Tarryl Clark’s push-polling survey has appeared again. I wish I could say I’m surprised but I’m not. Here’s a reminder of Tarryl’s last push-polling survey:

2. Cut Health and Human Services
A 10% cut will result in at least 113,000 people losing health insurance, hospitals getting a 3% cut in rates, nursing homes being cut, the potential loss of 10,610 health-care related jobs, and in-home services for 10,000 seniors and disabled individuals being eliminated.
0% = $0 saved
10% = $959 million saved
20% = $1.92 billion saved
30% = $2.88 billion saved

Disgusted with Tarryl’s false choice survey, I sent her this reply:

The poll you’ve put together is closer to push-polling than it is about finding out people’s opinions. Why didn’t you include an option called other? Why didn’t you include questions about doing things differently that don’t involve cutting spending & services? Is everything that the state does the most efficient way of doing things? Draconian cuts vs. tax increases is the type of strawman argument that President Obama specializes in. It isn’t reality.

The DFL has worked hard to tell people that the only choice is a false choice. The DFL hasn’t looked into doing things differently. They haven’t learned St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis’s system of prioritization. Mayor Kleis has 3 categoties for spending money: Do’s, Don’ts & Do Differentlies. The DFL criteria is substantially different. Their guidelines don’t seem to include the do differently category.

Here’s another portion of Tarryl’s e-letter update that I find questionable:

Recent polls show Minnesotans understand the need for a long-term, balanced approach of spending cuts, one-time federal dollars, and revenue increases. That’s what the Senate proposed from the start. It’s the common-sense solution that will help prevent hospitals from closing, retain health insurance for working families, and keep our streets safe by funding public safety.

First, why didn’t Tarryl include the names of some of these polls? I don’t trust polling these days except for KSTP’s poll done by SurveyUSA or national polls from Rasmussen. It’s too easy to rig polls. Second, how many of the people allegedly polled knew that the DFL legislature didn’t bother looking for cost savings before thinking about raising taxes? Third, would the people who allegedly took these polls give the same answers if they knew that DFL legislators from the House and Senate couldn’t even agree on taxes? The Senate started with a $2.2 billion tax increase; the House with a $!.5 billion tax increase. The bill emerging from the conference committee dropped to just under $1 billion. Will the DFL next shift to a $250,000,000 tax increase using regresesive tax increases?

Wednesday afternoon, I spoke with a person familiar with the budget negotiations. I told this person that “prioritization is the longest 4-letter word in the DFL’s dictionary.” This person got a chuckle from that, then replied by saying that the DFL’s definition of prioritizing was whether to grant the entire wish list from one of their special interest groups or another.

I find this paragraph from tarryl’s e-letter objectionable:

Several of the budget bills were negotiated with, and sent to, the Executive Branch. A few of the larger bills will be out of conference committee tonight. The biggest differences remain in the area of health care, where the Governor wants to take away health insurance coverage for 113,000 Minnesotans, raid the dedicated Health Care Access Fund (HCAF), and make deep cuts to hospitals that are already struggling to stay open.

I won’t bother being statesmanlike with Tarryl’s statement because Tarryl’s statement isn’t based in reality. Here’s what Rep. Steve Gotttwalt wrote in his most recent e-letter update:

Speaker Kelliher’s comments simply underscore the only game plan the DFL has brought all session: The false choice between massive tax increases, and deep cuts to essential programs and services. She and her cohorts are trying to scare Minnesotans into falling for huge tax increases! They have ignored and disregarded the third option of setting good priorities, making reasonable cuts, and using real reforms to do a better job while saving the state money, living within our means instead of raising taxes.

Republicans have offered numerous proposals that would save Minnesota more than $5 billion without raising taxes and without cutting hospitals, nursing homes and long term care providers.

Steve offered legislation that would’ve saved money from MinnesotaCare, which could’ve been used to stabilize state payment to hospitals, nursing homes or long term care providers. Just because the DFL ignored these legislation-improving amendments doesn’t mean the GOP didn’t offer them.

Technorati: Taxes, Tarryl Clark, Tax Increases, Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Longterm Care, Spending Cuts, DFL, Steve Gottwalt, Dave Kleis, Reforms, Health Care, GOP