
with
the
talented
Gazelka
striking
out
the
first
batter,
Lemmy
Wate,
with
a
curve
ball
and
two
surprising
off-speed
pitches.
The
fans
applauded
his
“tone
it
down”
strategy
regarding
pitch
selection
and
figured
he
had
decided
to
leave
the
hard
fastballs
for
another
day.
Next
up
was
the
sneaky
Ben
Hopeless
who
surprised
everyone
with
a
successful
drag
bunt.
With
the
infield
playing
up
Seamy
Plod
hit
a
hard
groundball
to
the
left
side,
but
Benson
was
ready
for
it
and
fielded
it
cleanly
starting
a
nifty
double
play.
The
Senators
solid
“inside
baseball”
helped
move
both
the
health
care
bill
and
the
tax
bill
onward.
The
Senators
were
held
scoreless
in
the
home
half
of
the
first,
but
they
hit
the
ball
hard
giving
fans
optimism
for
good
things
to
come.
Stay
tuned
for
the
second
inning.
Glad
to
be
doing
the
play-by-play,
Senator
Scott
Jensen
Click
here to
learn
more
about
S.F.
1
Health
Care
bill
and
the
Conformity
Tax
bill. |