EDITORIAL: Was DFL-led 2023 session a 'Miracle' or miserable? You'll decide

May 27—If you ask Minnesotans what they remember about the Minnesota Miracle, a lot of them — perhaps most — would talk about Stefon Diggs, Case Keenum and the Vikings' stunning playoff win over New Orleans in 2018.

A few Minnesotans, however — most of them with gray hair — would go back much further.

Democrat Wendell Anderson won the governor's race in 1970, and in 1971 he led an effort to dramatically reform the state's property tax system, increase state funding for public schools and boost state aid to cities. This constituted a massive expansion of state government, and after a 157-day special session, Anderson and the Democrats prevailed.

The entire nation took notice. In fact, the phrase "Minnesota Miracle" was coined by the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, which issued a report that concluded: "By assuming a dominant role in state-local fiscal policy-making, they (Anderson and lawmakers) intended to reduce the fiscal disparities among school districts, strengthen the general fiscal position of cities and counties and ease the burden of property taxes on homeowners and business firms. In the process, they made Minnesota a model for other states to follow."

Minnesotans rewarded Anderson and Democrats by voting them into control of both the House and Senate in the 1972 election — the first time in state history they'd that trifecta. One-party government heralded a further burst of legislation to protect the environment, consumers and labor, and Anderson himself became an overnight political superstar. He even

appeared on the cover of Time Magazine

in 1973, wearing a plaid shirt and holding a northern pike under the headline "The Good Life in Minnesota."

We took this stroll down memory lane because the just-concluded session of the Minnesota Legislature might prove to be just as historic as what Anderson and the DFL achieved five decades ago.

"Might," of course, is the most important word in the above sentence. Time will tell.

But for now, even diehard Republicans should admit that DFLers took full advantage of an historic confluence of circumstances. Just once in the past three decades (2013-14) had one party controlled the Minnesota House, Senate and governor's office. The DFL achieved that trifecta again in the 2022 election, which was fortuitous timing, given that the state had a surplus of $17 billion.

Going into the 2023 legislative session, the DFL had a long list of objectives on its to-do list. The only real question was whether Democrats would be able to keep everyone in line and "on mission," especially with just a one-vote margin in the Senate.

The answer to that question was a resounding "Yes."

Free school lunch for all

.

Expanded paid family leave

.

Marijuana legalization

.

Rebate checks

. A $2.6 billion capital investment bill. A $7.8 billion transportation package.

Strengthened abortion rights and transgender rights

.

Carbon-free power by 2040

.

Expanded background checks for gun purchases, and a red-flag law

. More money to combat mental illness, homelessness and food insecurity, and to make child care more affordable.

We could go on and on. When the dust settled,

the DFL had checked nearly every box

in what Walz and the DFL leadership are calling a "transformational" event in Minnesota history.

Conversely, the GOP is calling it "bonkers." Or "

overreach

." Or simply "partisan." They are blasting the $72 billion two-year state budget, which is

a 38 percent increase from the current $52 billion budget

. They decry increases in payroll taxes (to support paid family leave), the

gas tax

, the

metro-area sales tax, vehicle registration taxes and vehicle sales tax

at a time when the state is/was swimming in cash.

Of course, GOP legislators were little more than unhappy spectators for the past four months. They protested, introduced a meaningless budget and even

threw some tantrums during committee meetings

, but their presence in St. Paul was largely irrelevant. The only real power they held was to temporarily block the capital investment package — and in the end, the GOP wisely surrendered on that one, too.

Regardless of which way you lean politically, the clear message from the 2023 legislative session is that elections matter. Had just one Senate race gone the other way last fall (two contests had a margin of less than 1%), this session would have been far different. Divided power requires negotiations but invites gridlock, while single-party rule opens the legislative floodgates but risks overreach.

Eighteen months from now, Minnesota voters will register their first opinions as to whether the DFL has overplayed its hand. Every seat in the House will be on the ballot in 2024, and while we don't know the candidates yet, the campaign literature has pretty much been written. DFLers will say they're investing in Minnesota's future, while Republicans will say Minnesota is on its way to becoming the California of the Midwest, with huge budget deficits and a tax climate that is causing an exodus of businesses and residents to Florida and Texas.

Minnesota voters are fickle. It's possible — likely, even — that some centrists will like what the DFL accomplished this session, yet will want the pendulum of power to swing the other way, and the sooner the better. A brief period of one-party rule can be productive, but by nixing the need for compromise, it can be problematic in the long run.

But the real referendum on what the DFL did in 2023 will come in 2026, when every seat in the House and Senate, as well as the governor's office, will be on the ballot.

We won't venture a prediction about what will happen between now and then, but we're certain of one thing: If Minnesotan voters are unhappy with the new "miracle" and give Republicans the political trifecta, then the GOP will have every right to flex its muscle with an utter disregard for DFL claims of partisan overreach.