For those of you who don't know what the Rubicon reference that Chris started and I shamelessly stole, it refers to a river that Julius Caesar once crossed to begin his overthrow of the Roman government and make himself emperor (yes, Roman history buffs, it's a little more complicated than that, but this isn't about Roman history). Once he crossed the Rubicon with his legions, there was no going back, the die was cast, what was done could not be undone.
Fearless Leader opined in his earlier story that with little chance of a stadium bill getting resolved in the current legislative session, there could be a stadium bill passed during a special session, called by Governor Dayton later on this year. That seemed to be the plan that everyone was hoping for--let cooler heads prevail and figure out a deal after everone has gone to their corner and calmed down. It wasn't a great plan, but it was pretty much the only one left after the Minneapolis stadium bill got voted down in committee.
But apparently, that's not an option.
Governor Dayton, who just yesterday said (which made Chris correct at the time) he thought something could be done, possibly after the November elections (way to be courageous, Minnesota politicians, but hey we'll take it) all but ruled that out today. Yes, that's right, he waited all of what, 15 hours to conclude that there was no way a special session is going to happen. Pull quote from the linked Pioneer Press story by Bill Salisbury (hopefully no relation to dong self photographer and former Vikings quarterback Sean):
On Wednesday, Dayton said he would not rule out calling the Legislature back for a special session later this year to vote on a stadium bill. But a day later, citing the unwillingness of the Republican majorities to compromise with him on other issues, the DFL governor all but ruled it out.
"The chances of my calling a special session with this Legislature is somewhere between extremely slim and extremely none," he said.
So it looks like it's going to be done in the regular session of the Legislature, or not at all. And what happens if nothing is done, Governor?
"If there is a willingness to do it (pass a stadium bill), now is the time to do it. If there is not a willingness, then we'll all suffer the consequences."
So it's come down to arguably the most dysfunctional legislative body in the United States of America to draw up, debate, and pass a complicated piece of legislation within two weeks?
I'm thinking the die is already cast.