If you dozed off somewhere between Day 1 and Day 77 … of the 2009 legislative session, there’s an easy way to recap the most recent events.

First, hearken back to your days as a grade-schooler. Now do your best to recreate the voice you used in that spat with the kid down the block and read on:

“Here’s my plan. Your plan is stupid. Neeener. Neeener. Neeener.”

“Oh yeah? Well you cheat in your plan. So there!”

“Do not! My plan is smart. Your plan is dumb!”

“Do too! Your plan is mean. It hurts (insert partisan interest here.)”

With apologies to common sense grade-schoolers everywhere, that’s about where the Minnesota Legislature and governor sit with 56 days left to solve the state’s looming $4.6 billion, two-year budget deficit. Instead of engaging in constructive dialogue or anything that remotely resembles compromise, both parties seem content to, well, fight like grade-schoolers.

Legislative leaders and the governor must now craft a solution. It doesn’t take a grade-schooler to see that each (of their plans) has positives and negatives.

The question for elected officials is whether they can rise above the petty partisan bickering dominating the session so far and actually adopt fair-minded compromises.

— St. Cloud Times, March 23