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The Spectacle Blog
Yesterday George Will published a very flattering mini-profile of Minnesota governor and 2012 hopeful Tim Pawlenty yesterday. The article included a summary of Pawlenty’s accomplishments:
In the four decades before Pawlenty was elected governor in 2002, the average two-year increase in state spending was 21 percent. During his tenure, the average annual increase has been 2 percent. He says that the current two-year budget cycle will be the first in 150 years in which spending will be cut in real, constant dollars.
It took, he said, “World War III” with the teachers unions to make Minnesota the first state to offer performance pay for teachers statewide. The state is second in the nation in health savings accounts: Approximately 10 percent of privately insured Minnesotans have these tax-preferred savings accounts that enable them to shop for routine health needs not covered by high-deductible insurance plans.
…
He is…eager to emphasize brawls he has initiated, and won, such as cutting $2 billion from public employees’ pensions and helping to win a 44-day bus strike — it concerned retirement benefits — in this, the nation’s 16th-largest metropolitan area.
In part by mentioning that Limbaugh considers Pawlenty second only to Sarah Palin for GOP nominee in 2012, Will sets up an implicit contrast between Pawlenty and Palin. It’s a natural comparison, especially because Pawlenty was thought by many to be McCain’s pick for running-mate before he chose Palin and propelled her to national fame.
As Will takes care to note, Pawlenty is from a blue state with a major city. Palin is basically from a reddish wilderness. Minnesota is about 10 times as populous as Alaska.
Palin’s record as a small-government conservative never matched her appeal as a committed social conservative, or her sky-high ratings. She presided over a dramatic increase in state spending, enacted a “windfall profits” tax on oil companies, and backed the “Bridge to Nowhere” — the symbol of egregious pork. When McCain picked her, it was regarded as an attempt to shore up the Republican base, as opposed to tacking to the middle by picking someone like Joe Lieberman (who was considered a candidate at the time) or Pawlenty, who was regarded as a moderate Republican.
Yet at the same time he was garnering a national reputation as a moderate, Pawlenty started the program that, as Will points out, earned him an “A” on the Cato Institute’s governors’ report card. The only other Republicans to earn that distinction were Bobby Jindal and Mark Sanford — hardly RINOs. As 2012 approaches, it is clear that Pawlenty will never have the appeal to the base nor the ability to inspire hatred from the left that Palin has — but she’ll never have anywhere near the record of accomplishments he has put together.
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More Blog Posts by Joseph Lawler
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/10/25/pawlenty-the-mirror-image-of-s
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JP| 10.25.10 @ 9:28AM
Pawlenty is an "Why can't we all just get along Republicans". Will was correct in aligning Mitch Daniels and Pawlenty in the same group. Daniels is the technocrat; Pawlenty is the Progressive cum Moderate in GOP garb. He is skilled in that he used the Minnisota legislature to his political advantage. But make no mistake - as President he would keep ObamaCare (reform, not repeal is the new Progressive moto); he would "reach out" and cut a deal vis-a-vis Climate Change. He also would find reasons to implement VAT, expand the federal bureaucracy and its tentacles.
Pawlenty would be worse than Mitt. He would finish what Obama started.
ggoblue| 10.25.10 @ 10:20AM
you nailed it...mr global warming from the right
he held his finger up to the wind and it was blowing left...no thank you to this rino
JiggleTheHandle| 10.25.10 @ 11:03AM
Pawlenty worked with a Progressive legislature. He got a good deal of what the wanted. He got a lot more than would be expected. For this he is totally villified in the local media and does not care a jot. I think that he low key personality is a winner.
Sheila| 10.25.10 @ 11:09AM
Well said and true - which is why the republican party "leaders" are sure to push him for 2012. Decline and fall.
William Kittelson| 10.25.10 @ 11:43PM
I agree with "JP". His analysis rings true compared with the writer. JP must be a Minnesotan as am I.
Pawlenty backs Climate Change legislation for sure.
As a plus, he is a good executive.
nohype| 10.25.10 @ 10:11AM
Will any of Pawlenty's accomplishments last? He does not seem to have convinced voters that keeping a Republican governor is obviously to their benefit. Mark Dayton, a man who was called the worst senator in the Senate during his single term and in any sane electorate would not be taken seriously, may well be the next Minnesota governor. Shouldn't that be part of the criteria by which we judge potential presidential candidates?
Oh--and grouping him with Mark Sanford is probably not something that helps him.
Ken (Old Texican)| 10.25.10 @ 10:23AM
Mr. Lawler,
That was a dumb blog.
I have both of George Will's best books, "The American Idea" and "Men At Work".
Sadly, over the last few years he has been beaten down to either te Beltway mentality...or he is just settling for scraps from the table.
We need a barn burner, and I get tired of your little ankle nips at Sarah.
Occam's Tool| 10.25.10 @ 11:30AM
Pawlenty is not popular in Minnesota, however. He might not have won another term. I have doubts as to his ability to fire up the base. I would start thinking about Bobby Jindal, myself.
Richard| 10.25.10 @ 10:25AM
If Minnesota elects Mark Dayton, the state will get what it deserves as probably the third most liberal bastion in the country (behind third-world California and pseudo-intellectual, self-righteous Massachusetts): a hobbyist politician from the obscenely moneyed class whose experience with, and understanding of, the work-a-day world and the dynamics of free enterprise has as much weight as a soap bubble. Fortunately, I cleared out of Minnesota in the nick of time.
Occam's Tool| 10.25.10 @ 11:32AM
I work for the State of Minnesota; I voted for Emmer. Thank you, I know I'm Manly and Right. You gotta do what's right for the State, and I kept my job under Pawlenty.
Michael L. Hauschild| 10.25.10 @ 10:48AM
Mr. Lawler.
Pawlenty is not fit to hold Sarah Palin's chum bucket. Please do not insult our intelligence with your RINO enabling drivel.
greg| 10.25.10 @ 11:51AM
Pawlenty blew $50 million on windmills that didn't work in the winter time.
Palin cut the AK state budget every year, not just the level of growth, but acutal spending. The AK state constitution states that the natural resources in AK belong to the people of AK, before Palin came along the oil companies essentially paid royalties to the political establisment, Palin got them to pay it to the people of the state instead. I see nothing wrong with that. As for the Bridge to Nowhere, yes she supported it as a candidate for governor, but once elected, she opposed it. Nothing wrong with changing your mind.
MikeN| 10.25.10 @ 12:08PM
Minnesota was the middle state in the 2008 presidential election, and won by ten points by Obama. TO win the presidency, the GOP must win Minnesota or a state it lost be even more than that.
James Wilson| 10.25.10 @ 12:16PM
May we NOT choose between Palin and Pawplenty? It is far better to say that a national conservative leader has not emerged than it is to pick between unsuitable ones.
Palin has not taken the time to educate herself that Reagan did, and it shows.
The governor of Minnesota, like the governor of New Jersey, is the kind of excellent individual who understands the practical difficulties of a case. But the weakness of the practical mind is that while it clearly sees the existing circumstances of the case, it has small power of foresight.
If we do not have far greater foresight we will continually be playing the hand dealt to us. We see the result.
As a man said, we do not want to know how to make Washington work, we want to know how to make it stop.
Aleck| 10.25.10 @ 12:41PM
Amen to this comment!
hrh| 10.26.10 @ 11:35AM
No, sir, you have not taken the time to educate yourself on Governor Palin, and it shows.
Spend some time here: www.palintv.com if you care at all about "educating yourself."
Particularly the Denver event with Prager and Hewitt.
Or the 2007 interview with a Pittsburgh radio station.
Or the 2008 pre-VP run interview with Armstrong Williams.
Your ignorance is breathtaking ...
Josh Painter | 10.25.10 @ 12:29PM
Where does Lawler get his false notion that Gov. Palin "presided over a dramatic increase in state spending" -- from the Pawlenty camp perhaps?
The facts are that as Governor of Alaska, she cut spending:
Gov. Murkowski's last budget FY2007: $11.7 Billion
Gov. Palin's last budget FY2010: $10.6 Billion
http://www.conservatives4palin.....g-out.html
The increase in the production tax on the Big 3 oil companies by 2.5 percent (only assessed when the barrel price of oil is over $55) didn't stop the "Three Sisters" from enjoying record profits even after it was passed by Alaska's legislature and signed into law.
Also, it is rarely reported, but along with the 2.5 percent increase in the production tax, Palin also doubled the tax credits for oil exploration from 10 percent to 20 percent.
- JP
Jim Hlavac | 10.25.10 @ 12:37PM
What is needed is a hero, a leader, a visionary, a person with a purpose larger than reality -- to bring back the spirit of the nation -- to run for president. What we don't need is a technocrat-bureaucrat who will drone along about this or that program percentage going up or down.
Ergo, Palin trumps Pawlenty.
There's plenty that Pawlenty can do policy wise once she's elected. He doesn't stand a chance to get elected himself.
Curly Smith| 10.25.10 @ 12:59PM
You do understand that a "mirror image" is the reverse of the original image? So if Palin is a Conservative then the "mirror image" Pawlenty is a Liberal. Is that really your recommendation?
All Hail The Stupid Party| 10.25.10 @ 10:14PM
You got it Curly. Lawler wants a RINO because he fears a conservative won't generate the independent vote. Forget it Mr. Lawler. I personally, am not interested in anymore go along to get along RINOs like Pawlenty. He less electable than Mitt the RINO.
Roy| 10.25.10 @ 1:02PM
There's this revisionist myth that Palin was picked as a social conservative hero.
Here's where I first heard of Palin:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....asp?page=2
It barely brings up her "social conservatism", but DOES say she actually vetoed a spending budget, and most of all, is filled with a sense that she actually got things done, strikingly unlike the federal government of 2005-2008, which was already a clueless bunch of blunderers BEFORE they turned a couple high-profile bankruptcies into a "financial crisis".
If Pawlenty were nominated the media would immediately subject him to unremitting demonization. Social conservatives would fight back, as they did with Palin, and next thing you know, he'd be just another "far right" "extreme social conservative". Don't believe me? Take another look at the article I linked. See how similar it is to the one above - praising an actual record of accomplishment. See how entirely unrelated Palin's public image today is to her actual record. That could be your favorite Republican tomorrow.
Sandy| 10.25.10 @ 3:01PM
Pawlenty's name is coming up more and more frequently, especially by those that think they are kingmakers, like Rove. You now know who the next annointed one will be, by the Republican elites, or, those that think they are. No thanks, I'm really really against Cap and Tax, and Bipartisanship. I don't have much fear that Pawlenty will get the nomination, when he gets done speaking, no one will be awake long enough to get to the polls.
SoCon| 10.25.10 @ 3:37PM
Nice hit piece on Palin, Lawler. Sarah was a corruption fighter as Governor: It took courage and grit for her to take on her own party and the big oil companies.
After RINO politicians, I wish we could purge RINO journalists like you from the Republican party.
Pawlenty's just another RINO bore. And so are you.
All Hail The Stupid Party!| 10.25.10 @ 10:17PM
This here is the post of the day. Take care & GOD bless SoCon!
panktainter| 10.25.10 @ 3:43PM
Lots of expert opinion from people who know nothing about Minnesota and it's politics. Live here awhile to get some real perspective. Article is a dud.
Jeremy L.| 10.25.10 @ 6:56PM
RON PAUL is the only clear choice for 2012 President!!! Free Men, Free Minds, Free Markets. LIBERTY!
Jeremiah| 10.25.10 @ 7:06PM
It'll NEVER happen, Jeremy. Sorry.
You can go back to your bong now.
hrh| 10.26.10 @ 11:40AM
"She presided over a dramatic increase in state spending, enacted a "windfall profits" tax on oil companies, and backed the "Bridge to Nowhere" -- the symbol of egregious pork. "
More breathtaking lies and ignorance.
She stopped the Bridge to Nowhere when she realized it was a boondoggle.
According to the AK constitution, it is the governor's role to be the broker for the people of AK regarding the development of their resources. She renegotiated a fairer deal for her clients, the AK people, and not for the corrupt AK politicians, who were lining their own pockets at the expense of AKns.
Her budgets were progressively smaller. Her earmark requests dropped by 85% so that the last year she made 8 requests, all to do with the natural gas pipeline and AK's missile defense system - both projects of significant national impact.
Breathtaking arrogance ...
Oh, and here's a tip:
If you wanna' push Pawlenty? Talk him up. Don't talk his potential competition down. Especially with lies like your promulgating here.
Dan| 10.26.10 @ 11:57AM
She reduced government spending. Get your facts straight. It is right there in the budget documents.