I can’t stand the hypocrisy any more. In case you missed it, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has launched a new TV ad for Tom Emmer. His message: Just cut more taxes for the rich, and jobs will be created.

I am glad this is the only issue they are running on because voters can judge them on their performance.

Let’s keep it simple. The day Pawlenty took office, we had 2,744,218 jobs in Minnesota. Today, there are 2,789,002 jobs in Minnesota, according to Pawlenty’s own Department of Employment and Economic Development — only 624 jobs per year, or seven new jobs per county in our state.

How does this stack up with past governors? Under Rudy Perpich, there were 310,895 jobs created in our state. Under Arne Carlson, 362,413 jobs were created. Under Jesse Ventura, 91,040 jobs were created. Under Pawlenty, in eight years, only 4,784 jobs were created while Minnesota added more than 200,000 people to the workforce.

Look, the Pawlenty-Emmer philosophy of cut taxes for the rich, raise property taxes for the rest of us, hasn’t worked. Neither has blaming government for every problem while offering the same empty rhetoric.

Why should we hire someone like Emmer — who hates government — to run the government? It would be like hiring an accountant who hates math.

We’ve given this horse a run, folks. It’s time for a new plan and a new era of responsibility. Mark Dayton’s long-term plan to get us out of Pawlenty’s $5.8 billion budget deficit will create the jobs we need for our families and kids.

Let’s give honesty and responsibility a try.

Tom Rukavina

state representative

District 5A

Virginia