Gingrich is a pretender

First, my apologies for not blogging for a while. With the Vikings stadium debate continuing to go through as many rollercoasters as it does, it can eventually cause stadium opponents and supporters like myself a little burnout.

Newt Gingrich on the campaign trail. (AP)

With that said, I am back this week with the prediction that Newt Gingrich will not get the Republican nomination for President of the United States. In fact, I am willing to give him the title of pretender despite the latest Gallop poll showing Gingrich ahead of Mitt Romney with registered Republican voters. But among all Republican voters nationwide, it is Romney who is ahead of Gingrich, followed by Herman Cain.

Here's why: Republican voters and independents who don't want to see President Barack Obama return for another term will more likely pick Romney. He's got the money and can be a winner despite some of his flip flopping on the campaign trail.

The same can't be said about Gingrich, who has flip flopped issues such as U.S. involvement in Libya, global warming, and even health care. On top of that, Gingrich won't explain his work with Freddie Mac, but instead dismisses it as another "gotcha" question from the mainstream media.

I have said all along that bashing the mainstream media can only get you so far. Sure, it can elevate you "Flavor of the Month" if you're a registered Republican voter and can help you sell books or appear as a political analyst on the Fox News Channel. But it won't win you caucuses and primaries. And it especially won't win you the general elections for President of the United States.

If former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin couldn't pull it off as a vice presidential pick and as a potential candidate for President of the United States, what makes Gingrich believe he could do any better?

No special session in 2011. What now?

Any hopes of securing funding for a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings are all but gone for this year.

Following a late afternoon meeting with legislative leaders Wednesday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, declared that a stadium push was in "limbo" and complained state leaders weren't getting on board with his plan for a special session before Thanksgiving. As a result, he has cancelled future meetings this week, including one on Friday with Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, and is abandoning plans to release his own stadium proposal, which was scheduled Monday.

Gov. Mark Dayton

"My time table has been rejected by the Legislature," Dayton said. "Now the question is, what's their timetable?"

Word spread earlier in the day that House Speaker Kurt Zellers, a Republican, opposed to a special session. He emailed his 71 Republican colleagues - including my state representative John Kriesel - and said the issue should wait until the 2012 session. But the Vikings and Dayton hope to have the issue resolved before the team's lease expires at the Metrodome in January.

I can't
blame the Vikings and their fans for being disappointed in Wednesday's news. It not only increases the costs to the $1.1 billion stadium. It also gives the impression that the Vikings are not wanted in this state.  Although there were no specific threats of relocation, team spokesman Lester Bagley warned that after this season the Vikings "will be the only team without a lease."

"The strategy of avoiding a stadium issue has not worked," Bagley said. "It only gets more costly and more difficult to resolve, especially if they allow the lease to expire with no action."

Along with higher construction costs and a possible relocation elsewhere in the country, there are other reasons why Zellers' idea is a bad one.

House Speaker Kurt Zellers

First, the Republicans control both the House and Senate while Dayton is the Governor. Both sides failed to reach a budget agreement during the regular session in May and it resulted in a state government shutdown that lasted about two weeks and cost the state millions of dollars. The end result was Dayton caving and signing another budget that borrows and spends - which will ultimately lead to another deficit in two years.

Second, major spending bills like this never get done until the end of a regular session. The last time the Legislature passed a stadium bill was in May 2006 and after the Twins stadium proposal went through many hoops, including a fight whether to bypass a state law requiring voters to approve an increase in sales taxes. Zellers opposed funding for a new stadium then and continues to do so now.

Third, bills that ban abortion and gay marriage, along with voter identification requirements have been the focus of Zellers and other Republican leaders instead of jobs. Taking the familiar cue from former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Republican leaders will avoid the stadium issue and continue focusing on social issues to build their base before next November.

Finally, 2012 is an election year and every seat in the Legislature will be up for grabs following redistricting. Stadium funding continues to be a sticky issue for both Republicans and Democrats. Given the overall mood of the electorate, every legislator is going to be more concerned about getting re-elected than showing any political courage and getting finishing the stadium issue.

So what now?

Dayton and the Vikings should not abandon a special session or any efforts to get a stadium bill passed. Republican leaders and other skittish Democrats need to show political courage and take this issue head-on by answering why or why they don't support a new stadium. Avoiding the issue is not only a disservice to the Vikings, but also the citizens in this state who have a right to know where their legislators stand on the issue.

Legislators also need to hear from you - the voters and fans - on this issue too. You can find your legislators here. And if you don't live in Minnesota but still want the Vikings to stay, you can contact Dayton here, and write to our legislative leaders in the House and Senate. I recommend emailing them all so they can hear why the Vikings are important to this state.

Either way, voters and Vikings fans need to fight for this team. Otherwise we can kiss them goodbye and face the possibility of never luring another NFL team back to Minnesota.

Time for press to ask legislative leaders if they want Vikings in Minnesota

I have a challenge for journalists in Minnesota covering the Vikings stadium debate: Ask our legislative leaders if they want the Vikings to stay in Minnesota.

It's a simple  yes or no question that would speak volumes about how they feel about the presence of the National Football League in Minnesota. In all the articles I have read, along with all the broadcasts I have watched and listened to, there has not been a straight answer from House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch. Truthfully, I don't know where they stand.

Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (center) and House Speaker Kurt Zellers (right)

But if you have been following the Vikings stadium debate, it's easy to say it's been anything but a cakewalk for the Vikings. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and Lester Bagley, the team's vice president of public affairs and stadium development, have been unable to persuade legislators to support funding for a new $1.1 billion stadium. Wilf said he would contribute at least $400 million while the remaining $650 million would come from public financing through the state and a county sales tax. Their lease at the Metrodome expires in January. And without a new stadium, the Vikings and Gov. Mark Dayton said there's a possibility the team could move elsewhere, including Los Angeles. 

Legislators have been resistant to go along with the Vikings plan of the state contributing $300 million and Ramsey County $350 million in sales taxes. On Tuesday, Dayton rejected a stadium sales tax after legislative leaders told him there was not enough support in the Legislature to exempt Ramsey County or Minneapolis residents from voting on an increase in sales taxes in order to help pay for a new stadium. Minneapolis residents were included in the debate after Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak introduced three sites for the Vikings to consider in an effort to keep the team in Minneapolis.

There has also been resistance from legislators to expand gambling to help pay for a new stadium. And now Zellers said that he won't support a special session to finance a new Vikings stadium and believes the team can wait until the next regular session in 2012.

I don't fault reporters for continuing to ask Wilf about his willingness to keep the team in Minnesota if a stadium plan fails to pass. I also believe they're doing their job in addressing serious funding challenges for a new stadium, along with other needs in the state like health and human services, transportation, and education.

But I still haven't gotten a clear answer whether Minnesota's legislative leaders, along with the entire legislative body, want the team to stay.

Sports reporters have no problem asking head coaches or athletes these types of questions whenever rumors swirl about an impending departure from an organization. Just ask ESPN1500's Judd Zulgad how former Twins slugger Jim Thome answered that question before being traded to the Cleveland Indians in August  (Thome declined to comment and then walked away from the interview in disgust).

I am not advocating journalists to become cheerleaders for the Vikings organization because that's not their job. I just want them to hold everyone's feet to the fire in this debate and keep them honest. Asking legislators whether or not they want the Vikings to stay in Minnesota is a simple, objective question journalists should not be afraid to ask and legislators should not be afraid to answer.