[Speed Gibson,
Monday July 23, 2007 at 6:41am]
Re: The Party of Pawlenty (Part 2)
The new Party of Pawlenty site claims that leaders like Tim Pawlenty are the future of the Republican Party. In Part 1, I disagreed, that a non-conservative is not going to enact a conservative agenda. A Republican Party that isn't conservative won't hold off the socialist hordes and in focused competition with "real" Democrats, won't win many elections either.
Despite all this, is Pawlenty the exception? What is the secret to his success? I'll cut to my own chase: he's a chameleon. He's young, handsome, and above all, well-spoken, especially in front of a camera. Though powerful in numbers, the DFL has its own leadership troubles, allowing Pawlenty to be the ultimate shape-shifter. He was a strong Republican Superman in 2003, a weak Caspar Milquetoast in 2005, and a lucky Gladstone Gander in 2007. Throughout it all, his verbal skills carried him. In some cases, he's even able to convince some disgruntled fellow Republicans he did the right thing.
So how do we peel this onion? What are the Governor's core beliefs and policies? And are they conservative? Take taxes, the raison d'etre of the Republican Party. His scorecard is pretty good and yet he needlessly raised taxes in 2005. He put the option on the table, not the Legislature. Not only that, he lied to the base, calling it a fee, and an end justified the means.
We also have the Twins stadium tax increase to consider, and I will in part 3.
Despite all this, is Pawlenty the exception? What is the secret to his success? I'll cut to my own chase: he's a chameleon. He's young, handsome, and above all, well-spoken, especially in front of a camera. Though powerful in numbers, the DFL has its own leadership troubles, allowing Pawlenty to be the ultimate shape-shifter. He was a strong Republican Superman in 2003, a weak Caspar Milquetoast in 2005, and a lucky Gladstone Gander in 2007. Throughout it all, his verbal skills carried him. In some cases, he's even able to convince some disgruntled fellow Republicans he did the right thing.
So how do we peel this onion? What are the Governor's core beliefs and policies? And are they conservative? Take taxes, the raison d'etre of the Republican Party. His scorecard is pretty good and yet he needlessly raised taxes in 2005. He put the option on the table, not the Legislature. Not only that, he lied to the base, calling it a fee, and an end justified the means.
We also have the Twins stadium tax increase to consider, and I will in part 3.