[Speed Gibson,
Wednesday August 8, 2007 at 11:07pm]
Who will save him this time?
Testimonials to Pawlenty's handling of the I-35W are predictably appearing on the new Party of Pawlenty web site. Actually, he is doing well, as the polls confirm. But he also seems poised to make a potentially career-ending mistake: calling a Special Session.
A couple of the usual suspects are of course pointing to his vetoes as at least shortchanging our safety and infrastructure. To give this any credence by talking of raising the gas tax after all seems a puzzling position and/or strategy.
The reason Pawlenty finds himself adjusting his collar is that he governs by perception, not principle. He campaigned against light rail, remember? Now he's all for it, even recently moving up the schedule even though the federal money isn't approved yet. Where is this in the "conservative agenda" that Pawlenty is supposedly moving forward?
A conservative lets the numbers speak for themselves. Light rail is a bust, everywhere in the country. It solves nothing as it consumes billions in construction costs and further millions in operating losses. A conservative Governor would have been actively explaining why the MVET Amendment was a bad idea. He would have vetoed the transportation bill saying that Light Rail is 0 for 1, and won't be expanded, "not on my watch."
But now that he's flip-flopped, he's caught. He can't decry the money going to Light Rail and public transit in general. A conservative Governor puts a moratorium on light rail et al, at least long enough to get to the regular session in 2008. Instead, Pawlenty has the opposite problem, facing pressure to raise taxes to cover that excessive public transit and disproportionate rural highway spending.
I'm sure he'll at least have the good sense not to call a Special Session until after the State Fair. But if he does, he won't be re-elected in 2010, especially if the Democrats run a moderate candidate like Peter Hutchinson.
Judi Dutcher saved him in 2006. Larry Pogemiller saved him in 2007. If he indeed calls a Special Session and raises taxes, losing another big slice of the conservative base, who will save him this time?
A couple of the usual suspects are of course pointing to his vetoes as at least shortchanging our safety and infrastructure. To give this any credence by talking of raising the gas tax after all seems a puzzling position and/or strategy.
The reason Pawlenty finds himself adjusting his collar is that he governs by perception, not principle. He campaigned against light rail, remember? Now he's all for it, even recently moving up the schedule even though the federal money isn't approved yet. Where is this in the "conservative agenda" that Pawlenty is supposedly moving forward?
A conservative lets the numbers speak for themselves. Light rail is a bust, everywhere in the country. It solves nothing as it consumes billions in construction costs and further millions in operating losses. A conservative Governor would have been actively explaining why the MVET Amendment was a bad idea. He would have vetoed the transportation bill saying that Light Rail is 0 for 1, and won't be expanded, "not on my watch."
But now that he's flip-flopped, he's caught. He can't decry the money going to Light Rail and public transit in general. A conservative Governor puts a moratorium on light rail et al, at least long enough to get to the regular session in 2008. Instead, Pawlenty has the opposite problem, facing pressure to raise taxes to cover that excessive public transit and disproportionate rural highway spending.
I'm sure he'll at least have the good sense not to call a Special Session until after the State Fair. But if he does, he won't be re-elected in 2010, especially if the Democrats run a moderate candidate like Peter Hutchinson.
Judi Dutcher saved him in 2006. Larry Pogemiller saved him in 2007. If he indeed calls a Special Session and raises taxes, losing another big slice of the conservative base, who will save him this time?