With just days left before the adjournment of the 2011 regular session, eight Chamber of Commerce leaders from greater Minnesota came to the Capitol Monday to blast the Republican Legislature’s budget proposals.

During a stop at the Capitol following Gov. Mark Dayton's budget rollout, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak paused to ruminate about one unintended consequence of the budget battles waged through the years by the administration of Gov. Tim Pawlenty. According to Rybak, Pawlenty's habit of taking the unallotment cleaver to local government aid programs built deep bonds between affected city officials around Minnesota.

In many cases, DFLers simply got caught in an undertow in districts that are fundamentally split in their political allegiances; in some, like rural Senate District 16, they handed back control of districts no one had expected them to win in the first place; in others, it appears, they failed to take steps to protect incumbents who faced discernible pockets of Republican opposition.

Few political prognosticators believed the Republicans had much chance of winning majorities in both the state House and Senate. But when the electoral smoke cleared early Wednesday morning that's exactly what had occurred. The GOP established a 37-30 majority in the Senate and a 72-62 hold on the House (barring any changes via mandated recounts).