The mini state shutdown ended July 4, just in time for picnics and parades, with — as one sensed it would — victory for one side and surrender by the other.

In theory, Democratic legislative leaders entered budget negotiations in a strong position. A 3 percent personal income tax surcharge was in effect, producing new revenue on the order of $320 million per biennium, thanks to approval of Question 2 last November.

For the first time since 1991, when Republican Gov. John McKernan proposed, then signed into law, income and sales tax increases totaling $300 million — more than $630 million in today’s dollars — state government actually had some new revenue to fund its declining programs.

By the time the budget was signed into law, the new revenue was gone. Having outlined an “Opportunity Agenda” to support education spending and property tax relief, Democrats ended up with zero tax dollars and $162 million in one-time money to support public education — half the original goal of Question 2 — and practically nothing else.

Though they announced goals, Democrats never articulated a bottom-line strategy, publicly or, apparently, privately — a point beyond which they wouldn’t go. House Speaker Sara Gideon, like previous Democratic leaders Mark Eves and Emily Cain, steadily gave ground, ending up with virtually nothing; this was no compromise.

Though state spending began declining during the Baldacci years, there’s always some money to allocate in each new biennial budget. In the first and second LePage budgets, it went entirely to tax cuts — the first phase in 2011, and the second, in 2013, implemented by a Democratic Legislature. In 2015, we had “tax reform,” and another, smaller tax cut, and in 2017 there are no more tax cuts, and some money for education — perhaps the most that could be hoped for given the state of our political parties.

Republicans, nationally and in Maine, are united by the single idea that taxes can never go up, and must go down whenever they can manage it. It’s the motivating force behind repeal of Question 2, and removal of a miniature sales tax increase, on hotel rooms, briefly dangled by Senate Republicans, as well as the continued, if so far unavailing, attempts by congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats aren’t united around much of anything. Some recognize the decrepitude of state government, its continued hollowing out by LePage through downsizings, firings, privatization, and closings, but haven’t stemmed the tide.

There was a theory by progressive groups, following LePage’s re-election in 2014, that they could achieve certain goals through direct democracy. Thus the 2016 election, with marijuana legalization, tax support for schools, background checks for firearms, higher minimum wages, and ranked-choice voting all on the ballot; voters approved all but background checks.

In the end, though, only marijuana survived intact; under the radar, its implementing legislation became law on June 29. Ranked-choice voting was derailed by a Supreme Judicial Court ruling, restaurant servers lost their wage increase, and tax support for schools is no more; whether future legislatures can maintain funding is unknown.

One unmistakable conclusion: It’s not possible to legislate by referendum in Maine, where results don’t bind the Legislature. Republicans’ rollback involved two key factors: the intransigence of Gov. Paul LePage, and the toadying of his wholly owned subsidiary, House Republican Leader Ken Fredette, who continually blocked agreements.

One could argue that the referendums would have been implemented by another set of legislators, but if there’d been sympathetic lawmakers, the referendums wouldn’t have been necessary. Narrowly designed questions, such as marijuana, can be handled by ballot, but creating effective tax policy presents much larger obstacles.

Referendums are, by definition, single-issue politics, and the coalitions behind taxes and wages were isolated. When state workers protested at the State House, there were few teachers behind them.

Nevertheless, the massive economic inequality that’s accumulated since the 1981 Reagan tax cuts has finally produced a strong consensus among voters that we need higher wages, and that taxes should be increased for those with the money: the rich and big corporations. Maine has now made progress on wages, but none on taxes.

Lasting gains will be achieved only by electing different legislators and, especially, a different governor. Democrats have yet to unite around a program their candidates can run on; we already know what Republicans will offer in 2018.

Contrary to widespread assumptions, ideas and their practical implementation are what drive political parties and produce winning candidates, over time. Voters must learn again to demand substance, not just slogans, and candidates should do some serious thinking about what they should offer to win majorities that produce good government, and not gridlock.

Douglas Rooks has covered the State House for 32 years. His first book, “Statesman: George Mitchell and the Art of the Possible,” is now available. Comment is welcomed at: drooks@tds.net

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