Tim Pawlenty Wants To Be President

Tim Pawlenty (ex Gov. of Minnesota) announced today he wants to be President of the United States. He may very well have a serious shot at the Republican party nomination. Compared to the bat shit crazies (Palin, Newt, Bachmann, etc.) running for the nomination, he appears to be the sanest of the bunch. So it's time to remind the public of his record.

In short he took Minnesota from a 600 million dollar surplus (when he took office) to a 6 billion dollar debt (when he left office) in his eight years as Governor.

A perfect match with the national Republican party which (during the same years Pawlenty was Gov. of Minnesota) added 6-1/2 Trillion to the national debt. Pawlenty is a real Republican poster boy. In today's press conference, Pawlenty cited his responsible fiscal record as exactly what America needs compared to Obama's dangerous spending.

Pawlenty was one of the Republican politicians who signed the "No New Tax" pledge, and claimed (not true) he never raised taxes in Minnesota. Of course Math being what it is, local property and school taxes have shot up since Pawlenty became Governor.

Minnesota lost its surplus and its top credit rating. Pawlenty did raise taxes, although he called them fees, not taxes, in order to keep his promise to not raise taxes. Services (like snowplowing - in a Winter State) have diminished. Our education standing has dropped. Our bridges are falling down. Our poor were kicked off State medical care, increasing emergency room use at a much higher cost than the cost of insuring those people. He made it illegal to buy drugs from Canada, which was saving Minnesotans millions compared to buying from American companies.

I could go on, but the point is Pawlenty is no different than the Republicans who have brought America to its financial knees. Not once did he try to lead, and explain to the people that we needed to pay our bills. He is the poster boy for irresponsible, negligent fiscal leadership. The irony that he will run on being fiscally responsible, is laughable, and dangerous if he wins office.

He raised the price of a pack of cigarettes one dollar, but claimed that was a fee, not a tax. That money did not go to some fund to pay for the medical costs of smokers, but to the general treasury. So a minority (21% of Minnesotans smoke) are now paying a larger amount than other Minnesotans, to pay for the bills of all Minnesotans. This word game (tax or fee) has helped his reputation in the Republican party.

Tim Pawlenty will be an extension of the proven failure of the Republican fiscal policies of the last 30 years, that have created the 14 trillion dollar debt for America. So before America decides he is the sane Republican nominee, lets publicise his poor, dangerous record and force him (and the Republican party) to defend these insane Republican fiscal policies.