Strib: Pawlenty has to hold fiscal & social conservative line to move up

[CatholicEdHead]

That is the basic point of the story in the Startribune. It is not about what the people really want as what the party idology is. He either moderates for the best of the state or keep his personal ambitions and keep riding hard fiscal and social conservative lines.

If he would ever break from those idological lines, he can kiss any change of moving up to prominance goodbye.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5288988.html

"Paul Weyrich, an influential conservative who founded the Heritage Foundation and has strong ties to the White House, said that of the candidates who appeal to the Republican base, "I would rank Tim Pawlenty fairly high -- in the top three or four nationally."

..............
Conservatives commonly say that despite any differences with Pawlenty, he's still the best governor in their lifetime. But the governor got so irritated with the open criticism that he had a frank private meeting with senators at the Lexington Restaurant in St. Paul earlier this year, and urged Republican senators to keep their differences more private. The potshots nevertheless have continued.
.........
Weyrich, who is one of Pawlenty's biggest fans and was at the Florida meeting of the Council for National Policy, said Pawlenty will need to develop his signature issues and "become known for them the way Tommy Thompson became known for welfare reform."
...........
Weyrich offered one more ironclad rule: Pawlenty came to the attention of elites in the party, he said, in part because of his unyielding commitment to holding down taxes.

"If he breaks that pledge," Weyrich said, "he's absolutely dead."
..........
Even more important is ideology, something Weber describes as "entryway" compatibility with the conservative base of the party. Many of the better-known 2008 prospects -- Giuliani, McCain, former Homeland Security director Tom Ridge or Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- are at odds with social or fiscal conservatives on one or more important issues, ranging from abortion to gay marriage to gun control.
..........."

[Enquiringkitty]

1. He's looking to cover his own Butt and not the people who pay his salary

If all he cares about is covering his own butt, let him get a corporate job kissing some CEOs butt to keep his pay and leave us alone. Vote him out and let him survive in his own systems he voted for and promoted....Scared little s*it!

[Dickie Flatt]

2. More

Also from tomorrow's Star Tribune. Here's some Pawlenty trivia and Pawlenty + Rice speculation.

[MinneapolisMatt]

3. I honestly think

Pawlenty is going to have a very hard time getting re-elected. It's not going to be easy.

[KitchenWitch]

4. Much less being elected president in 2008...with Rice???

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!

[CatholicEdHead]

5. It's about marketing

in that case it is a "pure" GOP idologe matched with a precieved "moderate" in Rice.

It is an easy "product" to market by the GOP's perspective. Former blue-collar social and fiscal idological hardline "conservative" matched with a social and fiscial "moderate" minorty with hawkish views in foreign policy.

Pawlenty brings precieved traits that traditional conservatives want and Rice brings in traits that appeal to more moderates (Libertarian leaning Republicans who are on the fense).

[dflprincess]

9. My mom will be 84 in 2008

and announced today that a Pawlenty/Rice ticket (if successful) would mean she'd either have to leave the country or die immediately after the election.

[dpbrown]

6. Strangling the government shouldn't be a precursor to advancement

We get the government we pay for.

The electorate should choose elected officials who pledge to spend the money on the things that represent society's priorities, not this ass-backwards promise not to raise any taxes.

That's one thing that really burns me up about the nutball Republicans and their anti-tax garbage.

Stop spending money on war and there'll be plenty of money for making society better.

[no name no slogan]

7. The irony of today's Strib front page

Did anybody see the front page of today's Strib? The right-hand column has two stories in it. The first one (above the fold) is how many young adults are going without medical insurance because they cannot afford it. The next article is about Pawlenty's presidential prospects in 2008.

Very ironic, considering Pawlenty is asking for big cuts in MinnesotaCare, a very successful, self-funding program that was designed specifically to provide subsidized medical insurance to low-wage working adults.

Before Pawlenty was governor, MN had the HIGHEST rate of medical coverage for its population-- even higher than that of Vermont, and most of it done during the Republican Carlson administration! Unfortunately, due to the shortsightedness of the current crop of GOPers, we're going to lose that ranking.

Remember, Pawlenty won a three-way race in 2002, and even then he didn't win by that much. He has no mandate. His party is losing the legislature.

His days are numbered.

[katinmn]

8. I agree. Not soon enough, though. n/t

[no name no slogan]

10. Yeah, I wonder if we can do recalls in MN

I don't think so, but we have ample reason to demand one.