Under the leadership of Gov. Tim Walz and a Democrat-Farmer-Labor (DFL) legislature, Minnesota is being transformed into a California-style socialist state.
The nation is learning more about the progressive and even socialist record of Walz. Gov. Walz’s progressive-socialist record is not a surprise for Iowans. What’s he’s doing is in direct contrast to what is occurring in Iowa under the leadership of Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Republican legislature, which has made the state a pillar of conservatism.
The progressivism and socialism of Gov. Walz and the Minnesota DFL are not unusual for Minnesota. Minnesota has a rich political history of progressive and socialist politics. Former Vice Presidents Hubert H. Humphrey and Walter Mondale, and United States Sens. Paul Wellstone and Eugene McCarthy are just some of the more well-known progressive DFL politicians from Minnesota.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Minnesota, like Iowa, was influenced by agrarian radicalism and populist politics. In Minnesota, the Farmer-Labor Party and the Nonpartisan League represented the most serious force of socialist politics within the state.
Minnesota Gov. Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus, during the 1920s, spoke for many concerned Republicans and Democrats when he argued that the Farmer-Labor Party and the Nonpartisan League represented dangerous ideas of “socialism – a political cult that would destroy the principles of private property, our religion, and our homes.” Further, in his farewell address to the legislature, Preus asserted that “a large group of Republicans and Democrats” worked together to stop the establishment of “state socialism along the lines attempted before and since in North Dakota.”
Gov. Theodore Christianson, who assumed office after Preus, governed as a fiscal conservative. Christianson campaigned on the slogan “More Ted, Less Taxes,” and was nicknamed “Tightwad Ted” for his commitment to conservative budgeting. As governor, Christianson did the opposite of Walz by working to reduce spending and taxes, and he was not afraid to use the veto to achieve his fiscal conservative policy objectives.
Gov. Walz follows in the tradition of the Farmer-Labor and Nonpartisan League movements, and he may be the most radical governor to serve since Farmer-Labor Gov. Floyd B. Olson, who served in the aftermath of Christianson. Gov. Walz even proudly defends and extols his socialism. As he recently stated at a “White Dudes for Harris” campaign Zoom call, “one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.”
From a fiscal policy standpoint, Walz is embracing the progressive tax-and-spend agenda just as other “Blue states” like California, New York, and Illinois have done. Progressives and Democrats, including those in Iowa, point to Minnesota as a successful example of a tax-and-spend state.
Minnesota has some of the highest tax rates in the Midwest, and like other high-tax states, it is experiencing a mass exodus as a result. Gov. Walz and the DFL legislature have also increased the size and scope of government by increasing spending. To satisfy their appetite for spending, Walz and the DFL legislature spent an $18 billion budget surplus, and while a surplus is currently projected, a $1.5 billion deficit is looming due to unsustainable spending.
Whereas states like Iowa have been reducing taxes, Minnesota has been raising them. Overall, Gov. Walz and the DFL legislature have increased taxes by over $10 billion, which is not only hurting the economy but also causing people to either leave or reconsider moving to Minnesota. The tax-and-spend agenda has been supported by a full embrace of regulations, especially environmental regulations. Gov. Walz is even hostile to the mining industry, which is fundamental to Minnesota’s economy.
It is not just a progressive tax-and-spend agenda; Gov. Walz has fully embraced the woke agenda and cultural Marxism. Some of these policies include expanding abortion up to the moment of birth, allowing children to undergo gender transition surgeries, providing tampons in public school restrooms, including for boys, and fully embracing other elements of cultural Marxism.
During the Black Lives Matter riots, Gov. Walz referred to the unrest as “righteous anger” and allowed Minneapolis to burn while residents suffered. Protestors were permitted to tear down a statue of Christopher Columbus on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol. Gov. Walz and the DFL legislature embraced the progressive war on history by wrongly arguing that the Minnesota state flag signified racism, leading to the adoption of a new flag.
Gov. Walz is fully embracing both legal and illegal immigration by supporting sanctuary cities within Minnesota and seeking to make the state itself a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. The legislature has even passed legislation providing free college, healthcare, and driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, raising serious questions about election integrity. Other radical policies include the legalization of marijuana, radical education policies, and numerous scandals of fraud being uncovered that will cost taxpayers millions. Gov. Walz and the DFL are building upon and even surpassing the radicalism of both the Farmer-Labor and Nonpartisan political traditions.
Iowa seems like another world in comparison to Minnesota. Iowa used to be a “purple” state with progressive tendencies and politicians such as former Sen. Tom Harkin, but now the Hawkeye State is deep “red.” Gov. Reynolds and the Republican legislature have done the direct opposite of Gov. Walz and the DFL legislature. Since 2018, Gov. Reynolds, reflecting Christianson, has made tax reform a priority. Iowa once had some of the highest income taxes in the nation.
Iowa’s income tax rate was close to 9 percent, and the corporate tax rate was 12 percent, the highest in the nation. Starting in 2025, Iowa will have a 3.8 percent flat tax and a corporate tax rate of 7.1 percent, which is scheduled to be reduced until it reaches a flat 5.5 percent. Iowa’s transition from a multi-bracket progressive income tax to a 3.8 percent flat tax is both transformational and historic. Gov. Reynolds has also stated that her goal is eventually to eliminate the income tax entirely.
Gov. Reynolds has also placed a priority on conservative budgeting. The budget has been in surplus over the past several years, and surpluses continue to be projected. The surplus for Fiscal Year 2024 is projected to be $1.9 billion, and the surplus for Fiscal Year 2025 is projected to be $2.4 billion. Iowa’s reserve accounts continue to be full at their statutory maximums, and the Taxpayer Relief Fund has a $3.7 billion balance.
The size and scope of government is also being reduced. Gov. Reynolds signed into law the first major state government reform law in 40 years, which consolidated and reduced cabinet agencies and state boards and commissions, along with making other reforms. Gov. Reynolds and the legislature have also enacted a series of regulatory reforms to reduce the regulatory burden on Iowa’s economy.
Gov. Reynolds has also been on the front lines fighting the woke agenda and cultural Marxism. During the COVID pandemic, Gov. Reynolds kept the economy and schools open, while Gov. Walz shut down Minnesota and even established a hotline for citizens to report one another for lockdown “violations.”
In Iowa, Gov. Reynolds and the legislature have removed barriers to education by establishing a strong school choice program based on Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), expanding open enrollment, and charter schools. Further, the legislature has passed legislation fighting the woke agenda in education. After a series of legal challenges, Iowa’s heartbeat law now prevents most abortions.
In response to the failures of the Biden administration to secure the southern border and the growing threat of illegal immigration, Gov. Reynolds has dispatched Iowa police and National Guard troops to support Texas in their efforts to secure the border. The legislature has also passed legislation to crack down on illegal immigration. Gov. Reynolds also proposed, and the legislature passed, a law to strengthen Iowa’s law to prevent the foreign ownership of land, specifically addressing the growing concern of China.
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge was running for reelection, and one of the campaign slogans the Republicans used was “safe, sane, and steady.” “Safe, Sane, and Steady” describes Gov. Reynolds and the Iowa legislature. This is in direct contrast to Gov. Walz and the DFL legislature. Walz, on the campaign trail, has referred to former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance as “weird.”
What is weird and strange is the radical agenda of Gov. Walz and the DFL legislature that is transforming Minnesota. Iowa and Minnesota also reflect the growing national divide. Americans are not just divided over economic policy, but over issues of culture, faith, history, and values – divisions that are not easily overcome. What is clear is that Gov. Reynolds is a stark contrast to Gov. Walz.
