"Politics ain't beanbag." "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money." These and other sayings have survived the decades because they capture core truths about lawmaking.
Here's a new one. The speaker is Rep. Kathy Hawken, R-Fargo; the setting was a KFGO Radio interview about recent events in Bismarck:
"We have a tendency once we get into this business to think we know more than we really do."
Ain't it the truth. Ain't it especially the truth about the subject of Hawken's interview: House Majority Leader Al Carlson, in particular his recent amendments that could kill the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion plan.
Carlson represents a Fargo district that the diversion would protect. So, if you're puzzled about why he, at the last minute, tacked clauses onto the water-projects bill that would block the state from spending money on the diversion, you're not alone.
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It's baffling, Hawken said. Make that infuriating, suggested Cass County Administrator Keith Berndt to Forum News Service:
"There's no doubt, (they are) amendments intended to kill the diversion project.... Certainly it really hurts our chances of getting federal money when we have this kind of dissension at the state level from one of our own legislators in Fargo."
Then there's The Forum, whose editorial board is livid: "Carlson's explanation amounts to cheap-cut baloney.... He's insulted local leaders and betrayed the people he purports to represent."
Why would Carlson do such a thing?
Read Hawken's quote again:
"We have a tendency once we get into this business to think we know more than we really do."
That's why.
Carlson says the U.S. government is unlikely to pay its share of the diversion's cost. But to the best of our knowledge, the North Dakota congressional delegation, their Minnesota counterparts, the Army Corps of Engineers and for that matter, President Barack Obama disagree. Congress passed a $51 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill as recently as Jan. 28. Why is Fargo's project suddenly the one that's sure to get the cold shoulder?
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Carlson also says that if North Dakota spends money on the diversion project, federal support is less likely. But again, almost everyone who's professionally involved with the project disagrees.
His fellow lawmakers from Fargo disagree, for example. They've vowed to lobby the Senate to pull the restrictive clauses out.
Fargo and Cass County officials disagree. Like administrator Berndt, Cass County Commissioner Darrell Vanyo thinks Carlson may be trying to kill the project outright: "It sends a strong message that the diversion is not what some of the leaders in the House are looking for," he told Fox News.
The congressional delegations disagree. Put yourself in their shoes: If you were trying to win support in Congress for the Fargo-Moorhead diversion, would you rather talk about a dedicated and committed home state or one whose support is grudging and conditional? The question answers itself.
And for what its worth, Grand Forks leaders would disagree, too. If there's any claim that draws unanimous support here, it is that the local, state and Army Corps unity on the Grand Forks dike project boosted tremendously the odds of the project's winning congressional approval.
Does Carlson really think he knows better than all of these officials at every level of planning, engineering and government?
Maybe he does. As The Forum pointed out, Carlson sponsored the bill two years ago that enshrined the Fighting Sioux nickname in law. Most Grand Forks lawmakers -- the people in the know at the time -- voted no; they knew the bill would hurt UND and hammer UND athletics. But it took a full year and a statewide referendum for the law and the damage to be undone.
A lot of harm can be caused when one powerful person decides he knows best.
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The Senate should take out the restrictive clauses. Lawmakers should support the diversion, accepting the urgent need to protect North Dakota's largest city.
And Carlson should look more often before he leaps. Then, while he's looking, if knowledgeable people form a long line to suggest to him, "Stay put," he should turn and step away from the edge.
