{"id":2704,"date":"2024-01-11T19:06:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T19:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=2704"},"modified":"2025-04-29T19:08:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T19:08:44","slug":"walz-touts-a-progressive-vision-in-state-of-the-state-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2024\/01\/11\/walz-touts-a-progressive-vision-in-state-of-the-state-address\/","title":{"rendered":"Walz touts a \u2018progressive vision\u2019 in State of the State address"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While Minnesotans have a reputation for being somewhat conflict-averse, Gov. Tim Walz<\/a> talked a lot about fighting Wednesday during his annual State of the State address. Yet he also displayed the sunny optimism about the state\u2019s future that\u2019s come to be one of his trademarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Walz held up this year\u2019s legislative session as being one of the chief drivers of that optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nowhere quite like Minnesota right now,\u201d Walz told a joint meeting of the House and Senate. \u201cTogether, we\u2019re not just showing the people of Minnesota what we\u2019re capable of in delivering on our promises. We\u2019re showing the entire American people just how much promise is contained in that progressive vision held by so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his 28-minute speech, the governor spoke glowingly of the new laws already passed by the Legislature and promoted policies he hopes will find similar success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to report that the state of our state is strong, and it\u2019s getting stronger with every investment we make in our people and the futures they\u2019re working so hard to build,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the governor was also more confrontational than customary, leaning into recent remarks that painted the state\u2019s current political priorities in sharp relief to those of some other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe forces of hatred and bigotry are on the march in states across this country and around the world,\u201d he said. \u201cThat march stops at Minnesota\u2019s borders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walz saved some of his most pointed criticism for those who hold his position in other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen some of my fellow governors on TV\u2026 and I hear them talking about \u2018freedom,\u2019\u201d Walz said. \u201cBut it turns out what they really mean is that government should be free to invade your bedroom, your children\u2019s locker room, and your doctor\u2019s office. Here in Minnesota, when we talk about freedom, we talk about our children being free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in their schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re banning books in their schools; we\u2019re banishing hunger from ours. They look at their most vulnerable people and they see scapegoats. We look at our most vulnerable people and see neighbors. \u2026 It\u2019s amazing what you can accomplish when you stop complaining about corporations going \u2018woke\u2019 and start giving a damn about real people and real lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walz cited the current Legislature\u2019s success in passing bills that he said would cut taxes, unlock federal funds for infrastructure, provide financial assistance for families, send emergency funding to food shelves, help unemployed miners, establish a carbon-free electricity standard, and provide free breakfast and lunch at Minnesota schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he advocated for \u201cchoosing the right fights,\u201d saying those would include a child tax credit, rebate checks, child care assistance, expanded pre-kindergarten and early learning scholarships, universal paid leave, increased funding for education, and \u201cthe single largest investment in Minnesota\u2019s history\u201d in public safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t talk about public safety without talking about guns,\u201d Walz said, his voice rising. \u201cWe all know damn well weapons of war have no place in our schools, in our churches, in our banks. \u2026 Minnesotans, and I especially among them, are not going to stand by and let people keep making this about the Second Amendment when it\u2019s really about our first responsibility: keeping our children safe. The time for hiding behind thoughts and prayers is long gone. What we need is action, and we need it now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a gun safety bill on the table. And we\u2019re going to get it passed. And I\u2019m going to sign it, and this is what\u2019s going to happen: We\u2019re going to have universal background checks. We\u2019re going to have red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of people. And we\u2019re going to have lawful gun owners not be impinged upon one bit. If anyone in America doubts that we\u2019re going to take meaningful action to protect our kids, I\u2019ve got two words: Watch us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walz concluded the speech in a tone even more optimistic than usual, perhaps inspired by the combination of a state government led by one party and a $17.5 billion surplus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have the resources,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have the shared vision. And for the first time in half a century, we have the political will to get this done. Let\u2019s not waste this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early in the speech, Walz paid tribute to Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic<\/a> (DFL-Mpls), who is recovering from surgery for ovarian cancer and is working remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When this year began, Minnesotans told us clearly they were tired of gridlock and inaction on issues important to the success of our state,\u201d Dziedzic said in a statement. \u201cThey elected a DFL governor, and DFL majorities in both the House and Senate to lead, and we have done just that. \u2026 In the coming weeks, we will deliver a balanced budget that helps family budgets and improves the lives of people and communities across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republican leaders in both the House and Senate were less impressed with the speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the Democrats are on their record spending spree, what you are not hearing is dramatic tax relief being proposed,\u201d said House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth<\/a> (R-Cold Spring).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for gun safety measures, Demuth said, \u201cWhat Republicans and most Minnesotans are looking for, is they are looking for criminals to be held accountable and keeping the guns out of criminals\u2019 hands to start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was hoping for a unified message tonight, something that all Minnesotans could get behind,\u201d said Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson<\/a> (R-East Grand Forks). \u201cOr it seems the ambitions of the governor are national, and we\u2019re starting to forget about the needs of Minnesotans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Session Daily writer Steve Abrams contributed to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While Minnesotans have a reputation for being somewhat conflict-averse, Gov. Tim Walz talked a lot about fighting Wednesday during his annual State of the State address. Yet he also displayed the sunny optimism about the state\u2019s future that\u2019s come to be one of his trademarks. And Walz held up this year\u2019s legislative session as being one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[29,1723,169],"class_list":["post-2704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-minnesota","tag-state-of-the-state-address","tag-tim-walz","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2705,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2704\/revisions\/2705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}