Tag Archive for 'Tim Pawlenty'

House Republican Caucus: Moderates Need Not Apply #6

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on February 27, 2008 at 6:09 pm
, filed in General
. 6 Comments

Aaron Brown of Minnesota Brown, a fantastic blog based way up on the Iron Range, has a great post on the practical political consequences of the moderate purge going on inside of the House Republican Caucus. Here at MN Publius, we’ve focused in on what this says about the broader trend of suburban moderates fleeing the Republican party. But Aaron points out that Seifert’s crusade against moderation actually weakens his position in the Legislature.

I am not surprised that die-hard GOPers would be upset with this group breaking ranks, but I am surprised that they’re basically excommunicating the whole lot of them despite the Republicans’ status as an almost feckless minority in the House. If these six somewhat moderate Republicans were to switch parties or lose to more conservative opponents (who would be prime targets in the Fall), we would see a DFL legislature that can and would override Pawlenty all the time until he leaves office. I just don’t get it.

At this rate, the House Republican caucus of 2009 will include Rep. Marty Seifert, the Monopoly guy and Skeletor. That’s a pretty bad ass group, but they won’t be able to stop universal health care, a stronger education system or tax reform. And that’s good news for DFLers, independents and moderate Republicans. You know, most Minnesotans.

So true.

Pawlenty Brags About “Holding the Line on Taxes” the Day His Veto is Overridden

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on February 26, 2008 at 4:20 pm
, filed in General
. 9 Comments

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post asked Governor Pawlenty yesterday what his biggest accomplishment as Governor has been. Here is his response:

“I think many people appreciate the work that I’ve done on holding the line on taxes. I’ve vetoed every single tax increase my Democratic friends have proposed to put on my desk. I think I’ve done a good job of being a fiscal conservative.”

Well, there goes that line on the resume.

This must have been before the override.

Molnau Ensnared In Another Major Scandal

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on February 24, 2008 at 3:53 pm
, filed in General
. 16 Comments

From the front page of today’s Star Tribune:

In early 2000, as real estate development boomed in Chaska, then-state Rep. Carol Molnau authored a bill that ensured a long-delayed plan to build a new Hwy. 212 there would be put on a fast track.

Molnau, as chairwoman of the powerful House Transportation Finance Committee, guided the bill to passage. But she did not disclose Hwy. 212’s proximity to the land she owned in Chaska or that she was negotiating to sell the property to a national housing developer, state and local records show.

The transportation bill provided for rapid construction of what Molnau called “mega-projects.” One that fit the bill’s criteria was Hwy. 212, which would run less than a mile from her farm.

It goes on…

Eight days after the bill was signed by then-Gov. Jesse Ventura, Molnau and her husband, Steve, sold their 40 acres to the developer, Pulte Homes of Minnesota, for $3.3 million — six times its estimated market value, records show.

Well, I’m sure Lt. Gov Molnau has a plausible explanation for why she didn’t disclose that she was negotiating to sell her farm…

Molnau said in an interview Saturday that she didn’t publicly disclose her negotiations with developers because she believed the legislation would have no effect on her property value or benefit her financially. She said ongoing development surrounding her property was the driving force behind the increasing value of her land.

That’s right. And building a transportation “mega-project” less than a mile away didn’t increase the attractiveness of the land to potential developers by 1 dollar. I mean, its not like Pulte could advertise the homes as “Conveniently located near highway 312, Pulte Homes offers Chaska residents easy access to downtown Minneapolis and surrounding communities.” Oops - thats on their website.

Highway 312 is the road that is going to become the new Highway 212 as a result of Molnau’s bill.

And just for the record, all of this happened before Tim Pawlenty chose Carol Molnau as his running mate. Was Pawlenty aware that Molnau had profited from the Highway 212 bill? If so, did he think it was appropriate?

Pawlenty Vetos Transportation Bill

by
Sean Broom
Published on February 22, 2008 at 2:50 pm
, filed in General
. 44 Comments

I’m searching for a copy of the veto letter to post, but Tim Pawlenty vetoed the bipartisan transportation bill this morning.

From everything I’ve heard he didn’t include a list of roads he’s willing to see fall into disrepair.

The Case Against Timmy

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on February 20, 2008 at 1:15 pm
, filed in General
. 24 Comments

Wayne Cox of Minnesota Citizens for Tax Justice has a must read op-ed in the Star Tribune today about why John McCain would be wise to pick someone other than Tim Pawlenty as his running mate.  I’m not going to excerpt it, because you should read the whole thing.

I want to add, however, that Minnesota Republicans should root against a Tim Pawlenty VP nomination for one simple reason: Carol Molnau.  If Gov. Molnau (shudder) were to run the state as poorly as she ran MN DOT, she would hand the DFL the Governor’s office not just in 2010, but for a generation.  And with near super-majorities in both Houses of the Legislature and redistricting just around the corner, the MN GOP could be in for a long winter.

Sorry Timmy, but it looks like you are stuck with us

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on February 6, 2008 at 11:13 am
, filed in General
. 16 Comments

Tim Pawlenty sure looks foolish this morning.

With 83% of precincts reporting the GOP results are:

Romney 41%
McCain 22%
Huckabee 20%

So despite Tim Pawlenty being National Co-Chair of the McCain campaign and one of his top surrogates, only 1 in 5 of Timmy’s buddies in the MN GOP voted for the Arizona Senator.

Ouch.

There has been a lot of speculation about the possibility of McCain picking T-Paw as his VP nominee should he win the nomination.  Much of the rationale, however, for a Pawlenty Vice Presidential nomination was based on the notion that Pawlenty would help deliver Minnesota in the general election.

If Tim Pawlenty can only deliver 20% of Republican votes, how on earth is he going to deliver Minnesota in a general election?

If we learned one thing from the MN GOP precinct caucuses this year, its that whatever Pawlenty’s personal popularity might be, he is not able to transfer much of it to another candidate.  This fact, coupled with Huckabee’s strong showing tonight, makes the prospect of a Pawlenty Vice Presidential nomination unlikely.

Melendez Calls On T-Paw To Fire Molnau

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on November 28, 2007 at 4:24 pm
, filed in General
. 18 Comments

DFL Chair Brian Melendez today called for Governor Tim Pawlenty to fire MNDOT Commissioner Carol Molnau for her mismanagment of that agency.

The full release is available after the jump.

One week ago, the Star Tribune published an article documenting MN GOP Chair Ron Carey’s press release calling on Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to resign. Will they cover this as well?

Continue reading ‘Melendez Calls On T-Paw To Fire Molnau’

Pawlenty May Go To Arctic

by
Sean Broom
Published on October 28, 2007 at 10:41 am
, filed in General
. 38 Comments

pawlentybad.jpgIn this mornings Strib it was reported that Tim Pawlenty is in talks with Minnesota born explorer and environmentalist Will Steger to go to the arctic next spring to see first hand the effects of global warming.

Steger said that after months of meetings and discussion, he and Pawlenty are close to finalizing arrangements for the governor to join the expedition to see the melting ice caps and increasingly fragile Arctic environment.

Pawlenty said Saturday that nothing has been confirmed but that he is discussing the possibility of meeting up with Steger for several days in May.

Environmentalism wasn’t particularly novel in the Republican party — well that was until they kicked out all of the Northeastern liberals in their party. Pawlenty’s concern and interest in this issue is noteworthy because of the potential that other Republicans will follow suit, and that he is regularly named as a Vice Presidential candidate.

I’ll refrain from speculating on the motives of Pawlenty’s interest in global warming. I’ll just have to content myself with shivers of terror at the thought of Governor Molenau.

Goo.

Interesting Timing

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on September 23, 2007 at 9:32 am
, filed in General
. 4 Comments

Is Tim Pawlenty taking sides? This is from a Friday article in the Eden Prairie News (and lifted entirely from a Paulsen press release).

Governor Tim Pawlenty has invited State Representative Erik Paulsen to join him and a delegation of Minnesota business executives on a trade mission to India in October.

Funny that this announcement should be made just days after Congressman Ramstad’s retirement and with Erik Paulsen considered a leading contender for the Republican nomination.

This could have been planned for awhile now, so it could be nothing. But I wonder what Brian Sullivan and Geoff Michel think of this announcement.

Timmy’s no hero, just a puppet

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on September 13, 2007 at 12:57 pm
, filed in General
. 8 Comments

Right wing blogs are crowing over Tim Pawlenty’s “victory” in securing a narrow focus for this week’s special session. Apparently, Minnesota Republicans believe that property tax relief and transportation are not priorities (of course, we learned that during the regular session).

Governor Pawlenty today exhibited restraint and leadership this afternoon to deal with the flood ravaged Southeastern portions of Minnesota.

So, avoiding two of Minnesota’s most pressing issues shows “restraint and leadership”? I think it shows something else: national political ambitions.

Eight days after the bridge collapse, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and the guru of the national no-new tax pledge, wrote to a number of elected officials, including many in Minnesota. In his letter, he urged the officials to sign the pledge. As part of his correspondence he included a question about whether there could be any exceptions to the pledge. In short, his answer was no.

“Tax-and-spend politicians often use ‘emergencies’ to justify tax increases,” Norquist warned in his letter. “In the unfortunate event of a real crisis or natural disaster, legislators should cut spending in other areas instead of aggravating the situation.”

Grover Norquist is not someone you want to anger if you hope to have a future in national GOP politics.

It’s not clear whether Pawlenty received the letter or was even aware of it, but one day later, Pawlenty, who signed the pledge before being elected in 2002 but refused to re-up during his last campaign, wrote a letter to legislative leaders. For the first time he indicated that his preference was that any gas-tax increase be only temporary and offset by a rate reduction on low income tax brackets.

So Timmy kissed Grover’s ring, derailed any hope of a comprehensive solution to either our transportation or property tax problem and then, special session over, what did he do? Why, scamper off to Washington, D.C. of course. Now he can play the Washington cocktail circuit and tell the power elite all about how he stood up to those crazy liberals back in Minnesota. I bet right now he’s cozying up to Bob Novak, whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Gross.

Special Session: 9/11

by
Sean Broom
Published on September 10, 2007 at 4:31 pm
, filed in General
. 54 Comments

At 3PM Governor Pawlenty announced a special session to convene at 5pm tomorrow, 9/11 to deal solely with funding for a flood relief package.

From the AP:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday called a special session of the Legislature to pass a flood relief package.

Legislators will convene at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Heavy rains deluged the southeastern corner of Minnesota three weeks ago, causing flash flooding that killed seven and left behind millions of dollars in damage. Seven Minnesota counties are federal disaster areas, but money from Washington will cover only a portion of the recovery costs.

Finally.

Is the Special Session Going to Happen?

by
Matt Martin
Published on September 10, 2007 at 2:46 pm
, filed in General
. 2 Comments

From the Strib:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has scheduled an announcement at 3 p.m. regarding a special legislative session.

Pawlenty has said he could call a one-day special session for as early as Tuesday if he and legislative leaders could work out an agreement on language.

Earlier today, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller sent Pawlenty a letter asking for the one day session to deal with flood relief in southeastern Minnesota.

“No surprises. No excuses. No delays. Please call a special session,” Pogemiller wrote.

This is crucial; let’s hope Pawlenty has come to his senses.

The Call Gets Louder: MAK Calls for Special Session

by
Matt Martin
Published on September 8, 2007 at 11:49 am
, filed in General
. 11 Comments

The House DFL Caucus released the following video this weekend that features House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher calling for a special session to deal with the disastrous flooding in southeastern Minnesota. It’s only 3 minutes and it’s a Saturday; you have time to watch:

We need a special session, badly. Not just for the 35W bridge collapse but for the small communities in southern Minnesota that have been devastated by this flooding. The magnitude of these issues certainly warrants bringing the legislature back into session to address the problems in a fashion that will provide more than a band-aid solution. What is Governor Pawlenty afraid of here? What does he have to hide? All we ask id for him to provide an opportunity for our State Representatives and Senators to do their job; to provide the opportunity for our government to do its job! This is no time for appearance politics Mr. Pawlenty, no time at all.

Call Governor Pawlenty and demand a special session: 1-800-657-3117

The Call is Getting Louder: DFL Calls on Pawlenty for Special Session, Again

by
Matt Martin
Published on September 7, 2007 at 8:00 am
, filed in Misc. Local Politics
. 8 Comments

TpawvetosackThe biggest infrastructure in the history of Minnesota happened more than a month ago and Governor Pawlenty has yet to take the first, most basic, step towards constructive progress: calling the legislature into session. If he thinks people won’t notice, he’s wrong. The DFL issued this press release yesterday (in its entirety below the fold):

DFL Party Calls on Governor to Keep All Options on Table for a Special Session and Stop Playing Politics with Minnesotans’ Needs

St. Paul, MN (September 6, 2007) The Minnesota DFL Party called on Governor Pawlenty again today to put aside politics and call a special session with every option on the table, including comprehensive transportation funding, flood relief for southeastern Minnesota, a bonding bill and property-tax relief for Minnesota homeowners.

Governor Pawlenty declared his desire for a special session to deal with transportation shortly after the 35W bridge collapsed. But more than five weeks later, and more than two weeks after devastating floods ravaged southeastern Minnesota, Pawlenty still will not call a special session.

Continue reading ‘The Call is Getting Louder: DFL Calls on Pawlenty for Special Session, Again’

Pawlenty Should Pardon Sen. Larry Craig

by
Zack Stephenson
Published on September 6, 2007 at 9:08 am
, filed in General
. 10 Comments

You read that right. Tim Pawlenty should pardon Sen. Larry Craig. Now before my esteemed liberal readers go off, hear me out.

The appeals process is going to cost money. Money that could be spent on trying violent criminals or I dunno… building bridges or something. The cost, the negative media attention and the distraction this provides as we try to provide a warm and positive reception for the delegates to the Republican National Convention isn’t worth the hassle of fighting this court case and bringing any more shame and embarrassment on someone who now is pretty completely disgraced.

And secondly, any attorney worth his weight in mustard could get this charge overturned.

I present to you, the Minnesota State Statute regarding Disorderly Conduct, the charge that Larry Craig plead guilty to.

609.72 DISORDERLY CONDUCT.
Subdivision 1. Crime. Whoever does any of the following in a public or private place, including on a school bus, knowing, or having reasonable grounds to know that it will, or will tend to, alarm, anger or disturb others or provoke an assault or breach of the peace, is guilty of disorderly conduct, which is a misdemeanor:
(1) Engages in brawling or fighting; or
(2) Disturbs an assembly or meeting, not unlawful in its character; or
(3) Engages in offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous, or noisy conduct or in offensive, obscene, or abusive language tending reasonably to arouse alarm, anger, or resentment in others.
A person does not violate this section if the person’s disorderly conduct was caused by an epileptic seizure.

Now, clearly Sen. Craig isn’t guilty of 1 or 2. And trying to convict someone of tapping their toes and waving under a bathroom stall divider would stretch 3 to the breaking point of absurdity.

Governor Pawlenty — pardon Sen. Craig. It’s the right thing to do.