RSS Feed MenuMinnesotans apparently are not all that pumped about their governor preparing to run for President. Tim Pawlenty’s national profile is certainly growing, but his domestic numbers have fallen off a cliff. A recent poll conducted by SurveyUSA for KSTP-TV shows Pawlenty’s numbers to be among the worst he has registered in his seven plus years in office. Specifically, the poll finds that a majority of Minnesota voters (52%) disapprove of Pawlenty’s job performance.
According to the poll, almost two-thirds of individuals polled said that their governor “should not” run for president in 2012, while only 40% said that Pawlenty’s nationwide publicity tour makes him more effective as governor or has no impact.
As these numbers suggest, Minnesota voters are unlikely to “understand” that Governor Pawlenty is preparing to run for president. Tim Pawlenty has served seven strong years as governor of Minnesota and has registered high approval ratings throughout. The governor owes the people of Minnesota his full attention for the full duration of his two terms. When his term expires in 2010, Mr. Pawlenty can focus on running for President. Pawlenty is not the first politician to campaign for another job at the expense of the one he or she already has. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton were both senators while, in reality, they were just running for president. So was John McCain. Sarah Palin neglected the Alaskan voters to run for Vice President… before she quit on them entirely. Reality is what it is and politicians are going to campaign, but Governor Pawlenty has a unique opportunity to serve the remainder of the year as he promised Minnesota voters he would without doing serious political damage to his candidacy. Pawlenty’s success as a Republican leader of a traditionally Democratic state is why he’s an intriguing candidate in the first place. We know who you are now, Mr. Pawlenty. Finish your job now, and come back in a year.
joedee1969 // Mar 9, 2010 at 7:33 am
Maybe if he were more on the side of the people,we would care about him:
http://americaspeaksink.com/2010/03/unemployment-the-true-story/comment-page-1/#comment-4485
Stewardship // Mar 9, 2010 at 9:41 am
Could it be that he is running as a completely different person than the one who has governed Minnsesota for the past seven years? He’s trying to outflank Palin and Limbaugh. I think American voters are hungry for a candidate with character enough to be consistent with his or her beliefs.
sinz54 // Mar 9, 2010 at 10:00 am
Stewardship:
I agree.
Pawlenty attracted interest precisely because he seemed to be a different kind of Republican: Northern, working-class roots, pragmatic, problem-solver.
Now to position himself for GOP primaries, he’s giving off signals that he wants to be the usual kind of Republican: Sun Belt, ideological, social conservative. It’s that kind of flip-flopping that doomed Romney.
The GOP base is ultra-sensitive to anyone being a “RINO”: Step out of line and you get that “RINO” label slapped on you. It’s been slapped on Scott Brown–RedState.com refused to support him–despite his winning the biggest GOP victory in years.
Chekote // Mar 9, 2010 at 11:07 am
In a recent interview with Newsweek Gov. Pawlenty stated:
“Well, you know I’m an evangelical Christian. I believe that God created everything and that he is who he says he was. The Bible says that he created man and woman; it doesn’t say that he created an amoeba and then they evolved into man and woman. ”
The last thing the GOP needs for this kind of ingnorance to be the face of the party. Isn’t any wonder that in the last election the GOP lost for the first time lost voters with college degrees.
Gov. Pawlenty is not only ignorant about basic biology. He also an homophobe. In the same interview Pawlenty said that he doesn’t support medical benefits for same sex couples. Can someone please tell me what in the Republican philosophy justifies denying medical benefits to same sex couples. I thought we were the party of freedom and limited government.
Chekote // Mar 9, 2010 at 11:09 am
Scott Brown is the future of the GOP. But it may take losing a couple of more elections for the GOP to realize that social issues are net negative.
Carney // Mar 9, 2010 at 11:29 am
Chekote @ 4 said, “In the same interview Pawlenty said that he doesn’t support medical benefits for same sex couples.”
I doubt it. What I suspect is that he said that he didn’t support taxpayer-funded benefits? Or mandating that private businesses provide such benefits.
Over and over the Left equates supporting something with supporting forcing taxpayers or private businesses to provide it. Bizarre that Chekote sees this as being in favor of freedom and limited government.
Finally, there are millions of blue collar Americans who are not unenthusiastic about free trade, deregulation, and capital gains tax cuts, but who vote Republican because they are religious, oppose abortion, believe in traditional family values. Gay marriage is soundly rejected in every state it is put to a vote, and is broadly opposed by normal Americans. Social issues are a massive net PLUS for Republicans, if they are not so stupid as to abandon them.
panamerican // Mar 9, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Carney: “Gay marriage is soundly rejected in every state it is put to a vote, and is broadly opposed by normal Americans. ”
That phrase, “normal Americans”, is an interesting one. I guess, then, that gay marriage is supported by, whom, abnormal Americans?
panamerican // Mar 9, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Carney: I think you probably just meant to say “average” Americans.
sinz54 // Mar 9, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Chekote: Scott Brown is the future of the GOP. But it may take losing a couple of more elections for the GOP to realize that social issues are net negative.
You can be a social conservative and still win over Independents–if you don’t wear your faith on your sleeve and make it into a political issue.
Bob McDonnell has definite social conservative views. But he didn’t run on them in VA. In fact, it was Creigh Deeds, his opponent, who opened up that hornet’s nest first. The same thing happened in NJ with Chris Christie.
That’s the way for a social conservative to run: Downplay the social conservatism, and bait your Democratic opponent into raising those issues first.
Chekote // Mar 9, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Sinz
McDonnell ran away from his social conservative views faster than Palin runs away from policy briefing books. That’s a clear sign that the SoCon agenda is a net negative.
Chekote // Mar 9, 2010 at 6:00 pm
Finally, there are millions of blue collar Americans who are not unenthusiastic about free trade, deregulation, and capital gains tax cuts, but who vote Republican because they are religious, oppose abortion, believe in traditional family values.
Those are the wrong reasons for voting Republican. And the GOP needs to understand that the demographics indicate that blue collar voting block will continue to shrik as the technology improves and the economy moves more toward service/high skilled labor. Reagan Democrats are the past.