Pawlenty Swings a 9 Iron at 'Big Government' and Clubs Himself
By Jon Perr Monday Feb 22, 2010 6:00pmAfter his dismal performance at this weekend's CPAC conference, Minnesota Governor and 2012 White House hopeful Tim Pawlenty might want to ask for a mulligan. Before finishing a distant fourth in the CPAC straw poll, Pawlenty's speech was panned by the conservative faithful he sought to impress. Worse still, his painful Tiger Woods "9 iron" joke about "big government" not only fell flat, but served to highlight Governor Pawlenty's dependence on the very federal stimulus funds he continued to denounce on Meet the Press Sunday.
In a red meat moment served up to feed frenzied Tea Baggers inside and outside the hall, the man who calls himself T-Paw casually endorsed their rage (and worse) by suggesting conservatives emulate the troubled Woods family:
"Not from Tiger, but from his wife. So, she said, 'I've had enough.' She said, 'No more.' I think we should take a page out of her playbook and take a nine iron and smash the window out of big government in this country."
But back in Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty is only too happy to receive handouts from the big government he decries.
Facing a $1.2 billion budget deficit, Pawlenty has proposed slashing health care coverage, education funding and aid to municipalities. Still, to fully close the gap, Pawlenty's proposal relies on $387 million in stimulus funds from Washington. As the Minnesota Star Tribune reported:
Nearly one-third of the governor's budget fix would rely on $387 million in federal stimulus money. That money isn't yet in the bank and, if it doesn't come through, the cuts could be far deeper.
Ironically, this episode comes just days after Governor Pawlenty exhumed the stinking corpse of the balanced budget amendment in a Politico op-ed titled, "Ponzi Scheme on the Potomac." Without ever detailing how a President T-Paw would cut spending, Pawlenty nevertheless argued:
That's why we need an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced budget with limited exceptions for war, natural disasters and other emergencies. Every state but one has a balanced budget requirement, and while such requirements make for difficult decisions, they work.
Pawlenty's dependence on the Obama stimulus program he ridiculed as "ludicrous", "misdirected" and "largely wasted" hardly ends with plugging holes in the Minnesota budget. As ThinkProgress documented, in August, Pawlenty's economic development chief vouched for the Recovery Act's success in producing jobs in the Land of the 10,000 Lakes:
Pawlenty's criticisms of the stimulus are at odds with both economists and the statements of Pawlenty's own economic development director, Dan McElroy. McElroy, Pawlenty's "point man on jobs and economic development," leads the Department of Employment and Economic Development. He recently went on a 10 city road show titled "Advancing Economic Prosperity" touting the benefits of the stimulus. Speaking about the positive effects of the stimulus, McElroy said:
"Our goal was to put this money to work as quickly as possible. Communities and job-seekers throughout Minnesota are seeing tangible results from this funding."
Tom Hanson, Pawlenty's top financial advisor, concurred. He told legislators that cash from that big government back in DC would make "all of our lives just a little bit easier," adding:
"The federal money will give us the opportunity to accept federal assistance and push it out into our state, to help as many people as possible."
But on Meet the Press Sunday, Pawlenty resumed both the anti-stimulus drumbeat and his unique brand of voodoo economics. Asked by host David Gregory about the $787 billion ARRA which created thousands of jobs in his home state of Minnesota and up to two million nationwide, T-Paw said the Obama administration "did it the wrong way." Instead, the man who would constitutionally mandate a balanced federal budget offered up more of the same snake oil that led to a tripling of the national debt under Ronald Reagan and a doubling under George W. Bush:
"David, I don't disagree that we need to do things to stimulate and grow the economy. But the way to do that is to take the tax code and extend the Bush tax cuts, cut the payroll tax, encourage growth in the private economy by reducing capital gains burdens."
And so it goes. In one of his first chances to tee off on the national stage, Tim Pawlenty's shot landed squarely in a sand trap. After his CPAC debacle, Pawlenty needs to put the club down or, at least, stop hitting himself.
(An earlier version of this piece also appears at Perrspectives.)
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http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h3N7s6-pnaY/R1XL8s1...
WASHINGTON — An aide to Dick Cheney says the former vice president is in George Washington Hospital after experiencing chest pains. Cheney's assistant, Peter Long, said in a statement late Monday that the 69-year-old Cheney was resting comfortably and his doctors were evaluating the situation....Cheney has a pacemaker...Cheney also has had four heart attacks, starting when he was 37. He has had quadruple bypass surgery and two artery-clearing angioplasties....
got his #9 iron inspiration from Joe Stacks.........
Didn't the analogy seem forced? Especially referring to Elin as "Tiger's wife". I would wager that he couldn't tell you her first name under waterboarding! It reminds me of the meeting between Ronald Reagan and Sugar Ray Robinson & his wife. Reagan referred to her as "Mrs. Ray" as if "Sugar" were Ray's first name.
Secondly, since when is it "funny" to make fun of domestic violence? Yes, Tiger's a cad, but would we be joking about it if Tiger went after HER car with a 9 iron? I remember when Jim Brown took a baseball bat to HIS car that his wife used primarily, and he was charged with domestic violence and "terroristic threats".
It's just as "funny" as joking about Norquist flying a plane into an office building and killing an innocent IRS employee. Hardee-har har!
The point of the analogy had less to do with its close resemblance to the stimulus and more to do with drawing a parallel in the minds of the tea baggers between Tiger Woods and Obama. More subtle race baiting by another "Christian" Republican.
. . . on the block. Obama has been spouting nearly identical rhetoric lately.
And the Democrats ensured that the Bush tax cuts continued in full force reaching their peak right now in 2010.
If fact, aside from the fictitious intramural blame game, it's difficult to differentiate Pawlenty's opinions from standard New Democrat drivel. The source may be from a different Kabuki actor, but the substance is the same, as are the interests represented.
...to the Constitution is not supported by any major Democrat of any stripe that I'm aware of.
In 1992 and again in 1995, Republicans in the House and Senate narrowly failed in their effort to drown government in a bathtub through a balanced budget amendment. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin warned Congress that the GOP gambit would be "a terrible mistake" that would pose "unacceptable economic risks to the nation." As the New York Times recalled in 1997:
Which is exactly the dilemma most states are facing now - cut spending or raise taxes - and either choice makes the recession worse.
If every state had had its own central bank for the last hundred years, every state would be solvent today.
The 30 Year Treasury Bond rate is about 4.5 percent.
There is no validity whatsoever for this inflated importance of the deficit, and Obama's rationale is just as illegitimate as Pawlenty's.
And quoting Robert Rubin approvingly? Just how ill-informed to you think we are? His portrait is drawn right next to the definition of "too big to fail" and, aside from Bernie Madoff, I can[
't] think of no more emblematic figure for Wall Street/Government corruption in the past half century.Keep playing us for suckers, and the ass kicking the conservaDems received in Massachusetts will be nothing compared to what we'll deliver next fall.
...you mentioned "New Democrat drivel." I chose Rubin precisely as a representative of the New Democrats you detest to make the point about how virtually no one on the Democratic side supports the economic suicide pact that is a balanced budget amendment.
I'm with you that Obama's deficit emphasis, especially with the deficit commission idea, is counterproductive. Until the economy is well into recovery, deficit reduction is downright dangerous.
Regardless, a balanced budget amendment is different in degree and kind than anything Obama or his allies are proposing. It would gut the federal government (the ultimate aim of its supporters) while causing an economic calamity. Remember that Pawlenty is against raising taxes, so the cuts would be mind-boggling.
But the only difference I'm seeing is in degree. The substance appears the same: 1) we must address the deficit; 2) Military/"Security" spending cannot be touched; and 3) the rich must not be taxed significantly more. The softly stated conclusion then follows: social spending must be cut.
I nearly threw up when the White House started on this track, and I've been retching ever since.
Way to push my buttons on Robert Rubin. That was a little too easy :) But even Clinton waffled on this. This is a paraphrase, but I think his response to a balanced budget amendment was something like: "Yes. I'm against it. But I understand why others would want it."
I'll look for the exact quote, unfortunately, I don't know if Al Gore had invented the internet by that time.
(Also, I don't "detest" New Democrats; I just don't like them any better than I did when they were honest and called themselves pro-choice Republicans)
Thanks for recalling that Clinton got weak in the knees on this point until drawing the line on the balanced budget amendment.
For more of my ranting about Obama and the deficit, including some ideas for addressing it later, visit here.
For more on my disdain for the Republican deficit hawks who tripled the national debt under Reagan and doubled it again under Bush 43, see "Born Again Deficit Virgins."
From the first link:
Except Obama will be fine. He can get the Clinton deal and easily be worth over $100 million ten years after his presidency.
It's us who get the shovel in the head.
Thanks again.
...economy during the Bush years, it is amazing that people like Pawlenty keep touting the Bush tax cuts as the route to "growing the economy."
have no shame
So you skrewed young workers who already make lower wages and have to drive busses for a living out of post-retirement health benefits. There's something to be proud of! My distaste (to put it mildly) for Republicans grows every time one opens his mouth.
Thu Feb 18 2010: Supporters Celebrate GAMC Refunding
Sat Feb 20 2010: GAMC Veto Protest, in front of Governor Pawlenty's Mansion
[Both videos from UpTakeVideo]
... a few days later Pawlenty could have quipped about taking a Piper Cherokee to the "big government in this country." The GOPers like to joke about visiting violence on others and are the "shocked, shocked" when someone does it.
So...Governor Pee-Taw wants to make noise about an amendment to the Constitution that would force the federal govt to run a balanced budget? I have just two questions:
1. How do you propose passing an amendment like that WHEN ALL 40 OF THE SENATE REPUBLICANS VOTED AGAINST EVEN SIMPLE PAYGO RULES?
2. If a previous Congress had passed an amendment like that, WHO WOULD HAVE BAILED YOUR PATHETIC STATE ASS OUT *THIS* TIME?
What I can't believe, however, is that Obama and the Senate Democrats don't have the brains to at least label their emergency budget deficits as "emergency budget deficits" the way FDR did. It makes perfect sense. You declare that you will run balanced budgets UNLESS there's a financial emergency (like a war or a severe recession), and specify triggers that would allow the Feds to run in deficit mode. Othere than that, you have to balance.
That sounds reasonable to me, and also easy to get passed through Congress. Which is why I doubt they'll do it.
Tim Pawlenty is challenged. Republicans are politically challenged.
The Republican is rarely, if ever politically correct.
Tim Pawlenty is no different. He is an island in a sea of politically aware Americans. Lashing out with golf club at the world he finds himself in. This is what living in a fantasy will do to you.
A perverted dream that has come and gone.
Tim. Tim. Tim...
Hey gorvernor f**kface; we will take into consideration a balanced budget ammendment, the day after the Bush family crime syndicate and their GOP employees return the trillions they stole from the rest of us, and reinstate 94% marginal tax rates on the super duper rich - so they cannot steal the country blind ever again?
What's that? You are no longer interested in a balanced budget ammendment? Didn't think so!
The problem with all these anti-big government clowns is they all take big money to get elected, basically co-opting any real reform they would pretend they are going to make.
one would think that Paw-lenty would try to exude a little more class and good taste. Obviously you can't get the ignorance out of the hick and can't get the hick out of his ignorance. This also makes me wonder why the people of Minnesota, whoever the hell they are, don't see this as an opportunity to judge the intelligence level (or lack thereof) of their elected officials and do something about it. Or will they just let this babbling nut job continue on & on until he self destructs? The latter may allow him to cause too much damage in the process.
It's hardly backward or hick - especially in the Twin Cities area, where there is a sizable openly gay community, a strong widespread environmental sentiment, and world class, sociably responsible medicine to name only a few of it's non-hick qualities.
No offense but ever been north of the twin cities ? Limbaugh , Beck listening Neanderthals if ever there were and who keeps voting for Bachmann ?
north and south of the cities, not so much
Methinks his speech will cost him pawlenty.
Somewhat bizarre nickname for a conservative Republican governor to give himself, don't you think? Does he think he's a rap artist or something...??
Is getting his way. The GOp is gettin hip hop now.
oyy. this is gettin ugly.
'Blacking Up'
When we'd blast Zeppelin. I'm not big on hip hop. Some of it is good. But the violence in some of it , I don't care for.
I'm gettin old.:/
and the very beginning it was fairly benign, like Motown. But w/ the NWA First Amendment trial over 'Nasty as We Want to Be', the media took off with the "it's all bad" line. And the man makes mo money off the violent shit, so that's what gets made. If you get a chance watch that show. It's good, fo shizzle. :P
a true gangsta rapper, keepin it real. TPaw, straight from the 'hood. Know what I'm sayin?
They'll be callin him the shiznit during the next election.
some poppin and lockin. and crunking. Wait. No I Don't.
Thanks for the imagery.kryst. They just might try it.
Must not watch. Must not watch. Must not watch.
having to poke out that mind's eye of yours.
Grew up smelling shit from the South St Paul stockyards, it addled his brain, he became a Republican.
I mean that literally too, every person I ever worked with or met from there I thought were nuts
the stupid nickname.
It's fine for the aforementioned T-Pain, but Pawlenty just looks like someone desperately trying to avoid looking like the Republican stuffed shirt he is.
imagine T Paw in the T-Pain spot here
*
That maybe he thought calling himself "T-Paw" would make him seem cooler. For all I know, perhaps it was even a pathetic attempt to make himself seem more appealing to African-American voters -- I wouldn't put anything (and I do mean *anything*) past some of these people.
youth vote, or the African-American vote, he failed miserably, and it's a tad on the insulting side.
We need to have rendition for him to an unknown place for his inteerrogation in light of his support of the terrorist act of flying planes into buildings and killing innocent Americans. Anyone condoning and exhorting this behavior should be considered hostile combatants against the government and immediately waterboarded.
This clown will prove to be just another fart in the wind as far as his ambition to become President and "the man" in the sewer rat party .
Monday, Feb 2010
Socialist Canada
My open letter to American's
This might be a bit of a different way of introducing myself but I think it is important for you American's to know that America and Canada are not the same kind of countries. I look across the border many times and wish I could be American. You American's are so incredibly lucky (though I don't believe in luck as a way of living) to live in the best country in the world!
America was built on unique principles that has not been matched to this day, - principles of individual rights, property rights, right to life and of course freedoms of the press, freedom to speak your mind and just recently the freedom to carry hand guns for protection and enjoyment.
Canada does not have these rights. It does, but by [guilty] default and by rapacious politicians who diminish this countries expanse of rights every day. The over-all method of diminishing of rights in this country is accomplished by behavioral controls on every aspect of living.
In Canada, only because it is constitutionally protected, we still have the right to go to work and back. If you don't believe me, please read it for yourself. Check Canada's constitution.
Environmentalism is Canada's current religious fad. Environmentalism is a huge, huge excuse for my country to exercise great controls even though there is really not much wrong with the world. Nature is merely taking its natural course.
So, I hope you understand what a great country you live in and remind your own government to expand your freedoms and not diminish them. America and America alone was founded on the Declaration of Independence, a magnificent scroll that is still lighting up the world today. America is unique in that even today, most, - most countries still do not understand freedoms nor will allow their own citizens the exercise of it. Freedom made America not great, but magnificent! What a heritage you have been bequeathed!
For all your troubles and daily workings, please do not forget these basic principles of individual rights, property rights and the freedom to pursue dreams - inventions and of course, the dollar.
Canadians have never really learned freedoms deep down, even though we live right next door. Our Canadian politicians in fact fight these principles in our parliamentary systems.
Canadians likewise, are very willing to exist, letting our government leaders tell them how to do every little thing. There is practically no aspect of Canadian life where Canadians are private and free of government regulation of some sort, - perhaps only in their sleep.
Sadly, it is getting close to that.
However, to end on a positive note, I am so relieved that America is so close. I used to live in New York, Boston, Providence and also in Washington (not D.C.)
I can if I want, visit New York by bus, car, or airplane.
I love American's and the original American secular principles! These secular principles are the only thing saving the world today from Republican (religious) darkness.
Yours Sincerely,
MrCoffeecup.
republicanism/conservatism is a menatl illness and it has almost killed America!
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