What in the world are the Democrats and Republicans doing in St. Paul?

Firstly, the Republican lawmakers who promised to work on job creation this session are wasting time passing bills they know Gov. Mark Dayton will veto. They approved a measure to cut low-income family planning in half.

They must have done it to appease social conservatives because they very well know it is a waste of time. Everyone knows cutting family planning leads to unintended pregnancies, which leads to more abortions. And it surely is a measure that fiscal conservatives know would cost the state more money in the long run.

And Republicans threw a gag rule on abortion referrals, a rule that clearly violates the First Amendment and gets between a doctor and a patient. Isn’t this the government interference that Republicans claim to detest?

If these bills became laws, who would have to pay to defend the court challenges? Taxpayers.

Secondly, the Democrat in the governor’s mansion favors a stadium bill and frequently notes the jobs it brings. While at least he is framing his argument in terms of jobs, this is no time for stadium bills, considering the $5 billion state deficit. Considering how late in the session the Vikings’ deal with Ramsey County came, the proposal surely will have to wait until next year.

While elected leaders play legislative chicken, schools, cities and counties are on pins and needles trying to figure out how they will move forward this summer. This results in direct impacts on Minnesotans.

We urge lawmakers to come together and focus on passing a budget, something carefully construed with the creating of jobs in mind.