Who are the Real RINOs?

Those Criticizing GOP Moderates Should Look at Minnesota's History

“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain, and most fools do.”

- Benjamin Franklin

The easiest way to marginalize a Republican these days is to label him or her a RINO - a Republican in Name Only.

RINOs aren’t just the grievance of Donald Trump. Minnesota Republican legislators who voted for spending bills to keep the state running are “feckless” and even “corrupt,” according to ascendant right-wing political organizations and advocacy groups.

Name-calling and pounding tables, though, don’t validate criticism. Credible criticism is built on two principles:

First, the legitimate critic walks the talk. While the critics of RINOs often make profligate government spending a target, no one did more to drive government deficit spending through the ceiling than Donald Trump. Trump’s budget deficits totaled more than three times the total deficits in President Obama’s second term. And Trump’s first three budget deficits came during economic boom time when there is room to reduce public spending. Even giving Trump a mulligan for mishandling the Covid pandemic, federal deficits in the former president’s first three, pre-pandemic years were more than twice the amount accumulated during ALL of  Obama’s second term.

Second, the most valid criticism comes from those who also have alternatives to propose. Rarely do those attacking RINOs offer anything more than obstruction. Minnesota’s right wing Action 4 Liberty, one of the loudest critics of RINOs, uses a scorecard to evaluate Minnesota legislators. It measures lawmakers on 17 votes that the group considers to be defining. Fifteen of the votes are on spending bills, including the major bills that fund the on-going operations of state government. On Action 4 Liberty’s scorecard, those earning passing marks are legislators whose votes would shut down government.

There are serious and valid questions about the legislative processes of funding government. Much of the spending is wrapped into large omnibus bills that make it hard even for legislators to identify exactly what is included. And, the final details often come late in the session and are negotiated in closed sessions between the governor and a handful of legislative leaders then presented for votes with little time for rank-and-file legislators to study the bill, much less make substantive changes.

But criticism of a bad process should include more than just saying “No.” Only one of the 201 legislators earned a perfect grade on Action 4 Liberty’s most recent scorecard. But did that legislator, Rep. Erik Mortensen of Shakopee, try to fix the system to improve how tax dollars are spent or to make the review and approval process of appropriating government funds more transparent? Doesn’t seem so. A review of the some three dozen bills he authored in 2021-22 shows proposals to reduce taxes, approve the use of the unproven medication ivermectin to treat Covid, grant full constitutional rights to a fetus from the moment of conception, strip the governor of his powers to act in a state emergency and expand access to guns. Nothing about making government spending more efficient, the programs more effective or the legislative approval process more transparent.

Donald Trump, Erik Mortensen and their ilk are the strongest evidence that today’s RINOs are Donald Trump, Erik Mortensen and their ilk. There is nothing Republican in obstructing government without improving government.

The real Republicans aren’t the bomb-throwers, but the problem-solvers who follow in the footsteps of earlier generations of Minnesota Republicans. These true conservatives, people like Dave Durenberger, Arne Carlson, Al Quie and many others, built the foundation for the state’s economic prosperity by crafting conservative solutions to the problems of the day and the opportunities of tomorrow. They understood that a fiscally disciplined government is not inconsistent with a government that was there to help people at times in their lives when they are most vulnerable.

Today, Minnesota is facing serious challenges that need innovation not obstruction. Three that stand out are these:

1.      The state’s tax system relies too heavily on taxing work and savings and too little on taxing consumption. Cutting tax rates is the popular choice, especially for those more willing to play to today’s anti-tax sentiment. It also is an ineffective solution for the future. In a global economy in which capital, jobs and ideas are highly mobile, Minnesota needs a new tax system, not just lower taxes. The challenge is to create a consumption-based tax system that is fair, progressive (yes, it is possible) and transparent.

2.      Minnesota has a long tradition of effective programs that make the government partners with working families. The state’s Working Family Credit, for example, creates incentives for Minnesotans to enter the workforce and to increase their earnings. Long before the federal Affordable Care Act, MinnesotaCare made it possible for workers in low-wage jobs without benefits to gain access to health care coverage. The program is a partnership of individuals who pay premiums, marketplace insurers and health providers who implement the program, and government that provides oversight and some financial subsidies. It’s worth noting that both the Working Family Tax Credit and MinnesotaCare were launched during the administration of a Republican governor.

Today, the economy calls for new solutions and new partnerships, starting with child care. The high cost of care is keeping too many parents - especially women - out of the workforce. The state’s labor participation rate hovers around 68%, a steep decline from its high water mark of more than 75%. The solution to the child care crisis is not to cut back on quality, as some advocacy groups have recommended. Rather, in the same way that government worked with the marketplace to expand access to health care, creative solutions are needed to assure that child care providers are well-trained and well-paid and that economic incentives - higher wages, tax credits, and, when needed, direct subsidies - make it possible for parents to be in the workforce.

3.      The biggest threat to Minnesota’s future may be the state’s stagnant population. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, Minnesota had a net population gain of 225. Yes, the pandemic played a role and so did the nation’s confused immigration policies. Birth rates fell in the Great Recession more than a decade ago and have yet to recover. And, it’s true that Minnesota loses some people to warmer weather and lower taxes.

Minnesota’s greatest demographic challenge, though, is attracting and retaining young adults. It’s this demographic that is showing the biggest shortfall in population. If creative policies don’t address the loss of our future employees, entrepreneurs, taxpayers, parents and leaders, the state’s future is bleak.

The shortfall in creative and effective solutions to these challenges is in every quarter of political thought, from left to right on the political spectrum. The best hope for effective, efficient government, though, may come from turning back the clock and following the lead of Minnesotans who were the true RINOs - Republicans Innovating, Not Obstructing.

“Critics are men who watch a battle from a high place then come down and shoot the survivors.”

- Ernest Hemingway