Tim Pawlenty told voters at a town hall today in Des Moines, Iowa, that he will run for president. Between the video previewing the announcement, the comments released ahead of time, and Pawlenty’s own slip of the tongue in April on CNN (“I’m running for president”), that announcement probably didn’t shock anyone.
So here’s what might: Pawlenty also railed against ethanol and farm subsidies. In Iowa.
“We need to cut spending, and we need to cut it…big time. The hard truth is that there are no longer any sacred programs,” Pawlenty said in his speech. “The truth about federal energy subsidies, including federal subsidies for ethanol, is that they have to be phased out. We need to do it gradually. We need to do it fairly. But we need to do it.”
It’s a daring statement to make, particularly considering how crucial winning Iowa looks to be for the Pawlenty campaign.
But if this speech is any indication, Pawlenty looks he’s planning to charge sacred cows in rhetoric while campaigning.
“Later this week, I’m going to New York City, to tell Wall Street that if I’m elected, the era of bailouts, handouts, and carve outs will be over,” Pawlenty said. “No more subsidies, no more special treatment. No more Fannie and Freddie, no more TARP, and no more ‘too big to fail.’”
He’s also planning to go to Florida tomorrow and tell affluent seniors that “we will means test Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment.”
“Conventional wisdom says you can’t talk about ethanol in Iowa or Social Security in Florida or financial reform on Wall Street,” Pawlenty said. “But someone has to say it. Someone has to finally stand up and level with the American people. Someone has to lead.”
Full speech transcript here.
Whether Pawlenty's sincere about what he said remains to be seen, but it is a strong rhetorical start.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePawlenty's allegedly "anti ethanol" statement was NOT anti-ethanol. It was a continuation of a budgeting argument. Pawlenty made not one argument against the efficacy of ethanol, its damaging effects on the economy or on the environment.
Beyond that, though, Pawlenty managed to botch the easiest part of the campaign - the announcement of his candidacy. We have known for almost a month that he's running.
If he cannot properly handle merely entering the race, something tells me he'll be in over his head well ahead of any "October Surprise".
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI admire him but I'm rapidly reconsidering my evaluation of him as one of the favorites. Three years ago, John McCain went into Michigan and flatly and hosnestly told desperate autoworkers, The jobs aren't coming back. Then Mitt Romney came in and promised them just the opposite.
Romney won the primary in a landslide.
People can only stand so much candor, especially as it relates to themselves. And no one ever appreciates a Cassandra.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePawlenty's Record (from 2008)
External Link
"In April, Mr. Pawlenty delivered the remarks that probably best reveal his views on the environment. "It looks like we should have listened to President Carter," he told the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group. "He called us to action, and we should have listened. . . . Climate change is real. Human behavior is partly and may be a lot responsible. Those who don't think so are simply not right. We should not spend time on voices that say it's not real."
and
"On prescription drugs, Mr. Pawlenty set up the state's RX Connect Program to import price-controlled Canadian drugs. The South St. Paul populist also advocated a temporary ban on ads paid for by pharmaceutical companies. Not exactly the stuff of which markets are made."
and
"Mr. Pawlenty has presided over back-to-back biennial budget increases of 12.4% and 9.8% respectively."
and
"Mr. Pawlenty's proactive government stance extends to support for mass transit and sport stadium subsidies, as well as for hiking the state's minimum wage, which is now $6.15 an hour for large employers (the federal minimum wage is $5.85). "
THIS is the man many people on this site are trying to promote as some great conservative hope. He's not. He's a squishy, big government, milquetoast minnesota republican.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWow, I wanna vote for that guy.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOh, goodie. Another Republican who is against sick and dying cancer patients using marijuana to alleviate their pain and suffering.
Yay for limited (haha!) government "conservatives".
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI think some conservatives on these comment threads are being overly nitpicky and more Catholic than the Pope; with the resulting perfect being the enemy of the good.
My favorite ticket happens to be Palin-West, but I just heard Pawlenty being interviewed by El Rushbo, and I must say, he sounded pretty good. Outstanding, in fact -- I suggest you check it out for yourselves: External Link
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"THIS is the man many people on this site are trying to promote as some great conservative hope. He's not. He's a squishy, big government, milquetoast minnesota republican."
He's your next nominee for the POTUS. Get used to it.
For God's sake, man, he addresses the need to take on friggin' subsidies. You know, the programs that politicians (conservatives) that voters like yourself kept voting for during 2000-2006 while Bush43 expanded the Federal Subsidy Catalog 28% during that time, and you kept voting them in!
The only man that has accomplished any cost cutting like Pawlenty is Gingrich. Pick your poison and quit sniveling like a regular conservative.
Wanna beat O? Or, like most of the sad sacks that promote your ideology, do you just wanna continue to enable socialists?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Or, like most of the sad sacks that promote your ideology, do you just wanna continue to enable socialists?"
My ideology being conservatism. Apparently that is verboten when it comes to the politically correct groupthink of "who can win'.
And right now, according to this site, it's the milquetoast moderate from minnesota.
It would be funny if the lovers of big (moderate) government weren't in a full on fever telling everyone that we have to get behind a candidate for the 2012 election before summer of 2011. Yes folks, declare your love for the favorite squishy republican now, or you're just a perfectionist who refuses to name a perfect candidate they would vote for 18 months before the election.
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