ST. PAUL  — Facing Republican demands to limit enrollment in assistance programs and trim historically generous state benefits, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has a frequent response: “That is not Minnesota.”

The remark sums up one side of the wildly diverging views between Dayton and Republicans about whether Minnesota should preserve its reputation as a progressive state where taxes are high but the vulnerable are protected. That dispute underlies a government shutdown that hits its eighth day today.

What Democrats see as the popular local saying “Minnesota Nice,” Republicans see as unchecked and irresponsible government growth fueled by taxes they say are crippling to businesses that create jobs.

“I don’t think that Minnesota Nice is going to go away,” said state Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, the lead budget writer for House Republicans. “But I certainly would like to see our business climate get out of the bottom 10.”

Dayton and Republican legislative leaders are entrenched over the governor’s desire for — and blanket Republican opposition to — more than $1 billion in additional state spending to temper what Dayton calls unacceptable cuts to government assistance and other state programs.