The final minutes of the 2009 Minnesota Senate Session (8:47)

This video is an example of the current DFL majority's leadership style in the state Senate. Five minutes before the midnight adjournment deadline, a tax bill (HF 2323) was brought to the floor and a roll call vote on it was rammed through without regard for Senate procedure, rules or debate.

Senator Dick Day began collecting Senate rulebooks from his fellows, declaring, "we don't need these anymore."

No one had read the bill as it stood. It had just emerged from a conference committee. It didn't seem that anyone actually knew exactly what was in it (or at least the Republican minority hadn't been let in on the secret).

The bill, which aimed to raise Minnesota income taxes and create a new top bracket of 9% (among other tax hikes) was for all practical purposes vetoed before it even hit the Senate floor. DFL leaders knew that before they rammed the bill through at the last moment. Roughly the same tax and spend bill had already been vetoed once and there were not enough votes for an override. That begs the question: Why? Was this rule-trampling maneuver orchestrated simply so DFL leaders could say they passed a budget? Was it simply a final, childish act of defiance? Or, is there some greater strategy at work behind the scenes?