[Speed Gibson,
Wednesday July 25, 2007 at 12:31am]
Re: The Party of Pawlenty (Part 3)
Continuing my series on Pawlenty being the very model of a modern major conservative, it's easy to find strong evidence of "kinder, gentler" aka "compassionate" conservatism in our Governor.
As good as we might feel about the results of the 2007 Legislative session, spending still went up almost 10 percent, about double the inflation rate. But while I can certainly question his negotiating style, I have to give him and the GOP leadership considerable credit for holding off the near veto-proof DFL majorities he faced.
No, it's the stupid stuff like the Twins Stadium bill that exposes the real Tim Pawlenty. Don't forget, he originally campaigned against this, and against light rail, too. A conservative doesn't raise taxes when there is no need, and Carl Pohlad has no need of state money to build a new ballpark on his own.
The real crime was yanking the prescribed referendum ballot out of our hands, we the taxpayers of Hennepin County. He even went so far as to snub us by signing it at a game, wearing a Twins jersey. Forgive me if this sounds like an ad hominem attack, but this demonstrates a real character flaw in the man.
Pawlenty can be clever and glib, but he doesn't have the political courage to do what's right for its own sake. The best example of this was his signing of the smoking ban. In fact, he was rather eager to sign it. Now whatever else Pawlenty may or may not be, stupid he isn't. I have to believe he knows this second-hand smoke "danger" fades quickly under even modest cross-examination. The data just isn't there. It's another blow to rural Minnesota, especially the border towns, and will significantly add to the growing list of closed bars and restaurants - for nothing.
Pawlenty is a populist, a Republican populist, or should I say, a populist Republican? He somewhat reminds me of Bill O'Reilly, another smart guy in my opinion, but one too willing to suspend that intellect to, say, decry the big bad oil companies.
So why is this Pawlenty of Populism such a hit with voters? That's next, in part 4.
As good as we might feel about the results of the 2007 Legislative session, spending still went up almost 10 percent, about double the inflation rate. But while I can certainly question his negotiating style, I have to give him and the GOP leadership considerable credit for holding off the near veto-proof DFL majorities he faced.
No, it's the stupid stuff like the Twins Stadium bill that exposes the real Tim Pawlenty. Don't forget, he originally campaigned against this, and against light rail, too. A conservative doesn't raise taxes when there is no need, and Carl Pohlad has no need of state money to build a new ballpark on his own.
The real crime was yanking the prescribed referendum ballot out of our hands, we the taxpayers of Hennepin County. He even went so far as to snub us by signing it at a game, wearing a Twins jersey. Forgive me if this sounds like an ad hominem attack, but this demonstrates a real character flaw in the man.
Pawlenty can be clever and glib, but he doesn't have the political courage to do what's right for its own sake. The best example of this was his signing of the smoking ban. In fact, he was rather eager to sign it. Now whatever else Pawlenty may or may not be, stupid he isn't. I have to believe he knows this second-hand smoke "danger" fades quickly under even modest cross-examination. The data just isn't there. It's another blow to rural Minnesota, especially the border towns, and will significantly add to the growing list of closed bars and restaurants - for nothing.
Pawlenty is a populist, a Republican populist, or should I say, a populist Republican? He somewhat reminds me of Bill O'Reilly, another smart guy in my opinion, but one too willing to suspend that intellect to, say, decry the big bad oil companies.
So why is this Pawlenty of Populism such a hit with voters? That's next, in part 4.