One of the names frequently circulated as a VP contender is former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. In fact, the Washington Post just reported that Tim had a “VP try-out” earlier this week when he said that Rick Santorum was “unqualified to be president.” That was pretty strong talk, considering Santorum swept the state on Tuesday. In fact, Romney limped to the finish in third place in Minnesota — trailing Ron Paul as well. Clearly, what this proves is that T-Paw is willing to go out on a limb and talk tough to back up his candidate… but that he isn’t likely to sway voters in the general election — even in his home state. The Daily Beast says, “This will likely squelch any vice-presidential ambitions Pawlenty had and force him to channel any ambitions in a future Romney administration toward one of the less glamorous cabinet posts.”
Anyhow, here’s a quick rundown of his credentials to serve in a future GOP administration in some capacity…
Congressional Credentials:
Governor of Minnesota (2003 – 2011)
He served on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, the Achieve Inc. Board of Directors, and the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute Board of Directors.
Chair of the National Governors Association (2007)
Former Chair of the Governors Ethanol Coalition (2007)
Former Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association (2006)
House Majority Leader (1999)
Minnesota House of Representatives (1992-2002)
Eagan City Councilmember (1989-1992)
Background:
Pawlenty, the youngest of five children, grew up in South St. Paul, Minnesota. His father was a truck driver, his mother a homemaker (who died when Tim was just 16). Tim went to school with the intention of becoming a dentist, but switched to political science after a particularly grueling chemistry class. He became the first member of his family to graduate from college, obtaining his BA in political science from the University of Minnesota. Pawlenty and his wife Mary have two daughters, Anna and Mara. They live in Eagan, Minnesota and attend the Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie.
His Agenda:
The bulk of his legislation centers around cutting taxes, creating longer prison sentences for repeat offenders / violent criminals, building more roads, spurring job creation, reforming education and creating new energy initiatives.
Foreign Policy Cred:
None.
Domestic Policy Cred:
As Governor, T-Paw took a $4.5 billion budget deficit (the largest in state history) and balanced the budget in his first term, without raising taxes (unless you consider the “cigarette fees”). He reportedly cut government spending by over $2 billion.
The Minnesota Governor’s website further credits him with: overhauling education standards, increasing K-12 spending, pushing health care reforms that led to a 0% premium increase in the state insurance program, reforming welfare, creating a prescription drug website and doubling the state’s ethanol standard to reduce dependence on foreign oil.
Star Achievements:
Well, Minnesota IS historically a Democratic state, so winning two terms is no small feat!
He’s been called “the most Conservative MN Governor since the 1920s”
Other accomplishments in 2003: a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, a conceal weapons law, repeal of the state’s Profiles of Learning standards, establishment of tax-exempt zones in distressed rural areas, a bill requiring recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.
Possible Snafus:
The Fishing/Sex Gaffe: Governor Pawlenty’s taken a lot of heat from his off-the-cuff remark during a local radio interview, where he said: “I have a wife who genuinely loves to fish. I mean, she will take the lead and ask me to go out fishing, and joyfully comes here. She loves football, she’ll go to hockey games and, I jokingly say, ‘Now, if I could only get her to have sex with me.’” (I say, “So What?” But, you know, it’s not exactly a brilliant move if you’re trying to aspire to the 2nd highest office in the land.)
Liberals are quick to attack. In case you were ever wondering, “Well, why wouldn’t someone like this affable governor?” You can find a host of detractors in the comments sections of newspaper articles and on sites like PawlentyUnplugged.com, where someone went ballistic with the old “flip-flop” cliché from the Kerry/Bush election season. The complaints are multitudinous, but essentially revolve around: the 2003 increase in the students’ share of college tuition costs, how he changed his mind on the GLBT community, the Minnesota bridge collapse (which some argue was negligence), the 2005 government shutdown (caused by a deadlock between his office and legislature on the state budget, affecting transportation, state parks and the tourism industry) – and basically the fact that he’s a Republican in a blue state.
Conservatives are also miffed. Some say it was a rookie mistake for Pawlenty to expand rights to the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender community as state legislator. Governors Haley Barbour (MS), Mitch Daniels (IN) and Mark Sanford (SC) are unhappy about Pawlenty’s collaboration with Democrat Ed Rendell favoring the NGA-sponsored addition of $6 billion in federal Medicaid funding and $6 billion in flexible block grants to Bush’s economic stimulus package. Pawlenty’s energy proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was shot down immediately. Some Conservatives are made about the 75-cents-per-pack “fee” on cigarettes, which they say still constitutes as “raising taxes.”
Pawlenty’s failed measures include: a few education initiatives, a bill for stricter penalties on sexual predators, a stadium bill, and a $740 million bonding bill – all instances where he couldn’t quite overcome the partisan divide.
He’s charming, but not all that popular. In 2006, Pawlenty beat his opponent Mike Hatch by a small margin of 47%-46%. Additionally, a SurveyUSA poll says that 52% of Minnesotans approve of the job Pawlenty’s doing, while 46% disapprove and 2% are unsure. When you get down to brass tacks, Pawlenty may not be able to carry Minnesota for Romney and, despite briefly running for president earlier this year, his national profile isn’t top caliber.
VicePresidents.com Assessment:
I confess: I think T-Paw is totally cool. I’m not just saying that because he’s a “Sam’s Club Republican” — a blue collar rock music fan with a penchant for CCR and Bruce Springsteen, who likes “normal guy” things like fishing, reading, hockey and running, and who will sit down to have a couple beers with the locals… although, that helps him in a Huckabee sort of way.
The videos on Pawlenty speak for themselves – he comes off likable, articulate, confident and good-hearted. The New Republic’s Noam Scheiber aptly said the governor “beamed like a scoutmaster awarding merit badges.” As RedState.com reminds us, “Ideas don’t run for president, people do,” and in that regard Pawlenty has a presence that young people, Independents, Populist Conservatives, Suburbanites, women and Mavericks can appreciate.
Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman affirms that Pawlenty is “a really decent person” who is well-liked by almost everyone who truly knows him. Coleman adds, “One of the key characteristics for a vice presidential candidate is for the president to be able to campaign and not worry about the vice president. Tim Pawlenty is as solid as you can get on a personal level, on a life-story level, on a confidence level.”
I like that T-Paw has a totally Cheney sense of humor:
And I think he’s been doing everything “right” to increase his GOP name recognition. He travels to fundraisers, gives keynote speeches at the Republican Governors Association events, he headlines dinners (like the Prescott Bush Awards Dinner in Connecticut, which never fails to attract Republican heavyweights.) He’s made quite a few appearances with Romney as well, which is increasing his star power tenfold.
Can he woo conservatives? Who knows for sure? They seemed to have swooned for Santorum, who would be a much more likely VP choice at the moment. He regularly attends an Evangelical Church and he was married by Leith Anderson, a senior pastor at Wooddale (who’s also the president of the National Association of Evangelicals). While he’s not the most Conservative guy in the nation, he’s Conservative for Minnesota… and he does have the blessings of Karl Rove, Ken Mehlman and Vin Weber. He’s made steps to impress his Conservative buddies by signing conceal-and-carry legislation into law and continually vetoing Democratic bills.
In 2008, Pawlenty attacked Obama on ABC News, saying: “[Obama] seems to have a lack of appreciation or understanding of many of the values of this country. He’s not only out of the mainstream of the Democratic Party, but out of the mainstream of the country as a whole.” As an early adopted of Romney, Pawlenty has positioned himself to win.
If you’re looking at “ticket branding,” Pawlenty is not a terribly savvy choice for Romney anymore. His calm, cool demeanor will be ripped apart by Joe Biden in the debates and he is unlikely to carry any battleground states. Yet, he is hopelessly loyal, capable and experienced in domestic issues. All in all, T-Paw’s sort of a mixed bag, but I think there’s still some merit to shortlisting him.
Video:
