Posted 2/14/01 Sand, when inspected closely, sparkles, right? By T.W. Budig ECM capitol reporter Thereís little doubt most Minnesotans are fond of Governor Ventura. This fondness for the governor at public events is palpable. People are happy to be there. No matter what the governor says, itís a hit. Sure, the governor ended up yelling at visiting Duluthians last week. But thereís always been a gritty side to Ventura ñ the potential for throbbing veins. But sand when inspected closely contains lots of little sparkles. And thereís lots of little sparkles in Ventura. Heís always had the gift to take complex issues and reduce them to simple notions. And not only has this ability been noticed, itís been copied. The emergency school heating funding debate in the House last Thursday was a case in point. Ventura views the celebrated $924 million budget surplus through the prism of himself. He promised voters heíd return the money and couldnít look in the mirror and like what heíd saw if he fails, he said in a recent interview on public television, stretching things a good deal. Ventura ñ as he did with the stadium issue ñ deflates all arguments for spending the surplus with the politically brilliant ploy of letting the taxpayers themselves decide what to do with the loot. Send the surplus back, Ventura says. And if the taxpayers want to send their rebate check back for funding transportation or schools, they have that choice. What a tidy solution. House Republicans embraced the logic last Thursday, countering a piece of knee-jerk legislation from the Senate which called for slating $30 million in surplus dollars towards helping schools pay their heating bills. For the most part, Republicans neither affirmed nor denied the need for the funding. Instead Republicanís passed a tax rebate bill which included various accounts into which conscientious or affluent taxpayers could redeposit their rebates. The Republican legislation is expected to be rejected by the DFL Senate. It remains to be seen whether the Ventura-inspired retort to the many appeals for spending chucks of the tax surplus will prove a solid shield for the give-it-all-back crowd through the rest of the session. It could ñ it sounds thoughtful, considered. And the February economic forecast, while expected to be less buoyant than Novemberís, is not likely to be bleak. Like most twists of logic, Venturaís tax surplus twist is best served with bluster. Itís a pretty thin, after all. What are lawmakers at the Capitol for if it not to make decisions. But the quick answers sound good, anyway. ©Post Review