Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Scraps State Campaign Finance Program -- Which Was Helping Republicans!

Eric Kleefeld | November 20, 2009, 3:53PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) made an interesting move in a series of unilaterally-imposed budget cuts, the Star-Tribune reports, by suspending a tax-refund program that partially reimbursed small political donations -- and, it turns out, was benefitting the state Republicans much more than the Democrats.

The program gave taxpayers a $50 refund if they made a political donation of at least that amount. State records show that donors to Republicans were claiming $2.9 million in these refunds, compared to only $1.1 million in refunds claimed by Democratic donors.

Give Pawlenty some points for consistency. It appears that he isn't just against public financing of campaigns when it helps the Democrats. He's against it when it helps Republicans, too.

Tim Pawlenty

Poll: Obama Would Beat Pawlenty In Minnesota

Eric Kleefeld | November 18, 2009, 9:49AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and President Barack Obama

A new poll of Minnesota by St. Cloud State University finds that Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a potential Republican candidate for president in 2012, would lose his Democratic-leaning home state to President Obama if the election were held today.

The numbers: Obama 49%, Pawlenty 40%, with a ±5% margin of error.

In 2008, Obama beat John McCain in Minnesota by 54%-44%. As the Star-Tribune notes, Pawlenty received less than 50% of the vote in each of his two elections as governor. He won 44% of the vote in a three-way race in 2002, and in 2006 he narrowly edged out his Democratic opponent by a 47%-46% margin.

Tim Pawlenty

Poll: Minnesota Would Not Vote For Pawlenty For President

Eric Kleefeld | November 13, 2009, 9:53AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

A new Rasmussen poll of Minnesota, where Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate, finds that a plurality of likely voters in the state would not vote for him.

Respondents were asked: "Suppose Governor Tim Pawlenty runs for President in 2012 and wins the Republican nomination. If Pawlenty was the Republican Presidential candidate, would you vote for him?"

The numbers: Yes 42%, No 46%, with a ±3% margin of error. The poll also has Pawlenty's approval rating as governor at 52%, with 47% disapproval.

Minnesota has not voted Republican for president since the 1972 Nixon landslide. In 2008, it voted for Barack Obama by a 54%-44% margin.

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty To Visit New Hampshire In December

Eric Kleefeld | November 11, 2009, 3:33PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a potential presidential candidate, will soon be visiting the major primary state of New Hampshire, the Union Leader reports.

Pawlenty will be the keynote speaker at a December 16 fundraiser for the New Hampshire GOP's state Senate campaign PAC. Tickets will be $50, an amount that was set in order to be affordable and "to attract people from all across the state," said local GOP strategist Michael Dennehy, who is advising the PAC.

Dennehy said that Pawlenty "would be a good, new fresh face for Republicans in New Hampshire to meet and to help raise money for the Republican cause."

Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty To Iowa GOP: 'Thank You, Lord, For My Red-Hot, Smokin' Wife'

Eric Kleefeld | November 9, 2009, 10:03AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) spoke to the Iowa Republican Party last night, and thanked God for his blessings in life.

"Thank you, Lord, for my red-hot, smokin' wife," said Pawlenty -- a quote from the movie Talladega Nights, a Will Ferrell comedy about an idiotic NASCAR driver.

"I think she appreciates that line. I talked to her about it and she's OK with it," Pawlenty later told a reporter. "She knows it's in fun. I mean it sincerely, I think she is hot."

Late Update: Here's the video:

Roundup

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | November 5, 2009, 8:58AM

Fmr. Gov. Mitt Romney (R), Fmr. Gov. George Pataki (R), Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R)

Pawlenty, Romney And Pataki Call New Mayor Of Manchester, New Hampshire
Ted Gatsas, the new Republican mayor-elect of Manchester, New Hampshire, told ABC News that he's already received congratulatory phone calls from Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney and George Pataki. "I don't know who is running for president but I don't mind telling you who has called," said Gatsas.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will speak at 9:30 a.m. ET, delivering opening remarks and participating in an interactive discussion with tribal leaders at the White House Tribal Nations Conference. He will meet with senior advisers at 11 a.m. ET, and receive his daily briefing at 11:40 a.m. ET. At 12:30 p.m. ET, he will have lunch with Vice President Biden. He will meet at 1:40 p.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He will meet at 3 p.m. ET with President Ian Khama of Botswana. He will meet at 3:40 p.m. ET with representatives of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and at 4 p.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At 4:50 p.m. ET, he will deliver closing remarks at the White House Tribal Nations Conference.

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VA-GOV

Pawlenty On Virginia: Voters Embraced McDonnell's 'Conservative Message'

Christina Bellantoni | November 3, 2009, 8:46PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty issued a statement on Bob McDonnell's (R-VA) win in Virginia tonight:

"I want to send my congratulations to Bob, Maureen and their family. Bob ran a positive campaign based on the conservative principles of fiscal responsibility and low taxes. Virginians embraced his conservative message, rejecting more taxes, card-check and spending that would hurt economic growth and job creation. I'm especially proud of the RGA's historic role in supporting Bob's effort, and look forward to working with the Governor-Elect next year."

Health Care

Governors (And Candidates) Span Spectrum On Public Option Opt-Out

Christina Bellantoni | October 28, 2009, 6:38PM

President Obama addresses National Governors Association

It's been two days since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced a health care bill with a public option that will allow states to opt-out.

As TPMDC wrote earlier, we still don't know the mechanism for how the states would get out (or in, if that were to happen) of the public option, but we took stock of some of the candidates for governor in Tuesday's races.

Our question: Would your state opt out of a public option?

The basic tally:

In New Jersey, Gov. Jon Corzine (D) would not. Challenger Chris Christie (R) would.

In Virginia, Bob McDonnell (R) would opt out and Creigh Deeds (D) is leaning toward opting out.

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Pres '12

Tim Pawlenty To Speak At NRSC Meeting Next Month

Christina Bellantoni | October 27, 2009, 6:48PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) is lending his 2012 hopeful self to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, sending out a letter to NRSC's mailing list touting his upcoming speech next month.

He'll be speaking at the NRSC fall meeting, held Nov. 16 and Nov. 17. One donor will be chosen to attend the meeting, Pawlenty wrote to NRSC supporters.

"I look forward to sharing the message of Freedom First with supporters from across America who are helping us rebuild our conservative ranks in 2010," Pawlenty wrote in the email, obtained by TPMDC.

Full email after the jump.

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NJ-GOV

Christie Bringing In Some GOP Stars For Home Stretch In New Jersey

Eric Kleefeld | October 27, 2009, 11:56AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), Fmr. US Attorney Chris Christie (R) and Fmr. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R)

On a conference call with reporters this morning, the Chris Christie campaign announced a marathon schedule of events all around the state for the final week of the campaign -- and they'll be getting some special guests.

Campaign adviser Mike DuHaime said the campaign will be joined by Rudy Giuliani, Tim Pawlenty, and former New Jersey Governors Tom Kean and Christie Whitman. Specific days and events were not announced for these guest-stars at this time.

I asked whether the campaign is at a disadvantage to the Corzine campaign, which has been able to bring in popular national Democrats like President Obama, Vice President Biden and former President Bill Clinton. By contrast, a lot of national Republicans wouldn't be popular draws in New Jersey, such as Sarah Palin and other conservative figures.

"It's no greater disadvantage than it is to run in New Jersey to begin with," said DuHaime, due to the state having 700,000 more Democrats than Republican, and Corzine able to spend a lot of his own money on the race.

NY-23

Pawlenty Endorses Conservative Party's Hoffman In NY-23

Eric Kleefeld | October 26, 2009, 3:14PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a potential presidential candidate in 2012, has now endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the NY-23 special election -- passing over his party's actual nominee, moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava.

Pawlenty said in a statement given to Red State:

"We cannot send more politicians to Washington who wear the Republican jersey on the campaign trail, but then vote like Democrats in Congress on issues like card check and taxes. After reviewing the candidates' positions, I'm endorsing Doug Hoffman in New York's special election. Doug understands the federal government needs to quit spending so much, will vote against tax increases, and protect key values like the right to vote in private in union elections."

Pawlenty is the second possible GOP presidential candidate to pick the Conservative over the Republican, following Sarah Palin's endorsement of Hoffman late last week. Newt Gingrich has been vocally supporting Scozzafava, and catching a lot of flak on the right as a result.

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty: My State Should Opt Out

Eric Kleefeld | October 23, 2009, 4:37PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a potential president candidate, says that his state should opt out of the public option if given the chance.

"I don't know if we would opt out, but I personally would like to opt out because I don't like government-run health care," Pawlenty said.

This shouldn't be too much of a shocker, considering that Pawlenty had previously talked about invoking the Tenth Amendment and attempting to nullify health care reform at the state level. Really, being given permission by the federal government to opt out isn't much in comparison.

It's unlikely that Minnesota actually would opt out, due to its legislature being heavily Democratic. But hey, Pawlenty can dream. And he can court the national GOP base.

NY-23

Pawlenty: 'I'm Concerned' About Moderate GOP Candidate's Positions In NY-23

Eric Kleefeld | October 23, 2009, 1:36PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a potential presidential candidate, is starting to sound an awful lot like he could end up endorsing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the NY-23 special election -- saying that he'ss "concerned" about moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava's positions.

Yesterday, Pawlenty had simply said that he didn't know anything about the race. Now it's quite different, as ABC News reports:

Pawlenty, who's widely mentioned as a possible 2012 presidential candidate, said he will "probably" make an endorsement in the race -- and sounded as if he's poised to support Hoffman over Scozzafava.

"As a conservative I'm concerned about some of the alleged issue positions that she holds," said Pawlenty, R-Minn. "I want to be fair to both candidates and look at their records. But there are some things that [I] have been told that you know, she holds dear, that may not be consistent with conservative principles."

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Covers The Rolling Stones To Woo Young Republicans

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 23, 2009, 10:58AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Minnesota Governor and expected 2012 presidential contender Tim Pawlenty (R) held his first D.C. fundraiser for his new PAC last night at a pub downtown. Pawlenty focused the event on young Republicans, and opened his address to the few hundred in the crowd with little taste of that rock-and-roll the kids are all talking about.

"Mick Jagger said in a song once, 'you can't always get what what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need," Pawlenty said. "For those of us who are Republicans and conservatives, we didn't get what we wanted in the 2008 election for president but we did get something that we needed. And that is a chance to ask 'what are the lessons from 2008 and 2006?'"

Pawlenty said the lesson he learned was that Republicans need to make new friends -- but keep the old ones, too. "I know a little about reaching out to people who are not yet Republicans," he said. "But I want to make sure as we move forward we don't get confused about diluting our principles and our values."

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Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Speaking To Right-Wing Activist Conference

Eric Kleefeld | October 16, 2009, 3:09PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is set to boost his ultra-conservative credentials this weekend, putting in an appearance at the Western CPAC conference -- where he'll be in some pretty interesting company.

Tonight, for example, Pawlenty will be featured at a private VIP reception, which also include none other than Floyd Brown. For those of you who have not heard of him, Brown was the originator of the Willie Horton ad against Mike Dukakis in 1988, and currently runs the Web sites Expose Obama and the Impeach Obama Campaign, which warns: "how long should we sit back and permit Barack Hussein Obama to rip apart the fabric of this country before we take action?"

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Health Care

Prez Contender Pawlenty: Baucus Bill 'Bad For The Country'

Rachel Slajda | October 13, 2009, 2:23PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a likely contender for the Republican presidential nomination, wrote a column today criticizing the Senate Finance Committee bill as a "a tax and spending bill masquerading as a health reform bill."

Pawlenty has been upping his national visibility with a new PAC, a planned trip to Iowa and other comments on health care reform, including calling the Democrats' plans "a manure spreader in a windstorm."

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Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty To Make Iowa Debut

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2009, 10:44AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is heading to Iowa in a key early test of his ability to build support among potential Republican caucus goers.

Pawlenty, who recently announced a new political action committee will be the "featured guest" at the Nov. 7 Leadership for Iowa event at the state fairgrounds.

Matt Strawn, Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, issued a release praising the Minnesotan as "innovative" and "conservative," and noted Pawlenty was known for balancing the state budget, reducing spending and enacting health care and education reform measures.

Pawlenty will be joined by Republican candidates for governor hoping to oust Democrat Chet Culver in 2010. Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased here.

Late update: The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party took a cue from the national Democrats who have been hammering Pawlenty as an absentee governor lately, and put out tongue-in-cheek statement.

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Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Hires Sara Taylor, Ex-Rove Aide And Featured Player In U.S. Attorney Scandal

Eric Kleefeld | October 1, 2009, 12:32PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and Former WH Aide Sara Taylor

A very interesting name pops up on the management and strategy team for Gov. Tim Pawlenty's (R-MN) new political action committee, which is widely seen as a preliminary step for a presidential campaign: Sara Taylor, a former top aide to Karl Rove, who resigned her position during the U.S. Attorney scandal.

Taylor's testimony during the U.S. Attorney hearings sure was interesting. When confronted with the fact that she'd conducted official government business through a private RNC e-mail account, she explained that it was more "efficient" than using both the RNC e-mail and the government e-mail. In addition, Taylor refused to answer many questions, citing executive privilege, and for other questions said she couldn't recall the answers:"I can't remember what I had for breakfast last week."

But her single most famous moment was when Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) caught Taylor saying she made an oath to the President -- as opposed to saying she made an oath to the Constitution:

Pres '12

Pawlenty: My New PAC Is "Just The Opposite" Of Confirming Presidential Run

Eric Kleefeld | September 22, 2009, 2:29PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2012, has now formed his own federal political action committee, called "Freedom First," which will allow him to raise money for other Republicans and to travel around the country -- but Pawlenty is denying that this is a step towards laying groundwork for a presidential campaign.

As the Star Tribune reports:

Pawlenty, who ended his state fundraising committee earlier this month, said the new PAC should not be seen as confirmation of his interest in running for president.

"It is just the opposite," Pawlenty told the Star Tribune this morning. "This undertaking, as we plan it and envision it, would be to help other candidates on a federal level."

Values Voter Summit

The Values Voter Summit: A Celebration Of The "Religious Right"

Eric Kleefeld | September 21, 2009, 12:57PM

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR)

The Values Voter Summit concluded over the weekend, showcasing the religious right (and more on the proper usage of that label later on) and its fervent opposition to President Obama.

Mike Huckabee won the presidential straw poll, a key test of religious right voters, but it was with a weak plurality in a very divided field: Huckabee 29%, followed by Mitt Romney Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin and Mike Pence, all with about 12% each. That said, it's natural in some ways that the GOP should have no obvious frontrunner at this point in the cycle, and this isn't really a huge problem -- but don't mistake these numbers for a major Huck win.

Huckabee was obviously a big hit, and really did play into the worldview of good versus evil. For example, he besmirched the very motives and patriotism of their political enemies, and of those who tell the the GOP to be less conservative and more moderate: "I'm not sure the center makes a whole lot of sense when it's coming from people who certainly don't have our interest, or our country's interest, at heart."

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Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Accidentally Gives Out Phone Sex Hotline Number On His Radio Show

Eric Kleefeld | September 18, 2009, 5:58PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) had a bit of a blooper on his weekly radio show -- when giving out the number to call into his show, he accidentally gave the number of a phone-sex hotline.

The problem here was that he used an 800 area code, when the actual number was 866.

I wouldn't be too quick to laugh at Pawlenty, though, as I've personally made this exact same mistake myself. And for the record, I was trying to call a news company.

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Orders Halt To Minnesota Funding of ACORN -- Which Reportedly Does Not Exist

Eric Kleefeld | September 16, 2009, 5:54PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a potential presidential candidate in 2012, has taken the bold step of ordering his state government to suspend and review all funding of ACORN -- a move sure to please the GOP base.

But here's the catch, according to the Star Tribune: ACORN says that they don't have any funding from the state of Minnesota. A spokesman for the group told the paper that ACORN has never received money from the state government, "and there's certainly not a dime to cut off right now."

Pawlenty's order to the state Management and Budget Commissioner ordered a halt to all ACORN funding "unless the state is legally obligated," and to conduct a "thorough" investigation into the state's relationship with ACORN.

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty: It's "A Viable Option" To Invoke State Sovereignty, Keep Minnesota Out of Health Care Reform

Eric Kleefeld | September 11, 2009, 8:52AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a possible presidential candidate in 2012, is now indicating that he could invoke state sovereignty and prevent his home state of Minnesota from participating in a federal health care reform effort if one passes, Minnesota Public Radio reports.

"Depending on what the federal government comes out with here, asserting the 10th Amendment may be a viable option," Pawlenty said, when asked about it by a caller on a Republican Governors Association conference call. "But we don't know the details. As one of the other callers said, we can't get the President to outline what he does or doesn't support in any detail. So we'll have to see, I would have to say that it's a possibility."

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