There is no doubt that a spirit of cooperation is permeating Jefferson City. With a few minor exceptions, both political camps seem prepared to hunker down and solve the state’s economic problems with teamwork, not partisanship or grandstanding. The Source can’t say how long this gracious attitude will last, but we do know it will face some challenges.
Take this week’s announcement by Governor Jay Nixon that he had reached a deal with universities where they would not raise tuitions if they got no budget cuts. This was hardly a bi-partisan announcement, in fact Republican legislative leaders weren’t even told about the discussions.
It looks very much like Nixon wanted to score publicity points, and that desire outweighed his promise to work with the other side. Nixon’s plan may work, and it may not. Promising state universities no budget cuts will mean taking even more from other agencies and that may not be popular in the legislature. The point is that the plan deserved an internal debate before it was paraded to the press as a done deal.
Governor Nixon’s promise of bipartisanship may survive his first flub. It won’t survive many more. Nixon should, at least privately, apologize to the Republican leaders he ignored.
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