Tim Pawlenty is IN.

[onecut39]

I read up on him a bit. Not impressed.

Most of those who know what Pawlenty really did feel the same way.

 

[theHawk]

Pawlenty's fiscal record:
* Pawlenty moved Minnesota govt spending from +20% every two years to +2%.
* Pawlenty vetoed every tax hike sent to him — $7.5 billion in total, set record for one year. He forced Democrats to accept a three-year property tax cap, saving taxpayers $530 million.
* Pawlenty moved MN from #2 highest tax state down to 12th. Brian McClung: Pawlenty left the state a lot better off | StarTribune.com
* Cato Institute gave Pawlenty A grade for lowering taxes, balancing budget. Pawlenty gets high marks from libertarian group | StarTribune.com
* Rejected Obamacare Governor Tim Pawlenty Tells Minnesota Agencies to Reject ObamaCare Funds | LifeNews.com and advocated market reforms: Brian McClung: Pawlenty left the state a lot better off | StarTribune.com
* Grew a $2.2 billion surplus before the Democrats took over the legislature. Minnesota jobs grew during his first four years until Democrats won.

Weekly Standard: “… he has governed his left-leaning state as a fiscal conservative. Pawlenty was one of just four governors to earn an “A” on the libertarian Cato Institute’s most recent biennial fiscal report card.” A T-Paw Party? | The Weekly Standard

Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute: “I actually went into doing this report card sort of thinking [Pawlenty] was mediocre on fiscal policy. I think he’s been superb about the last five years or so. He’s been a veto king.”

Minneapolis Star Tribune: “During the four decades before he took office, Minnesota government spending had grown by an average of more than 20 percent every two years; on his watch it was less than 2 percent…. When Pawlenty took office in 2003, census data ranked Minnesota second-highest in taxes per capita. Three years later, Minnesota moved out of the top 10 states in taxes — a goal previous governors of both parties had failed to achieve — and is now ranked 12th.”
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/...sc8P:Pc:Ug8P:Pc:UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7

National Review: “He resolved a $4.5 billion deficit in his first term, instituted performance pay for public-school teachers, cut billions from public-employee pensions, and issued 299 vetoes. For his efforts, the libertarian Cato Institute gave him an “A” rating on its biennial fiscal report card.” The Quiet Contender - Robert Costa - National Review Online

Washington Post: “The decades before he took office saw state budgets grow by an average of 21 percent every two years. He brought that to just under 2 percent, and in 2009, he cut real spending for the first time in 150 years. .” Can Tim Pawlenty light a fire with Republicans?

I am glad the national press (at least some of them) found Pawlenty such a great guy. Not many Minnesotans will say the same. I especially like the above that he "resolved" a 4.5 billion deficit. That he did, mostly by raiding the state's tobacco fund settlement and he then left us with one that was 50% higher. (6,5 billion) That is very close to being the worst in the US relative to our population.

He wrecked our schools. We did have some job growth but they were crummy, low paying jobs. There wasn't a problem that Timmy couldn't find a way to kick it down the road.

Of course the state legislature would have nothing to do with the budget and deficits right?

 

[GeoLaureate8]

Obama's an ignorant loon. Only an idiot thinks otherwise.

False. Obama is very clever. Just because he's screwing you over doesn't mean he's ignorant. He's a master of mass manipulation, he knows damn well what he is doing.

 

[Cal]

Tim Pawlenty For President | Pawlenty 2012

Tim Paw-ZZZ..

What's that bring it to?.. 3 or 4 actually running?

Jesus.. the Republican party is has been so pathetic with finding good candidates this time around, you'd think they want Obama to win reelection.. .

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Wow. What an intelligent response...

And Obama is what exactly other than a blowhard with zero message? Pawlenty makes more sense in 5 minutes than Obama has made in 3 years.

Followed by an equally intelligent response.

He wrecked our schools. We did have some job growth but they were crummy, low paying jobs. There wasn't a problem that Timmy couldn't find a way to kick it down the road.

He turned Minnesota into Florida? Jeez, not good.

 

[Zona]

Tim Pawlenty For President | Pawlenty 2012

Is it true, he actually fell asleep during his announcement speech?

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Obama's an ignorant loon. Only an idiot thinks otherwise.

False. Obama is very clever. Just because he's screwing you over doesn't mean he's ignorant. He's a master of mass manipulation, he knows damn well what he is doing.

Sorry, I have to respectfully disagree. Nobody that believes as he believes can be all that smart.

Now, I think his handlers are quite clever.

 

[Sarah G]

Tim Pawlenty For President | Pawlenty 2012

Is it true, he actually fell asleep during his announcement speech?

Everyone else probably did..

 

[Sarah G]

Does he realize he jumped in yet?

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - if we don't do sumpin' `bout dat debt dem bankers, an' politicians run up, dem Chinese gonna foreclose onna White House...

Pawlenty Announcing: ‘We May Lose Our Country'
Monday, May 23, 2011, - After being introduced by his wife, Mary, to a crowd in Des Moines, Iowa, today, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced that he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 and said that if political leaders were not honest about the financial problems facing the nation “we my lose our country.”

“Politicians are often afraid that if they're too honest, they might lose an election,” said Pawlenty. “I'm afraid that in 2012, if we're not honest enough, we may lose our country. Pawlenty cited President Barack Obama as the prime example of a politician who Pawlenty believes will not tell the truth about the nation’s financial problems. “Three years into his term, we're no longer just running out of money. We're running out of time,” said Pawlenty. “President Obama's policies have failed,” he said. “But more than that, he won't even tell us the truth about what it's really going to take to get out of the mess we're in.”

Pawlenty outlined his own hard-hitting agenda for dealing with the nation’s debt and economic crisis. Yet at the same time, in his prepared remarks, he did not discuss national security issues, immigration, or social and cultural issues, such as marriage and abortion. He did say, however, that he had appointed conservative justices to the state Supreme Court in Iowa. After his prepared remarks he conducted a "townhall" meeting with the crowd, answering questions. The first two questions were about judicial nominations and immigration. Pawlenty said that he would appoint justices in the mold of Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court, and that America is a nation of laws and needed to enforce its immigration laws and secure its borders.

"The first is, we've got to enforce the border, both from an immigration and a security perspective" said Pawlenty. In his prepared speech, he took a shot at Wall Street and big business for relying on big government, saying there would be no more bailouts for government-favored industries. “That's why later this week, I'm going to New York City, to tell Wall Street that if I'm elected, the era of bailouts, handouts, and carve outs will be over,” said Pawlenty. “No more subsidies, no more special treatment. No more Fannie and Freddie, no more TARP, and no more ‘too big to fail.’”

MORE

 

[JimH52]

He was a decent governor. If I remember right he had DFL majorities in both chambers during his terms, so he's definitely familiar with having to compromise and cooperate--even though there was a government shutdown a few years ago.

He's got the resume for focusing strictly on the budget, for better or worse. Early on he was all about expanding Minnesotacare, but then later on in his final term his budget pretty much gorged public-funded health care and a bunch of free clinics had to shut down. Similar story for universities and tuition.

It's disappointing to see him back off from his previous environmental policies. He was a big supporter of ethanol (lots of corn here), and there's tons of state-funded wind farms in southern MN built in the past decade.

Following my gut I think it's going to be sad to watch him walk away from some of his positions and his history of being a relatively-rational center-right politician and become a fiery ideologue to farm votes from the GOP primary base. Hopefully I'm wrong on that.

There you go again! You used the two words that the Tea Party hates! You said he was able to compromise and cooperate with the Democrats. Don't you see the pattern here. If anyone is able compromise and cooperate, or if they show some sign of empathy, the Tea Baggers shoot them down. It is just the way it is...

 

[onecut39]

Pawlenty's fiscal record:
* Pawlenty moved Minnesota govt spending from +20% every two years to +2%.
* Pawlenty vetoed every tax hike sent to him — $7.5 billion in total, set record for one year. He forced Democrats to accept a three-year property tax cap, saving taxpayers $530 million.
* Pawlenty moved MN from #2 highest tax state down to 12th. Brian McClung: Pawlenty left the state a lot better off | StarTribune.com
* Cato Institute gave Pawlenty A grade for lowering taxes, balancing budget. Pawlenty gets high marks from libertarian group | StarTribune.com
* Rejected Obamacare Governor Tim Pawlenty Tells Minnesota Agencies to Reject ObamaCare Funds | LifeNews.com and advocated market reforms: Brian McClung: Pawlenty left the state a lot better off | StarTribune.com
* Grew a $2.2 billion surplus before the Democrats took over the legislature. Minnesota jobs grew during his first four years until Democrats won.

Weekly Standard: “… he has governed his left-leaning state as a fiscal conservative. Pawlenty was one of just four governors to earn an “A” on the libertarian Cato Institute’s most recent biennial fiscal report card.” A T-Paw Party? | The Weekly Standard

Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute: “I actually went into doing this report card sort of thinking [Pawlenty] was mediocre on fiscal policy. I think he’s been superb about the last five years or so. He’s been a veto king.”

Minneapolis Star Tribune: “During the four decades before he took office, Minnesota government spending had grown by an average of more than 20 percent every two years; on his watch it was less than 2 percent…. When Pawlenty took office in 2003, census data ranked Minnesota second-highest in taxes per capita. Three years later, Minnesota moved out of the top 10 states in taxes — a goal previous governors of both parties had failed to achieve — and is now ranked 12th.”
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/...sc8P:Pc:Ug8P:Pc:UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7

National Review: “He resolved a $4.5 billion deficit in his first term, instituted performance pay for public-school teachers, cut billions from public-employee pensions, and issued 299 vetoes. For his efforts, the libertarian Cato Institute gave him an “A” rating on its biennial fiscal report card.” The Quiet Contender - Robert Costa - National Review Online

Washington Post: “The decades before he took office saw state budgets grow by an average of 21 percent every two years. He brought that to just under 2 percent, and in 2009, he cut real spending for the first time in 150 years. .” Can Tim Pawlenty light a fire with Republicans?

I am glad the national press (at least some of them) found Pawlenty such a great guy. Not many Minnesotans will say the same. I especially like the above that he "resolved" a 4.5 billion deficit. That he did, mostly by raiding the state's tobacco fund settlement and he then left us with one that was 50% higher. (6,5 billion) That is very close to being the worst in the US relative to our population.

He wrecked our schools. We did have some job growth but they were crummy, low paying jobs. There wasn't a problem that Timmy couldn't find a way to kick it down the road.

Of course the state legislature would have nothing to do with the budget and deficits right?

Thank you for bringing that up. They did and he did. Pawlenty served 10 years in the house, the last two of which were spent as house majority leader. (just prior to his election.)
Dayton is Minnesota's first democratic governor in 20 years.

 

[onecut39]

Wow. What an intelligent response...

And Obama is what exactly other than a blowhard with zero message? Pawlenty makes more sense in 5 minutes than Obama has made in 3 years.

Followed by an equally intelligent response.

He wrecked our schools. We did have some job growth but they were crummy, low paying jobs. There wasn't a problem that Timmy couldn't find a way to kick it down the road.

He turned Minnesota into Florida? Jeez, not good.

We are not quite a Florida, but it is not for lack of trying.

 

[Sheldon]

He was a decent governor. If I remember right he had DFL majorities in both chambers during his terms, so he's definitely familiar with having to compromise and cooperate--even though there was a government shutdown a few years ago.

He's got the resume for focusing strictly on the budget, for better or worse. Early on he was all about expanding Minnesotacare, but then later on in his final term his budget pretty much gorged public-funded health care and a bunch of free clinics had to shut down. Similar story for universities and tuition.

It's disappointing to see him back off from his previous environmental policies. He was a big supporter of ethanol (lots of corn here), and there's tons of state-funded wind farms in southern MN built in the past decade.

Following my gut I think it's going to be sad to watch him walk away from some of his positions and his history of being a relatively-rational center-right politician and become a fiery ideologue to farm votes from the GOP primary base. Hopefully I'm wrong on that.

Are we talking about the same Timmy? The one in Minnesota entered to a "historic" 4 billion dollar deficit. He exited with a 6.25 billion dollar deficit. He used every accounting gimmick known to man and still managed to kick all the problems various distances down the road.

He was a strictly "no new taxes" guy but didn't mind raising "fees" by billions of bucks. Property taxes went out of sight during his term.

As he became closer and closer to running for president, he became less and less of a moderate so that by the time he left office he had abandoned all his previous "principles" to the point where he resembles Bachmann.

As for his ability to get along with the other party, he managed set a record for vetoes. One year he completely ignored the legislative budget and instituted his own relying on a statute designed for unfinished business. Unfortunately the budget was finished he chose to ignore it. The Supreme court ultimately found his actions illegal but there were no penalties.

So if you are talking about Pawlenty be sure you know which one you are talking about, The mild mannered moderate who was elected originally or the guy who lost all his beliefs and principles on the path to the white house.

Depends on if we're talking about first-term Pawlenty or second-term Pawlenty.

I do remember him vetoing a lot, especially after the 08 election. But when you get elected and then re-elected on a fiscal restraint platform, and the DLF keeps sending up spending initiatives, it's not hard to see why. Not that I agree with all of those cuts... I went to college when tuition rates here were (and probably still are) exploding because of the reduced state aid. Also if I remember right we're ranked last or near the bottom in federal ed dollars too.

But I give him credit for signing and supporting some good bills too. Ban the box, which helps ex-cons get back into the workforce, consumer protections for mortgages, the renewable energy standards which I think were the most aggressive in the country at the time, that I can think of off the top of my head.

And yes he has progressively slid right. Personally I suspect that when he hopped on the McCain bandwagon but then got passed over for VP candidate, he made up his mind to run for President himself in the next cycle and started building a resume that catered to the national GOP base. The Pawlenty running around on the GOP debate circuit now is not the Pawlenty from back in the day... sadly.

 

[Sheldon]

He was a decent governor. If I remember right he had DFL majorities in both chambers during his terms, so he's definitely familiar with having to compromise and cooperate--even though there was a government shutdown a few years ago.

He's got the resume for focusing strictly on the budget, for better or worse. Early on he was all about expanding Minnesotacare, but then later on in his final term his budget pretty much gorged public-funded health care and a bunch of free clinics had to shut down. Similar story for universities and tuition.

It's disappointing to see him back off from his previous environmental policies. He was a big supporter of ethanol (lots of corn here), and there's tons of state-funded wind farms in southern MN built in the past decade.

Following my gut I think it's going to be sad to watch him walk away from some of his positions and his history of being a relatively-rational center-right politician and become a fiery ideologue to farm votes from the GOP primary base. Hopefully I'm wrong on that.

There you go again! You used the two words that the Tea Party hates! You said he was able to compromise and cooperate with the Democrats. Don't you see the pattern here. If anyone is able compromise and cooperate, or if they show some sign of empathy, the Tea Baggers shoot them down. It is just the way it is...

Well it was kind of an overstatement on my part. Like I said and what onecut pointed out we did have a government shut down because of butting heads on the budget one year. We also did have a special session to pass a budget compromise a few years later... so it's mixed. He did work with the DFL on other issues and supported some causes that aren't typically Republican, especially on energy. He used to be big on wind farms and a long-term sustainable approach towards energy, but now he's calling that a "mistake" and it's probably just a matter of time before he starts chanting drill baby drill. To me that paints him as a sell-out. But yeah he's not a TPers wet dream, for sure.

 

[Sheldon]

I read up on him a bit. Not impressed.

Most of those who know what Pawlenty really did feel the same way.

You sound like the people who live by Lake of the Isles.

 

[Truthmatters]

He ( in Palins venacular) paled arround with a con man.


He has some big problems that are jsut coming to light.

BTW Coburn and Bachman are tied to the guy too.

 

[Oddball]

I read up on him a bit. Not impressed.

Most of those who know what Pawlenty really did feel the same way.

You sound like the people who live by Lake of the Isles.

I'm the farthest thing from one of those liberoidal types and Pawlenty can kiss my ass.

He has some nerve running around claiming that he's a "straight talker" after pledging not to raise taxes, then raising taxes and calling it a "fee".

 

[Sheldon]

Most of those who know what Pawlenty really did feel the same way.

You sound like the people who live by Lake of the Isles.

I'm the farthest thing from one of those liberoidal types and Pawlenty can kiss my ass.

He has some nerve running around claiming that he's a "straight talker" after pledging not to raise taxes, then raising taxes and calling it a "fee".

I heard they use their smugness to power their Priuses over there.

General rule of thumb: if a politician says they're a straight talker/shooter, they're full of shit.

 

[EriktheRed]