David Schultz at Governing:
Tim Walz is out as a candidate for a third term as governor of Minnesota. He was undone by the constant drumbeat of fraud allegations, some proven, others still under investigation, that came to define the last years of his administration. These problems did not suddenly appear in the final months of his tenure. The warning signs were visible for years, but they were ignored because one-party control of government breeds complacency. The reason is simple: With a political trifecta, you never have to say you are sorry. When one party controls the legislature, the governorship and all other statewide offices, accountability weakens. Oversight becomes optional, critics are dismissed and internal dissent is treated as disloyalty. In Minnesota, that culture eventually proved fatal to Walz’s political future.
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His downfall carries two clear lessons: First, politicians should never believe their own rhetoric. Second, governing parties, especially Democrats who claim to believe in effective government, must deliver competent administration, not just ambitious promises. Voters may tolerate ideology, but they will not tolerate mismanagement of public money. Walz’s collapse is not just a personal failure or a story only about Minnesota. It is a story about political arrogance and the problems that one-party government produces, whether in the North Star State or the Lone Star State.