Since taking office in 2003, Tim Pawlenty has done an admirable job of holding to his conservative values and staving off those in the legislature who would pluck that last bastion of political innocence. From saying no to an omnibus higher education bill last May to drawing the line at the appointment of a state poet laureate, our fearless leader has never allowed the fumbling advances of the DFL to arouse his executive passions and cajole him into doing something rash, something he'd regret in the harsh light of the Minnesota morning, possibly even something that would fund bridges, highways and transit. His steadfastness in the face of judgment clouding sex pots like Sen. Tom "The Sex Hog" Saxhaug [1] has served us well, sparing us from what would've been a near certain call for a state mime [2].

Yesterday however, our pure and chaste governor's defenses were finally ground down, the sultry cajoling of the assembled legislators laying our stalwart executive gently down as his few remaining objections were overridden in both the Minnesota House and Senate. Afterwards, Governor Pawlenty sat stunned and ashamed, calling the events of the day "Ridiculous in scope and magnitude," and fretting over whether the legislature would call like it said it would, or if Eagan would lose all respect for him [3]. Sen. Saxhaug was oblivious to the governor's concern, joining the rest of the DFL in hailing the transportation bill's passage as a great victory for the people of Minnesota, making somewhat dubious connections to recent disasters and feverishly penning his "I never thought it would happen to me, but..." letter to Penthouse Forum.

Of course, what truly stands a chance of being lost as the governor attempts to find ways to cope, perhaps even standing in solidarity with other wronged public figures [6], isn't the fact that Minnesotans will be coping with the first hike in the gas tax in 20 years, or that Hennepin county residents may start to wonder just what they did to deserve the legislative application of the shocker [7]as a quarter cent sales tax increase devoted to transit projects gets piled on top of last summer's referendum-free sales tax increase aimed at funding the Twins' newly Santana-free stadium. It's the dictatorial ball-peen hammer to the huevos given to the six House Republicans who crossed the aisle and voted to override the governor's veto that will likely get lost in the shuffle.

You see, neither party enjoys when its members step out of line - especially when such antics result in a 91-41 legislative gang-bang that leaves the governor of our fair state wondering why he was subjected to such treatment when it's patently obvious he hired Carol Molnau [8] for just such an occasion. In this case, the Republicans who claim to have voted their conscience are being threatened with, according to Rep. Ron Erhardt, "loss of media privileges, staff members, and research resources." Maybe if we're lucky, House Minority Leader Marty Seifert [9] will be caught planting dead hookers and a small meth lab in Rep. Erhardt's office. Regardless of the outcome, it's good to know that even though Michelle Bachmann has left the building, there's still some bat shit crazy left in the air.