Brandon Kiser of The Right Sphere has the complete text of Pawlenty’s 2012 announcement as prepared for delivery. Here’s the text:
Thanks, Mary, for your very kind words and for your tremendous love and support. After serving eight years as Minnesota’s Governor, I was very much looking forward to life with Mary, and our daughters, in the Midwestern home we love. But with Mary’s encouragement and wise counsel, we came to a different conclusion. And that brings me here today with this announcement.
I’m Tim Pawlenty, and I’m running for President of the United States.
We live in the greatest country the world has ever known. But, as we all know, America is in big trouble, and it won’t get fixed if we keep going down the same path. If we want a new and better direction, we need a new and better President.
President Obama’s policies have failed. But more than that, he won’t even tell us the truth about what it’s really going to take to get out of the mess we’re in.
I could stand here and tell you that we can solve America’s debt crisis and fix our economy without making any tough choices.
But we’ve heard those kinds of empty promises for the last three years, and we know where they’ve gotten us. Fluffy promises of hope and change don’t buy our groceries, make our mortgage payments, put gas in our cars, or pay for our children’s clothes.
So, in my campaign, I’m going to take a different approach. I am going to tell you the truth. The truth is, Washington’s broken.
Our country is going broke, and the pain of the recent recession will pale in comparison to what’s coming, if we don’t get spending in Washington D.C. under control. President Obama doesn’t have an economic plan. He just has a campaign plan. America deserves much better.
Barack Obama promised that spending eight hundred billion dollars on a pork-filled stimulus bill would keep unemployment under eight percent. He promised that bailouts for well-connected businesses were a good deal for the country. He promised that a federal takeover of health care would keep costs under control. And hard as it is to believe, he even promised the deficit would be cut in half in his first term!
But the truth is, since President Obama took office, massive numbers of Americans can’t find a job. We’re four trillion dollars deeper in debt. And his health care plan is an unmitigated disaster for our country.
We’ve tried Barack Obama’s way . . . and his way has failed. Three years into his term, we’re no longer just running out of money. We’re running out of time.
It’s time for new leadership. It’s time for a new approach. And, it’s time for America’s president – and anyone who wants to be president – to look you in the eye and tell you the truth. So here it is.
Government money isn’t “free.” You and I either pay for it in taxes, or our children pay for it in debt. The reforms we need are not in the billions, but in the trillions of dollars. And the cuts we need to make – the cuts we must make – can’t just be to somebody else’s programs.
The changes history is calling on America to make today cannot be shouldered only by people richer than us or poorer than us – but by us, too.
Politicians are often afraid that if they’re too honest, they might lose an election. I’m afraid that in 2012, if we’re not honest enough, we may lose our country.
If we want to grow our economy, we need to shrink our government. If we want to create jobs, we need to encourage job creators. If we want our children to be free to pursue their dreams, we can’t shackle them with our debts.
This is a time for truth.
That’s why 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. No more subsidies, no more special treatment. No more Fannie and Freddie, no more TARP, and no more “too big to fail.”
Success in our economy must once again be determined by the ingenuity of competing businesses and the judgment of the marketplace, period.
There’s more.
Tomorrow, I’m going to Florida to tell both young people and seniors the truth that our entitlement programs are on an unsustainable path and that inaction is no longer an option.
Our national debt, combined with Obamacare, have placed Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in real peril. I’ll tell young people the truth that over time and for them only, we’re going to gradually raise their Social Security retirement age.
And, I’ll also tell the truth to wealthy seniors that we will means test Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment.
Medicare must be also be reformed with “pay for performance” incentives that reward good doctors and wise consumers.
And, we need to block grant Medicaid to the states. There, innovative reformers closest to the patients can solve problems and save money.
This week, I’ll also be in Washington, D.C., to remind the federal bureaucracy that government exists to serve its citizens, not its employees. The truth is, people getting paid by the taxpayers shouldn’t get a better deal than the taxpayers themselves.
That means freezing federal salaries, transitioning federal employee benefits, and downsizing the federal workforce as it retires. It means paying public employees for results, not just seniority – from the Capitol to the classroom, and everywhere in between.
And in the private sector, it means no card check – not now, not ever. It means no more taxpayer bailouts just because you gave lots of money to a campaign. And it especially means the National Labor Relations Board will never again tell an American company where it can and can’t do business.
I’m here today to tell Iowans the truth, too.
America is facing a crushing debt crisis the likes of which we’ve never seen before. 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.
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.
Now, I’m not some out-of-touch politician. I served two terms as Governor of an ag state. I fully understand and respect the critical role farming plays in our economy and our society. I’ve strongly supported ethanol in various ways over the years, and I still believe in the promise of renewable fuels – both for our economy and our national security.
But even in Minnesota, when faced with fiscal challenges, we reduced ethanol subsidies. That’s where we are now in Washington, but on a much, much larger scale.
It’s not only ethanol. We need to change our approach to subsidies in all industries.
It can’t be done overnight. The industry has made large investments, and it wouldn’t be fair to pull the rug out from under it immediately. But we must face the truth that if we want to invite more competition, more investment, and more innovation into an industry – we need to get government out. We also need the government out of the business of handing out favors and special deals. The free market, not freebies from politicians, should decide a company’s success. So, as part of a larger reform, we need to phase out subsidies across all sources of energy and all industries, including ethanol. We simply can’t afford them anymore.
Some people will be upset by what I’m saying.
Conventional wisdom says you can’t talk about ethanol in Iowa or Social Security in Florida or financial reform on Wall Street.
But someone has to say it. Someone has to finally stand up and level with the American people. Someone has to lead.
When times get tough, there’s always a temptation among politicians to try to turn the American people against one-another. Some try to fan the flames of envy and resentment as a way to deflect attention from their own responsibilities.
But that’s not good enough. Our problems demand – and our children deserve – much more from us this time.
No president deserves to win an election by dividing the American people – picking winners and losers, protecting his own party’s spending and cutting only the other guys’; pitting classes, and ethnicities, and generations against each other.
The truth is, we’re all in this together. So we need to work to get out of this mess together.
I’ll unite our party and unite our nation, because to solve a fourteen-trillion-dollar problem, we’re going to need three hundred million people.
Leadership in a time of crisis isn’t about telling people what you think they want to hear, it’s about telling the truth.
President Barack Obama refuses to do that. He has a simple and cynical plan: pretend there is no crisis, then attack those of us who are willing to stand up and try to solve it.
In Washington, they call that “smart politics.” But I’m not from Washington. I grew up in Minnesota, in the hard-working blue collar town of South Saint Paul.
When I was 16 years old my mom passed away from ovarian cancer. Awhile later, my dad lost his job for a time. In a situation like that, you see some things. You learn some things.
At a young age, I learned the value of leaning into my faith in God, in challenging times and at all times. I saw the value of a loving family that rallied around each other in times of crisis. I learned the value of hard work and the responsibility for doing my part. I learned that education was a ticket to opportunity.
I learned the value of a job and a paycheck. I got a chance to work at a grocery store for about seven years. I was a union member. I was proud to earn some money to help pay for school costs and make ends meet.
The values I learned are America’s values. I know the American Dream — because I’ve lived it. I am running for President to keep that dream alive.
The first step toward restoring America’s promise, is to elect a president who keeps his promises.
How do I know conservative values and principles can rescue our economy and reform our government? Because in Minnesota, for the last eight years, they already have. I love my state but let’s face it: it’s one of the most liberal states in the union.
Minnesota’s big-government legacy presented me with the same type of problems Barack Obama found in the nation’s capital. But my approach – and my results – were very different from his.
When I became governor, Minnesota’s two-year budget had been increasing an average of 21% for over forty years. During my eight years, that changed dramatically. I passed a budget that actually reduced state spending in real terms for the first time in the 150-year history of Minnesota.
For decades before I was elected, governors tried and failed to get Minnesota out of the top-ten highest taxed states in the country. I actually did it.
Minnesota faced health care costs that were spiraling out of control. Sound familiar? I know how to do health care reform right. I’ve done it at the state level. No mandates, no takeovers. and it’s the opposite of Obamacare.
I took on the public employee unions before it was popular to do it. For example, our government bus drivers had benefits similar to those that are breaking budgets in California, Illinois, and half of Europe. I wanted to bring those benefits in line. The union refused and went on strike. It became one of the longest transit strikes in the history of the country. People picketed my house, the media trashed me, and the buses didn’t move. But neither did we. On the 45th day of the strike, the union came back to the table, and taxpayers won. Today, we have a transit system that gives commuters a ride, without taking the taxpayers for a ride.
I stood up to the teachers unions and established one of the first statewide performance pay systems in the country.
And I appointed new conservative justices to the state Supreme Court. They understand that judges are supposed to rule according to the language of the law, not the preferences of their party. You know something about that here in Iowa.
In Minnesota and in Washington, the issues were the same: taxes, spending, health care, unions, and the courts. But in Washington, Barack Obama has consistently stood for higher taxes, more spending, more government, more powerful special interests, and less individual freedom.
In Minnesota, I cut taxes, cut spending, instituted health care choice and performance pay for teachers, reformed our union benefits, and appointed constitutional conservatives to the Supreme Court. That is how you lead a liberal state in a conservative direction.
The problems we face as a nation are severe. But if we could move Minnesota in a common sense, conservative direction, we can do it anywhere — even in Washington D.C.
It won’t be easy, but it’s not supposed to be. This is America – we don’t do easy.
Valley Forge wasn’t easy. Normandy wasn’t easy. Winning the Cold War wasn’t easy.
If prosperity were easy, everyone around the world would be prosperous.
If security were easy, everyone around the world would be secure.
If freedom were easy, everyone would be free.
They’re not. But – Americans are – because our Founders and generations before us chose to be, and insisted, sacrificed – and risked everything – so that we could be.
That’s their legacy. Now it’s our challenge.
We are up for it.
In 2008, Barack Obama told us he would change America . . . and he has.
In 2012, we will change America again . . . and this time, it will be for the better.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
Feel free to post your reaction below – or the video, if you find a link to the video.
May 23rd, 2011 at 1:58 pm
TPaw is pulling a Gingrich, and stopping before he even starts…
Tim Pawlenty said Monday he wants to phase out federal ethanol subsidies, which are considered a sacred cow in Iowa.
Supporting ethanol subsidies has long been key to winning support in Iowa
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/162665-pawlenty-in-iowa-phase-out-ethanol-subsidies
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Pawlenty’s tax problem.
One thing is certain about Monday’s Presidential announcement by former Governor Tim Pawlenty: he will not bring up the fact that he presided over one of the larger tax increases in Minnesota’s history. Yes, that is quite correct.
http://govarnecarlson.blogspot.com/2011/05/presidency-bit-short-is-pawlenty.html
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:20 pm
More on Pawlenty’s economic problems.
? Borrowing over $1 billion from the tobacco settlement – money designated for health care.
? Taking over $2 billion from the federal stimulus funds.
? Borrowing over $1.4 billion from K-12 education funding.
? Borrowing over $400 million from the Healthcare Access Fund for low-income families.
? Accelerating tax payments.
? Delaying bill payments.
? Engaging in accounting shifts.
In the process, Moody’s lowered Minnesota’s bond rating
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:20 pm
He seems like such a sweet, sweet man.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Why is Washington broken? Is he running against the Republican Congress we just elected as well? Seems like they are doing a good job of keeping Obama’s agenda off the basepaths.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Thunder,
Governor Carlson?
Your citing Gov. Carlson?
bbabwwhwhhaaaaahhhhwwwwwwaaaaaa!!!
You guys talk about RHINO’s and you lift statements from the biggest Liberal Republican GOV in the history of the most Liberal state?
GOV. Carlson who has backed Obama since he announced for the Presidency in FEB of 2007?
That Carlson?
hhehhhheheehheeeeee.
This is great.
Keep going Thunder.
In a year from now you will be citing us examples from Al Sharpton how bad TPAW is……GAWD you are something else.
You have no idea who Carlson is do you?
Not a clue do you?
This is sweet.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Will Willard announce in Iowa, too?
If he does, I anticipate pander-monium…
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:31 pm
I’m actually really impressed with this rollout by Pawlenty, and I think other folks will be as well. The ethanol thing seems like a pretty high risk move, but it could be very high reward if people judge Pawlenty to be a straight shooter because of it. The thing this does mostly for T-Paw is define him in easy to understand and remember terms, which is immensely important for an unknown candidate like he is. Now, no matter what happens moving forward, average Joe voter will see and remember Pawlenty as the guy who tells you the truth, even if you don’t want to hear it.
Coming from a Romney guy, I think this is a brilliant rollout for Pawlenty. He has branded himself and done exactly what he needed to do to kickstart his campaign. In future elections, unknown hopefuls will look back at Romney in 2008 and Pawlenty in 2012 to see how to break into the first tier of candidates.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Smack1968 Says:
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Thunder,
Governor Carlson?
Your citing Gov. Carlson?
============================================================
You might had a reasonable response but you jumped the Shark. I found this link on another site, and I may have made a mistake in referencing it. But your response was over top and shows how little you understand on how to express a point.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:33 pm
New York for Romney,
You think this does it for TPAW?
Cutting Federal subsidies for Ethanol at a time of a 1.6 trillion dollar deficit and a 14 trillion dollar debt?
Across the nation this won’t hurt TPAW…in Iowa maybe…will see.
But not in New Hampshire.
You just make sure Mitt is ready for the TPAW SURGE as it hits the Granite State shores.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:33 pm
@ 1
I’m a Mitt supporter, but I can’t tell you how much respect I GAINED for TPAW by coming out against Ethanol subsidies. Everybody knows Ethanol has been a complete disaster for the country. It has made corn prices shoot up, causing a diverse amount of foods to also go up. Including the energy it takes to just grow the corn, Ethanol is very far from the envirnmental savior that we were hoping for. The gas degrades faster and gumms up engines faster, also. In short… TPAW is 100% right to NOT support Ethanol subsidies. Voters like me are tired of political calculation!!
Even Al Gore admitted that Ethanol support was mostly just for the Iowa Caucuses. The COUNTRY deserves better than gifts for Iowa farmers.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:36 pm
#11 Mark, I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve long hoped for a candidate who would be willing to come out against ethanol subsidies and still have a shot to win. The way Pawlenty is doing this, he just might be the guy.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Is it just me, or do the wives seem to be in complete control of who runs and who doesn’t this cycle?
Mitt and TPAW both say their wives pushed them into it. Others like Huck and Daniels said that their family concerns were a big part of thier decision to stay out.
Just an observation.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Thunder,
???
You jumped the shark…I didn’t.
I just pointed out to you that you had no idea who Carlson was. Carlson has not supported a GOP candidate in any race since he left office in 1998.
Any attacks from Carlson is worn as a badge of honor in these parts.
Just try to attack TPAW from the Right or the Center..but go ahead and do whatever you want.
But quoting Carlson is jumping the shark…not pointing it out.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Of course, the bigger question for me is if Pawlenty’s opponents are going to let him get away with flip-flopping on the ethanol subsidy issue. I mean, this is the same T-Paw that once upon a time strongly supported ethanol subsidies and even once keynoted the annual American Coalition for Ethanol conference, right???
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:42 pm
It’s better to jump the shark than to let the shark jump you.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:42 pm
7 Republican polling in double digits in Wisconsin. Gingrich 29/45 rating among REPUBLICANS
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:42 pm
I think Mitt did great by rolling out his Health Care reform before TPAW did his. I think that strategy struck gold for Mitt and I’m disappointed TPAW did not do that first.
TPAW better get his Budget plan out there in the next week or I will be disappointed again.
The rollout has been good. The interviews on ABC & CBS were good. The Rush interview went great. But we need to see TPAW’s budget plan. Let’s go Tim.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:43 pm
I don’t see how this speech helps the party. Seems like he’s lumping the rest of the party in with Obama and the Democrats. Very John McCain-like.
In telling the truth, will Tim go as far as castigating Iowans for demanding farm subsidies? Doubtful. Its hardly courageous to tell people we can’t afford farm subsidies when going without might lead to poverty. How does he get around that as he goes around Iowa? This is a tough one. Jimmy Carter also told Americans their problems were their fault. How did that work out for him?
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:45 pm
“flip flops” only stick to romney. nobody cares when someone else does it.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:45 pm
MATT C,
Good question, and I think TPAW has tried to answer that question by saying he did cut Ethanol subsidies in Minnesota because thay could not afford them anymore.
Maybe that works..maybe that doesn’t.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Smack1968 Says:
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Thunder,
???
You jumped the shark…I didn’t.
I just pointed out to you that you had no idea who Carlson was. Carlson has not supported a GOP candidate in any race since he left office in 1998.
Any attacks from Carlson is worn as a badge of honor in these parts.
Just try to attack TPAW from the Right or the Center..but go ahead and do whatever you want.
But quoting Carlson is jumping the shark…not pointing it out.
==================================================================
Yes, you jumped the shark. I made a mistake and thought it was a different Carlson. All you had to do is point that out, but you went one of your tirades and it is one of the reasons you don’t get much respect around here.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Wow, this speech is awesome! He out-did Daniels on the “Daniels” mantra.
This is even better than I expected out of TPaw.
I may become, not just a supporter because there’s nobody better running, but a real enthusiast!
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:47 pm
@ 15
Interesting.
I also recall Mitt not exactly being for or against the subsidies in 08 (probably because it’s uber difficult to win Iowa if you are against them).
But one thing I know about Mitt, he loves data. Take him the data on Ethanol, and I have no question which way he’ll decide. The only question I have is whether or not Mitt dares to look at the data while still campaigning in Iowa. But I don’t see him making any promises about it, either.
But if Pawlenty has seen some data on it and changed his mind, I, for one, would applaud that a lot faster than I would a politician who rigidly holds to the wrong just so they don’t get labled a “flip-flopper”.
Reagan changed parties when he discovered he was wrong. Flip floppers are those who go back and forth. Mitt certainly hasn’t gone back and forth about anything.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:48 pm
asparagus,
TPAW did say on later interviews today that he wants the private sector to come in and invest in ethanol and other renewable energy, but he wants the government out of the picture.
Is this a gamble in Iowa…hell yes!
Will this help him in SC and NH…hell yes!!
Will see what happens.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Matt C Says:
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Of course, the bigger question for me is if Pawlenty’s opponents are going to let him get away with flip-flopping on the ethanol subsidy issue. I mean, this is the same T-Paw that once upon a time strongly supported ethanol subsidies and even once keynoted the annual American Coalition for Ethanol conference, right???
=============================================
this is also the same cap and trade guy who once he decided to run nationally, disavowed it.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Smack1968 Says:
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:48 pm
asparagus,
TPAW did say on later interviews today that he wants the private sector to come in and invest in ethanol and other renewable energy, but he wants the government out of the picture.
Is this a gamble in Iowa…hell yes!
Will this help him in SC and NH…hell yes!!
==========================================================
If Pawlenty doesn’t do well in Iowa, he is toast, the rest will not matter. He is not a John McCain with solid support in New Hampshire. He might be right (depending on which TPaw this is), but it will hurt badly in Iowa.
Now that he is stuck with his position, it looks more and more like Romney will get the trifecta of Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. By the time we get to SC, it may be all over.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:57 pm
@ 26
I agree. This move is particularly gutsy for TPAW because he MUST beat Mitt in Iowa. If he doesn’t, he’s done for sure. But it’s the right thing to do for the country. Maybe Iowa is ready for the truth – the rest of us sure are.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:57 pm
(depending on which TPWA this is),
Coming from a Mitt supporter?
Now who has jumped the shark?
Like I have said, TPAW did cut ethanol subsidies as a GOV in Minnesota to balance the budget. TPAW says we can’t afford it anymore nationwide either.
Mitt may do the same thing. You might want to hold your fire Thunder untilyou find out what your candidate wished to do in “12″ on this issue.
Just a suggestion.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Mark in PA,
It maybe the downfall of the TPAW campaign in Iowa. But if TPAW now wins in Iowa with this issue, it becomes a bigger win.
Bigger win…bigger the wave…
…bigger the wave..bigger the..
…wait for it…..
……wait for it……
TPAW SURGE!!!
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Smack1968 Says:
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:57 pm
(depending on which TPWA this is),
Coming from a Mitt supporter?
Now who has jumped the shark?
Like I have said, TPAW did cut ethanol subsidies as a GOV in Minnesota to balance the budget. TPAW says we can’t afford it anymore nationwide either.
Mitt may do the same thing. You might want to hold your fire Thunder untilyou find out what your candidate wished to do in “12? on this issue.
Just a suggestion.
===============================================================
Smack, you might want to read this…
Tim Pawlenty’s Cash Problem
The major flaw that could sink the former Minnesota governor’s presidential campaign
http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/88802/tim-pawlenty-republicans-2012-campaign-problem-money
I am beginning to wonder if this is going to be over before it starts. I just don’t see the competition for Romney out there, but it could change.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Re-read the speech. Nothing about the economy. So he’s going to cut entitlement spending, farm subsidies, and replace them with… wait for it… nothing. What about jobs?
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Smack1968 Says:
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:59 pm
TPAW SURGE!!!
==================================
What from 3.6 to 4 percent, quite a wave there
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/republican_presidential_nomination-1452.html
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:05 pm
The next stop on Pawlenty’s straight talk tour will be on Tuesday in Florida, where he’ll tell young people and seniors that the country must “gradually raise” the Social Security retirement age.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55502.html#ixzz1NCx6H1Dm
Sorry, Pawlenty is shooting himself in the foot at a constant rate.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Thunder,
Yes, TPAW will struggle some with the money. And I’m afraid his burn rate is high right now.
As for his tough message on entitlements….hhhuuummmmmmmm.
TPAW is going all out. That’s why he has been at the Tea Party rally’s and trying to win some of their votes.
TPAW governed to the right of Mitt.
TPAW is campaigning the right of Mitt.
If you think TPAW is putting himself in a bad spot….well so be it.
But I got a feeling that the GOP voters are going to vote for the most Conservative candidate in the field that is electable.
That man is TPAW.
You have your man run on “Romneycare” hung around his neck…..I will take TPAW…the outsider Conservative in the race.
You better pray TPAW does not get out of Iowa with a victory. Because if he does….look out!
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Smack, why didn’t TPAW say anything about getting the economy back? No concerns about us getting eclipsed by the rest of the world?
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:30 pm
btw we haven’t had a poll in 2 weeks already. Seems rather surprising given the shakeup in the race.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:35 pm
yawn… the anti-Mittens cometh. TPAW has my vote for now.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
I didn’t take a position on Ethanol subisides, did I? I am clearly explaining how it will hurt Pawlenty in Iowa.
“in 2008 John McCain likewise came out against ethanol… and paid the price for it in Iowa and Indiana. And it might make Pawlenty pay the same price in 2012″
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Unlike John McCain, Pawlenty cannot afford to lose Iowa.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:46 pm
No need to throw stones at TPaw. I think it was a great speech and I appreciate the honesty. He touched on several sacred cows that govenment has been afraid to address but must address if we are ever to get our debt situation under control. If the citizenry is unable to give up the government handouts that put us into this mess then there is no hope. We will keep electing the officials that provide the handouts until our dollars are worthless and we have financial melt down and economic ruin.
It’s time for the so called conservative state of Iowa to own up to the fact they have been enjoying a subsidy that is not free market driven and not hold it against the politician that calls them out on it. It’s time for the citizens of Texas to realize that oil subsidies aren’t free market either and give them up. TPaw is still not my #1 but he earned some respect and credibility today.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:47 pm
The RCP polling will be completely different by the 2nd week in May. Pawlenty, Paul, and Bachmann should be in double digits, Cain close to it. Romney and Palin will be in the mid to upper teens. Gingrich, I don’t really know.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:48 pm
2nd week in June.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Texcon,
The problem is that Iowa isn’t fiscally conservative. They are populist pro lifers just like Huckabee for the most part.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Ummm, Iowa is a swing state. Tim needs to be careful when telling “the truth”. Not sure we need a political version of Dr. Phil. “Iowa, it’s time to get real!”
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:02 pm
this is so boring…
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:27 pm
I was leaning to Cain, or maybe Huntsman. I may consider Tpaw, but I think he is in trouble in Iowa. Not enough enthusiasm to beat the 2nd tiers frankly…
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:34 pm
47. What state do you live in?
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Is the ethanol thing a huge risk for Pawlenty? A risk, sure, but a huge one? I think it’s rather savvy. Michele Bachmann has been pretty gung-ho for ethanol in the past and is a major player in Iowa. This move does something very important. It puts Bachmann in the position of either joining Pawlenty or running, on an important issue, to his left. If she does the latter, she may or may not make headway in Iowa, but she’s probably going to catch a lot of hell from national grassroots conservatives (a lot more than she’d of caught had, as usual, pretty much every candidate gone along with the ethanol lobby). If she does the former, well, Pawlenty’s move is almost no risk at all. Because those two were looking the 1, 2 in Iowa. I mean, unless Mitt decides to seriously contest Iowa and demagogue the hell out of the 2 of them…which, I think, wouldn’t go well with his new anti-pandering narrative. This isn’t exactly a safe play for Pawlenty but I think it’s lower risk than it looks and could pay some real dividends.
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:46 pm
TPaw earned a ton of respect in my book today. He is now, clearly, my #2. I have been calling for politicians to come out against Ethanol and Oil subisidies for years. And now we finally get a politician to do it. Depending on how the others react to TPaw’s “truth” will help to decide where they end up on my personal ranking list.
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Excellent speech. I haven’t seen it, but having read it, it looks like TPaw is willing to be what I’ve been looking for; someone who will man up and say something like this:
Bravo Mr. Pawlenty! I look forward to more details.
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:19 pm
One quibble though, I wouldn’t just cut government payroll by attrition. I would do what businesses who are facing debt crisis have to do- slash payroll immediately.
I want a President Pawlenty to start issuing pink slips to paperclip counters immediately.
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Matthew,
“(Mitt’s) new anti-pandering narrative.”
Another flip flop. He was all for pandering up until at least 15 seconds ago.
May 23rd, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Arizona.
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:14 pm
49
Agreed. Zero risk. He can lose IA while setting up NH at the same time, or win IA despite the ethanol pledge and get the courage credit anyways. A great announcement on his first day in the
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:56 pm
I don’t think it’s so much that Pawlenty can lose Iowa. I think it’s more like, if he loses Iowa now, the person who comes out the winner is much less likely to be the alternative to Romney because they’ll only be able to do so by throwing away their conservative credentials by pandering on Ethanol.