Capitol View Category Archive: Pawlenty travel

Pawlenty knocks Obama over jobs numbers

Posted at 11:31 AM on June 1, 2012 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Campaign 2012: Presidential Race, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty says President Obama's visit to Minnesota is an opportunity to discuss the Obama's "dismal" impact on the nation's job market.

On a conference call with reporters before Obama's visit, Pawlenty, who dropped his own bid for the White House before the Iowa caucuses, said the disappointing May job numbers released today are a signal the president's policies aren't working.

"What we see is a president whose policies are hostile to free enterprise, are hostile to job creators and are not only not sparking the kind of economic recovery and the pace that we hope for and need in America," Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty said Republican Mitt Romney has a better plan to improve the nation's job market.

Pawlenty, who is a national surrogate for Romney, said he doesn't think Romney is giving up on winning Minnesota but acknowledged the state hasn't voted for a Republican for president since 1972.

Pawlenty also said he'd "be honored" to serve if asked to be Romney's running mate.

"As a national co-chair of Romney's campaign, we just don't talk about the VP process," Pawlenty said. "I think I can best serve him in other ways as a volunteer and otherwise but obviously anybody, if asked to serve, would be honored to do it."

Pawlenty was vying to be John McCain's running mate in 2008, but McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin instead.

Pawlenty says he'll travel to North Carolina tonight to speak at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention.

Pawlenty says US must address spending imbalance

Posted at 2:50 PM on May 14, 2012 by Mark Zdechlik
Filed under: Campaign 2012: Presidential Race, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty took a break from stumping for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney for an appearance at the University of Minnesota Monday. The former GOP presidential contender promoted education reform to ensure students are getting the best teachers and learning options. He also said vast US natural gas deposits could be "an absolute game changer" for US energy policy. He also said the US needs to revamp entitlement spending if it hopes to tackle the growing national debt. "People have been timid and afraid of these issues, "said Pawlenty. "They shouldn't be leaders are going to have to step forward and address these specifically; Medicaid, Medicare [and] Social Security."

Pawlenty also told an audience at the Humphrey School that he doesn't think the country will be in a position to make the major adjustments it needs until one of the political ideologies becomes the nation's standard bearer. "One side or the other is going to have to substantially prevail to get quantum change." Pawlenty added that he hopes it's his side.

Asked whether he was considering running for governor or for the US senate in 2014, Pawlenty replied, "I haven't ruled anything in or out."

Advance excerpts of Pawlenty's foreign policy speech

Posted at 6:54 AM on June 28, 2011 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty's campaign for president has released advance excerpts of today address to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. Pawlenty will make his remarks this morning at 8:30 Central.

Here are the remarks released by the campaign.

On America's response to the Arab Spring:

But President Obama has failed to formulate and carry out an effective and coherent strategy in response to these events. He has been timid, slow, and too often without a clear understanding of our interests or a clear commitment to our principles.

President Obama has ignored that lesson of history. Instead of promoting democracy - whose fruit we see now ripening across the region - he adopted a murky policy he called "engagement."

"Engagement" meant that in 2009, when the Iranian ayatollahs stole an election, and the people of that country rose up in protest, President Obama held his tongue. His silence validated the mullahs, despite the blood on their hands and the nuclear centrifuges in their tunnels.

Israeli-Palestinian peace is further away now than the day Barack Obama came to office. But that does not have to be a permanent situation. We must recognize that peace will only come if everyone in the region perceives clearly that America stands strongly with Israel.

On the Republican Party and Foreign Policy:

What is wrong, is for the Republican Party to shrink from the challenges of American leadership in the world. History repeatedly warns us that in the long run, weakness in foreign policy costs us and our children much more than we'll save in a budget line item. America already has one political party devoted to decline, retrenchment, and withdrawal; it does not need a second one.

Pawlenty touts Iowa endorsements as Bachmann launches campaign

Posted at 1:35 PM on June 27, 2011 by Brett Neely
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. House

WASHINGTON - Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's presidential campaign fired off a list of Iowa lawmakers who endorsed him campaign just two hours after Rep. Michele Bachmann formally kicked off her presidential run at a highly-publicized event in Bachmann's birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa.

Ten current legislators from both chambers of the Iowa's legislature have signed on as members of Pawlenty's camp, a development Pawlenty said "bolsters my Iowa campaign's efforts to build successful coalitions in this important state."

The two Minnesotans see Iowa as a must-win state on the path to the Republican presidential nomination but Bachmann appears to have captured the imagination of Iowans, drawing 22 percent support in a closely-watched poll, just 1 percentage point behind presumptive front-runner Mitt Romney. Pawlenty lagged far behind, registering support from just 6 percent of those polled.

Pawlenty has also upped his advertising campaign in state, launching a series of radio ads across the state today with the slogan "results, not rhetoric," which seems like a dig against Bachmann, whose legislative achievements in the U.S Congress have been scant despite her many television and tea party rally appearances.

Much more interest in second GOP debate than there was for the first

Posted at 6:04 PM on June 13, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik (1 Comments)
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Reporters, producers, sound and video techs along with political pundits flocked to Manchester, New Hampshire, for tonight's GOP presidential debate in what looked to be considerably larger numbers than were in Greenville, South Carolina for the first debate a little more than a month ago.

The reason for the heightened interest is simple. This time all of the major candidates will be on stage. In early May the debate featured former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, along with Texas Rep. Ron Paul and some lesser-known Republicans. Noticeably absent from the South Carolina forum were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Both are among the seven GOP White House hopefuls in Manchester tonight.

So too is U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota's 6th District, who has not formally declared herself a candidate but is widely believe to be in the running. Bachmann says she will make a formal announcement about her plans from her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa, sometime this month.

Several Republicans who turned out for a Pawlenty campaign event in Derry, New Hampshire Sunday afternoon said they didn't expect tonight's debate to be much of a debate, and that it would be fine with them if the seven candidates focused their criticism on President Barack Obama instead of each other this early in the campaign.

It remains to be seen what path the candidates will take, and if one goes after a fellow Republican, whether the others will follow the lead. Some think Romney might become the target of most of the criticism, since most polls show Romney well ahead of the others.

The debate runs from 7 p.m. - 9p.m., and is being broadcast live on CNN.

Pawlenty to unveil economic plan on Obama's political home turf

Posted at 8:07 AM on June 7, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik (4 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Palwenty is laying out a plan he says could return more vigorous growth to the U.S. economy, in excerpts from a speech he plans to give at the University of Chicago today.

Pawlenty will call for personal and business tax cuts, reducing government spending and regulatory reform. He says with the right policies that nation could return to annual economic growth of as much as 5 percent.

Pawlenty would cut the business tax rate from its current 35 percent to 15 percent and a "simpler, fairer, flatter" personal tax system in which there would be just two rates; 10 percent and 25 percent.

Pawlenty said under his plan people who currently do not pay income tax would remain at a zero rate. Individuals earning up to $50,000 or couples earning up to $100,000 would be taxed at 10 percent. Everything above that would be taxed at 25 percent.

In the speech, Pawlenty recommends the elimination of the capitol gains, interest income, dividends and estate taxes.

Pawlenty also addresses government spending in his economic plan. He says he would apply what he's calling, "The Google Test," to determine whether the government needs to provide a particular good or service, saying if that good or service is available privately online, the government "probably doesn't need to be doing it." Pawlenty cites the US Postal Service and Amtrak as examples of government programs that are no longer necessary.

Pawlenty also advocates federal regulatory reform claiming, "federal regulations will cost our economy $1.75 trillion dollars this year alone." He said he would require the sun-setting of all federal regulation, "unless specifically sustained by a vote of Congress."

Pawlenty choose President Barack Obama's home political turf of Chicago to lay out his plan. In the speech excerpts, he accuses Obama of "dividing the our nation, fanning the flames of class envy."

No word yet from Democrats on Pawlenty's class warfare charge and economic plan.

UPDATE:

Democratic National Committee Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said the following of Pawlenty's economic plan.

"Perhaps no one should be surprised that a failed former Governor who left his state with a massive projected budget deficit in the billions of dollars is now proposing to massively explode the deficit at the federal level. Tim Pawlenty's failing grade from Minnesota on fiscal and economic matters would be a disastrous prescription for the rest of the country."

Bachmann and Pawlenty to speak Friday at DC event

Posted at 11:00 AM on June 1, 2011 by Brett Neely
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

WASHINGTON -- Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann will both speak this Friday in Washington, DC at a conference sponsored by the religious conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition.

The event is yet another showcase for Republican presidential candidates. Some of the other speakers include Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, Herman Cain and Ron Paul, all of whom are running official or unofficial campaigns.

The group is led by former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed, who's been experiencing a political comeback of late.

This is Pawlenty's second trip to Washington in a week and a half. Last week, he spoke to a crowd of mostly journalists at the libertarian Cato Institute shortly after officially kicking off his presidential campaign.

Bachmann plans to announce her presidential ambitions this month.

Pawlenty to participate June 13 New Hampshire GOP debate

Posted at 8:30 AM on June 1, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik (1 Comments)
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he will attend the CNN/ WMUR-TV/ New Hampshire Union Leader debate on June 13, 2011 Manchester, N.H. In announcing his participation Pawlenty said he looked forward to discussing his vision for growing the economy, cutting spending and creating jobs.

"We cannot wait to begin the campaign to defeat President Obama and discuss our records with voters. President Obama's policies have failed, and we need a new leader to tell the hard truths necessary to restore American prosperity. I look forward to sharing my vision and discussing my record in front of first-in-the-nation primary voters."

A CNN spokeswoman told Minnesota Public Radio News on Tuesday that the Network planned to release a list of debate participants later this week or next week.

A New Hampshire-based consultant to Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann told reporters Monday in Dover, N.H. that Bachmann would be participating in the debate. But Bachmann later declined to confirm that saying she did not want to "trump" the debate sponsors' announcement.

Bachmann back in New Hampshire; Pawlenty back in Iowa

Posted at 7:41 AM on May 30, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik (3 Comments)
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is speaking this Memorial Day at a joint county GOP picnic in Dover, N.H. Bachmann arrived in the Granite State Sunday evening and met privately with a relatively small group of Republicans at a home in Dover which is northeast of Manchester.

Jerry DeLemus, the head of the Granite State Patriots Liberty Political Action Committee was at the Sunday evening gathering. DeLemus told MPR News Bachmann did an "awesome job" answering questions from the group. He said Bachmann talked about her commitment to repeal the Democratic-led health care overhaul and promoted a flat-tax. DeLemus's PAC will eventually endorse one or more candidates.

Following her appearance at the GOP picnic, DeLemus said Bachmann will hold another private meeting. He said he's "quit convinced" Bachmann will run for president. Late last week Bachmann told reporters she will announce her decision sometime next month from her birthplace, Waterloo, Iowa.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is also out campaigning today. Pawlenty is back in Iowa a week after formally declaring his candidacy in Des Moines. Pawlenty has three public events on his schedule; a pancake breakfast in Waukee, an afternoon "meet and greet" in Boone and a cookout in Fort Dodge.

Pawlenty to support Ryan Medicare plan, Dems go on offense

Posted at 2:36 PM on May 26, 2011 by Brett Neely (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

WASHINGTON - While delivering a speech in the capital yesterday, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty side-stepped questions about whether or not he would support Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) Medicare plan.

"I think in general, the direction of it is positive, but I'm going to have my own plan, and so we're going to have some differences from his plan," Pawlenty said.

Today, while campaigning in New Hampshire, Pawlenty changed course and said he would endorse the plan, which passed the House of Representatives with near-unanimous Republican support.

The Ryan plan would effectively privatize Medicare by transforming it from a single-payer health insurance system into one that gives seniors vouchers to purchase private medical insurance. The plan would raise the eligibility age for Medicare to 67 and would not impact anyone now 55 or older.

Democrats responded gleefully to Pawlenty's embrace of the Ryan plan. In a press release, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Pawlenty's support for the plan shows that he "can't stand up to the far-right of his party" and "ignore[s] the wishes of the American people."

Mr. Pawlenty goes to Washington

Posted at 6:03 PM on May 25, 2011 by Brett Neely
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

WASHINGTON - Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's kicked off his presidential campaign by traveling to Iowa on Monday to tell farmers that he would end ethanol subsidies. On Tuesday, he went to Florida to tell seniors he wasn't afraid to make changes to Social Security and Medicare.

That theme continued on Wednesday, when Pawlenty traveled to Washington, DC to announce that there should be fewer federal workers and that they should be paid less.

"We can't have federal employees getting a better deal than the people paying the bill - and that's the taxpayer," Pawlenty said.

Before a subdued crowd at the libertarian Cato Institute, Pawlenty cast his record as governor of Minnesota as one filled with the kind of "hard" decisions he would also make as president.

When pressed for specifics by both the audience and reporters about whether he supported House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-WI) plan to end the current Medicare single payer insurance system and replace it with vouchers for private medical insurance, Pawlenty demurred from answering the question directly.

"I think in general, the direction of it is positive, but I'm going to have my own plan, and so we're going to have some differences from his plan," Pawlenty said, promising to release more details soon.

Although Pawlenty pledged to rein in government spending, he also said the Pentagon should remain off limits to budget cuts, saying, "The rate of growth can be slowed down, but it shouldn't shrink in absolute terms."

When asked a question about foreign policy, Pawlenty jumped at the chance to say he had had "an unusual amount of international experience" for a former governor and then rattled off a long list of countries and regions he had traveled to.

In addition to the speech, Pawlenty also attended a fundraiser co-hosted by his two closest congressional allies, fellow Minnesota Republicans John Kline and Erik Paulsen.

Scheduling conflicts prevented both from attending but in an interview with MPR News earlier this week, Paulsen said many members of Congress were hoping to learn more about Pawlenty while he's in the capital.

"Right now as they're focused on Tim Pawlenty running for president officially," Paulsen said, "Now they're really paying attention and they want to meet him."

Pawlenty continues his campaign this week with stops in New Hampshire on Thursday and in New York on Friday, where he promised to tell Wall Street, "the carve-outs, the bail-outs, the subsidies, the handouts, are over for you as well."

Pawlenty off and running

Posted at 2:39 PM on May 23, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced for a second day in a row that he's a candidate for president, with the news this time coming from him in person at a podium in Des Moines, IA.

Pawlenty first announced his campaign for the Republican nomination yesterday afternoon in an online video, trying to garner as much attention as possible.

Just as he did in the video, Pawlenty tore into President Obama during his speech in Des Moines saying, "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."

Pawlenty warned of out of control federal spending and said to reduce the deficit and ultimately the national debt, popular entitlement programs including Social Security and Medicare need to be reformed. He even called for the phasing out of ethanol subsidies standing in the middle of Iowa corn country.

Following his speech Pawlenty held a brief question and answer session with the roughly 200 supporters who turned out.

A couple of blocks down the road representatives from the Democratic parties in Iowa and Minnesota held a news conference. Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin accused Pawlenty of lying about his record and bankrupting the state of Minnesota. Martin said Pawlenty's record does not warrant a promotion. He said Pawlenty chose Iowa for his announcement because he was running from his record in Minnesota.

Tomorrow Pawlenty will be in Florida for a Facebook town hall forum. On Thursday he will be campaign in New Hampshire.

Preview of Pawlenty's "Day 1" campaign speech

Posted at 8:43 AM on May 23, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 2012 presidential campaign released some excerpts from the speech he will deliver late Monday morning in Des Monies, Iowa. Not surprisingly, the speech will be heavy on criticism of President Barack Obama.

Excerpts of Governor Pawlenty's Announcement Address:

"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'm going to take a different approach. I am going to tell you the truth."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

Pawlenty makes it official in video

Posted at 8:44 PM on May 22, 2011 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2012, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

From MPR's Mark Zdechlik...

Tim Pawlenty will be formally launching his campaign for president tomorrow during a town hall meting in Des Moines, Iowa.

To promote the launch Pawlenty 2012 released a web video Sunday. In it, Pawlenty talks about the nation being in big trouble citing unemployment, the size of the debt and the rate of government spending.

"My first campaign stop will be in Iowa and that's where I'm going to begin a campaign that tells the American people the truth," Pawlenty said in the video. "I'm Tim Pawlenty and I'm running for president of the United States. I believe with all of my heart that the challenges we face can be over come."

After his Iowa appearance, Pawlenty heads to Florida for Facebook town hall tomorrow. He'll be in New Hampshire on Thursday.

The chair of the DFL Party will appear at an event in Des Moines with the vice chair of the Iowa Democratic Party to criticize Pawlenty. Several Democrats, including the spokeswoman for the DFL Party reacted negatively to Pawlenty's video.

"Tpaw video leaves out that his "solution" for MN was $6.2b deficit & higher prop taxes for 90% of MNs. No room btwn action shots & balloons?," DFL Party spokeswoman Kristin Sosanie wrote on Twitter.

Here's the video:

Update: The DNC released this web video on Monday morning:

(Reporter Tom Scheck contributed to this report)

A Pawlenty jab at likely South Carolina debate no shows?

Posted at 8:02 AM on April 29, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty issued a statement early this morning confirming he will be at the first GOP 2012 presidential nomination debate next week in Greenville, S.C.

Pawlenty had been expected to attend along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and Herman Cain, former Godfather's Pizza CEO. It's unclear now whether Gingrich will attend.

And there has been no word from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or Minnesota Congresswomen Michele Bachmann, who is considering a run for president.

In making it official he'll be there Pawlenty said, "it's important that Republicans show up now, talk about their records, and begin the debate on how best we can defeat this President."

UPDATE:

Asked whether the statement is a jab at likely 2012 GOP contenders who will not be participating in the debate, a Pawlenty spokesman told MPR News, "The statement speaks for itself."

Pawlenty to hit tea party rally before GOP debate

Posted at 1:55 PM on April 27, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The South Carolina Greenville Tea Party says former Gov. Tim Pawlenty will join South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and other politicians for a rally prior to next Thursday's debate in Greenville, SC.

The group says Texas Congressman Ron Paul will also be at the rally. Pawlenty and Paul are two of the five likely 2012 presidential candidates who are participating in the GOP debate which will take place on Thursday, May 5.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have not said whether they will participate in the debate.

Pawlenty fund raised $160k in 1st Quarter

Posted at 4:02 PM on April 15, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty reports raising $160,000 in the first ten days of his start-up committee for president.

The former Minnesota governor opened his exploratory committee for president on March 21st. Several people donated to his campaign, including his former chief of staff, the former finance chair for his federal PAC, the Chair of the Minnesota Commission on Judicial Selection and the former managing partner of the San Francisco Giants.

Pawlenty's advisers asked donors to wait until April 1 to write checks to his PAC so he would make bigger headlines when he reported his second quarter numbers in July.

Pawlenty spent $43,000 of his funds on travel, consulting and office supplies.

You can read the campaign report here.

Romney officially explores 2012 WH bid

Posted at 3:30 PM on April 11, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik
Filed under: Pawlenty travel

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced today he's formed a presidential exploratory committee. Like former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Romney used an Internet video to spread the news.

Romney's presentation is decidedly no-frills. Pawlenty's? Not so much. Remember the fast-paced, highly produced video his campaign put out on March 21?

Warm New Hampshire reception buoys Bachmann

Posted at 10:56 AM on March 13, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik (1 Comments)
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann told groups of New Hampshire Republicans and tea party supporters she loves their state and its "Live Free or Die" motto, and most of the people Bachmann spoke to cheered her on.

"You're considered stoic, independent, blunt-speaking people. I fancy myself one of you!" Bachmann told a group gathered at a hotel outside of Manchester Saturday morning for a New Hampshire GOP fundraiser.

Earlier in the day, Bachmann spoke to some New Hampshire state lawmakers and others at the site of a future alternative school in Manchester. She railed against the growing national debt, and President Obama and Democrats in Congress. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty was in Manchester just two days earlier saying many of the same things.

Manchester resident and small business owner Steve Mathieu played hockey with Pawlenty Friday morning in Concord. Twenty-four hours later, he was listening to Bachmann at the school in Manchester. Mathieu said he was a long way from deciding which candidate to support in the 2012 GOP nominating contest. But he dismissed the notion that Pawlenty, with two terms as governor under his belt, is more qualified to be president than Bachmann. Mathieu said Bachmann and Ronald Reagan share some qualities.

"They shoot from their value system. People call it shooting from the hip, but what it is, is what you see is what you get with these people. They're honest. They're true to their principles. They're true to who they are and that's exactly what America needs," said Mathieu.

Some say Bachmann is almost perfectly positioned to fill a void in the tea party-wing of the Republican Party that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin seems to be leaving.

University of New Hampshire political scientist Danta Scala told MPR News that Bachmann doesn't need to operate in the shadows of Palin.

"I think she could be potentially more than a poor man's Sarah Palin, which she usually is cast as by the national media, because she's at least as well versed on issues of importance to conservatives as Palin is, and she can, perhaps, deliver as much verve on the stump as Palin could," said Scala.

As she almost always does whereever she goes, Bachmann brought a lot of energy to New Hampshire. She drew several standing ovations at a fundraiser for a tea party political action committee Saturday afternoon.

On Friday evening and then again on Saturday morning, she made the mistake of saying the first shot of the revolutionary war was fired in New Hampshire. But in her last speech Saturday afternoon, Bachmann said many New Hampshirites helped their counterparts in Massachusetts, the state where the first shots were fired. Bachmann also added this mea culpa to her Facebook page, "It was my mistake, Massachusetts is where they [the shots] happened," wrote Bachmann.

Bachmann botches revolutionary war history in New Hampshire appearances

Posted at 6:37 PM on March 12, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik (2 Comments)
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann proclaimed New Hampshire the state where the first shot of the revolutionary war was fired in at least two appearances during her swing through New Hampshire. But in her last speech Saturday afternoon, Bachmann modified her line to say that many New Hampshirites helped their counterparts in Massachusetts, the state where the first shots were fired. Bachmann also updated her Facebook page with a mea culpa, "It was my mistake, Massachusetts is where they [the shots] happened," wrote Bachmann.

Bachmann arrived in New Hampshire Friday evening and left Saturday afternoon. She made five appearances in less than 24 hours, including a whistle-stop at a country store. The trip marked Bachmann's first foray into New Hampshire since she joined the large field of possible 2012 GOP presidential candidates. Bachmann said she will decide whether to run this summer. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was in New Hampshire Thursday through Saturday morning.

Pawlenty talks health care in New Hampshire

Posted at 3:40 PM on March 11, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Minnesota Gov. and likely 2012 GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty spoke to a group of health care providers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire Friday. Pawlenty said programs like Medicare and Medicaid are unsustainable and need reworking.

Pawlenty called for giving consumers more control over subsidized health care spending. He said if consumers were able to make choices based cost and quality of care, people would get better treatment at a lower cost.

"I don't like movements toward centralized systems," he said. "I don't like movements towards government-centric models. I don't like movements towards big government bureaucracies, particularly when we see the track record of the two we have."

Pawlenty cited health savings accounts as an example of market forces and consumer choice at work, and he said Minnesota leads the nation in the percentage of residents who have them.

Some in the audience questioned whether Americans are capable of directing their own health care and suggested people are more likely to get the care they need under single-payer models than they are directing their own health care.

Pawlenty speaks in New Hampshire

Posted at 8:35 PM on March 10, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty spoke in Manchester, N.H. Thursday evening at a house party sponsored by the Granite Oath PAC. He and his wife Mary were warmly received. Pawlenty spoke about domestic and foreign policy issues. He said the U.S. has not shown enough leadership and resolve when it comes to the situation in Libya.

"I think if there's a plausible way to implement a no-fly zone, we should," he said. "If there's a plausible way to help those who are trying to defeat and take out Moammar Gadhafi we should explore those options and the president, I think, is thinking about it. He's thinking about it, but I would be more forward leaning than that, than I think he has been."

Pawlenty also criticized the Obama administration for its reaction to the situation in Eqypt.

On domestic issues, Pawlenty said the national debt cannot be addressed without reworking entitlement programs. He said it's time to start talking about changing Social Security rules for people who are not yet in the program.

"I think when you have life expectancies going up like they are, it's ok to say for new entrants into the program, the retirement age is going to gradually increase over time and a majority of Americans say, ok. I'm ok with that."

Palwenty left the Manchester house party with a customized University of New Hampshire hockey jersey with "Pawlenty 12" on the back.

Pawlenty is heading to the western part of New Hampshire Friday for a noon-time speech about health care issues at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

Rep. Michele Bachmann will arrive in New Hampshire Friday for a series of GOP fundraisers. On Saturday, Bachmann will also help raise money for a political action committee that represents a coalition of New Hampshire tea party groups.

Details on Rep. Bachmann's upcoming trip to New Hampshire

Posted at 7:49 AM on March 1, 2011 by Mark Zdechlik
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The New Hampshire Republican State Committee said Rep. Michele Bachmann will appear at its fundraiser brunch on Saturday, March 12. The Granite State Patriots Liberty PAC says Bachmann will appear at a fundraiser later that Saturday.

The first fundraiser starts at 11:00 a.m. at hotel in Nashua. The Liberty PAC fundraiser runs from 1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. in Barrington, N.H.

In a news release announcing the morning GOP fundraiser, state Republican Party Chairman Jack Kimball said he was pleased Bachmann was coming.

"Congresswoman Bachmann understands the importance of expanding the GOP in our state, returning principled conservative leadership to our governor's office and delivering a strong Republican nominee for president.

Michele is an outspoken defender of our constitution and as a small business owner and a mother who has raised five children and 23 foster children; she knows firsthand the struggles our families face and is leading the fight to bring fiscal conservatism back to our nation.

We know the Democrats have a serious spending problem and that President Obama's job destroying policies, radical agenda and overspending have been a complete failure. In order to see any economic recovery and a chance for our business community to grow and create jobs, the Obama agenda must be defeated in 2012."

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty is also traveling to New Hampshire next week. Pawlenty will speak Thursday, March 10 at a "presidential house party series" sponsored by the "Granite Oath PAC."

Pawlenty: "Government's too damn big"

Posted at 3:33 PM on February 26, 2011 by Tom Scheck (4 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty went after government unions this afternoon during a speech in Phoenix, Arizona. In his keynote address to the Tea Party Patriots "American Policy Summit," Pawlenty drew load applause when he ripped President Obama and urged his audience to applaud Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for his efforts to restrict public employee collective bargaining rights. Clutching a copy of the constitution, Pawlenty said the nation's founding fathers intended to limit government, not freedom.

"It says in here in order to form a more perfect union," Pawlenty said. "Mr President that does not mean coddling out-of-control public employee unions."

The head of Minnesota's largest public employee union is accusing Pawlenty of scapegoating public employees for budget problems.

Pawlenty thanked tea party enthusiasts for their energy and referred to them as "modern-day Paul Reveres."

Here's the full speech: Listen

Kline backs Pawlenty in 2012

Posted at 11:14 AM on February 24, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. House, U.S. Senate

GOP Rep. John Kline told reporters that he's backing Tim Pawlenty's bid for president in 2012. Kline met with Minnesota reporters today to discuss the situation in Wisconsin, the federal budget showdown and the situation in the Middle East.

On Wisconsin, Kline says praised Wisconsin Governor Walker for trying to get a handle of the state's pension and benefits for state employees. When challenged that unions have already met Walker's demands, Kline said he didn't "want to get into Wisconsin's negotiations" but said politicians need to handle the hard reckoning of budget problems.

Kline will be on the front lines of that hard reckoning next week. The U.S. House has suggested that there will be a "shutdown showdown" over the federal budget. President Obama and Congress have to reach an agreement by March 4th. Kline says he doesn't want to see a government shutdown but added that House Republicans won't support a continuing resolution that doesn't cut government spending. He wouldn't say what an acceptable level of cuts would be.

"I'm very confident that the Republicans in the House are not going to vote for a continuing resolution that has no cuts in it," Kline said.

Kline, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, says he's watching the unrest in the Middle East closely. He said Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi's violent actions towards protesters in that country borders on an atrocity.

"We have seen now how really bad this guy is when he is killing his own people to stay in power," Kline said.

Kline said he's watching the situation in Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria and Jordan closely. He said it's possible that the issue could go against U.S. interests in the region.

"I'm not entirely sure that we're going to like the type of democracy that could come out of this," Kline said.

Kline said he is hoping unrest in Iran occurs because he argued that the situation can't get much worse there.

Finally, Kline said he was running for reelection. He was then asked who he was supporting for president 2012.

"Tim Pawlenty," he said at the end of the news conference.

Kline's decision to back Pawlenty means he's not backing GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann, who is also pondering a run for president.

Roll Call reports that Pawlenty is headed to Washington D.C. on Monday to try to build a network of supporters in Congress. Kline and GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen are listed on the invitation.

Here's Kline's briefing: Listen

Presidential debates start popping up

Posted at 4:05 PM on December 16, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Iowa Republican Party announced today that they will hold two debates for the 2012 GOP candidates. The first debate will be held on August 11, 2011. It's scheduled two days before the Iowa Republican Straw Poll. The second debate will be held before the Iowa Caucuses which are scheduled to be held on February 6th 2012. Fox News and the Iowa GOP will co-sponsor the debate.

The announcement comes one day after a presidential debate was announced in New Hampshire. The state that holds the first presidential primary. WMUR-TV, the New Hampshire Union Leader and CNN are co-sponsoring a debate on June 7th in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Fox News and the South Carolina GOP also announced two presidential debates. The first debate will be held on May 5th in Greenville, South Carolina. The second debate will be scheduled closer to the South Carolina primary.

There is one other debate that's been announced but not yet scheduled. Politico and NBC are co-sponsoring a Spring debate at the Reagan Presidential Library. The Library will also host another debate on the eve of the Super Tuesday elections.

All of the presidential debates prompt one major question: When will the candidates actually declare their intentions? No one has formally announced their intentions yet.

Pawlenty's book tour

Posted at 5:52 AM on December 10, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty, who is considering a run for the White House, will be signing his book in the key political states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and Ohio. He is also scheduled to appear on "The View" and "The Daily Show with John Stewart" during the tour. The book is scheduled to be released on January 11th.

An excerpt of Pawlenty's book "Courage to Stand" has been released and it discusses Pawlenty's life in South St. Paul. You can read it here. Pawlenty collaborated with Mark Dagostino to write the book. Dagostino ghost wrote professional wrestler Hulk Hogan's autobiography.

Here's the book tour schedule for Pawlenty:

Thursday, 1/13 (Washington, DC)
Speak at National Press Club, Washington, DC
Book signing, Washington, DC

Friday, 1/14 (Florida)
Speak at the Hispanic Leadership Network Inaugural Conference, Miami, FL
Book signing, Tampa, FL

Tuesday, 1/18 (Minnesota)
Book signing, Woodbury, MN

Thursday, 1/20 (Texas)
Book signing, Dallas, TX

Friday, 1/21 (Texas)
Book signing, Dallas, TX
Book signing, Houston, TX

Monday, 1/24 (New Hampshire)
Merrimack County GOP Dinner, Concord, NH
Book signing, Manchester, NH

Tuesday, 1/25 (New Hampshire)
Politics & Eggs, Bedford, NH

Thursday, 1/27 (Minnesota)
Book signing, Burnsville, MN
Book signing, St. Cloud, MN

Saturday, 1/29 (Ohio)
12th Annual Hamilton County Pancake Breakfast, Cincinnati, OH

Sunday, 1/30 (Iowa)
Book signing, Ankeny, IA
Waukee Chamber of Commerce Dinner

Monday, 1/31 (Iowa)
Book signing, West Des Moines, IA

Pawlenty headed to Florida

Posted at 12:05 PM on December 6, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida today to speak to speak to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event. A person with knowledge of the trip says the Chamber invited Pawlenty to come speak at the private event.

The person with knowledge of the trip says it's a political trip and will be covered by Pawlenty's federal Freedom First PAC. The governor is scheduled to be back in Minnesota tonight.

In other Pawlenty news, here's Pawlenty's speech to the MNGOP State Central Committee meeting on Saturday: Listen

Pawlenty is literally a boy on the bus

Posted at 11:04 AM on November 19, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty took a long, strange trip to get to San Diego this week The Hotline said he had to take a few side trips to get there.

Sometimes, getting from Point A to Point B can include a few stops along the way. That's what happened to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) on his way to the annual Republican Governors Association meeting earlier this week.

Pawlenty left Minnesota Tuesday night on a commercial flight bound for San Diego, but fog forced an unscheduled stop-over in Phoenix. The flight took off again a few hours later, but again, fog prevented a landing. That sent Pawlenty's plane to Ontario, an airport about 100 miles north of San Diego.

So the airline, which shall remain nameless, gave their passengers free tickets that would get them to San Diego early Wednesday morning -- on a Greyhound bus. Pawlenty hopped on board and arrived at the downtown San Diego bus terminal at 4:45 a.m.

Capping off the trip from hell: Pawlenty headed north, to initial RGA sessions, to moderate a panel just a few hours later.

Next time, he'll probably check the weather first.

Side note: The blog title is a takeaway from the classic book The Boys on the Bus.

Update: AP writes a profile of Pawlenty.

Poll watch: How is Pawlenty doing?

Posted at 3:07 PM on November 15, 2010 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Public Policy Polling surveyed voters in 18 states and asked who they would vote for among candidates for the 2012 GOP nomination. The polls were done on eve of the 2010 midterms.

Gov. Pawlenty polled in single digits in every state except for Minnesota. He was ahead in the Minnesota poll by one percentage point. Sarah Palin and someone else/undecided came in second in Minnesota at 18 percent.

There are few things to note with these polls.

First, this is a hypothetical field, since none of these candidates have said whether or not they're making a run for the White House. But since there is no clear front runner in these polls it's a large signal that the field is unsettled. It helps the lower level candidates that no clear favorite is emerging.

The poll surveyed Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters. The results could change if it polled only GOP voters, who are more likely to vote in a primary/caucus.

Update from pollster: A correction: these polls did not poll Democrats or independents in any state where there is a closed primary. They were all predicated on those who said they usually vote in Republican primaries--only those who said they do that were asked who they favor in the primaries.

Polls also change as candidates enter and leave the race. That will change the makeup of the contest as the primary races unfold.

Finally, polls are only a snapshot in time. There are still roughly 14 months until the Iowa Caucuses.

With that being said, here's how Pawlenty fared in each of the states polled by PPP.

Note: I also included the person at the top of each state poll in this post. A link to the polls can be found below.

Alaska
Pawlenty polled at 5 percent
(Someone else/undecided at 25 percent, Mike Huckabee at 17 percent).

Kentucky
Pawlenty polled at 1 percent
(Huckabee at 26 percent).

North Carolina
Pawlenty polled at 4 percent
(Newt Gingrich at 23 percent)

Ohio
Pawlenty polled 6 percent.
(Sarah Palin at 20 percent)

Nevada
Pawlenty polled at 2 percent
(Mitt Romney at 34 percent)

Washington
Pawlenty polled at 4 percent
(Someone else/undecided at 24 percent, Sarah Palin at 19 percent)

Florida
Pawlenty polled at 4 percent
(Romney at 28 percent)

Maine
Pawlenty polled at 3 percent
(Someone else/undecided at 23 percent and Palin at 23 percent)

Minnesota
Pawlenty polled at 19 percent
(Palin at 18 percent. Someone else/undecided at 18 percent).

Texas
Pawlenty at 3 percent
(Palin at 22 percent)

West Virginia
Pawlenty polled at 2 percent
(Palin at 25 percent)

Wisconsin
Pawlenty polled at 8 percent
(Someone else/undecided at 28 percent, Palin at 18 percent).

California
Pawlenty polled at 2 percent
(Romney at 25 percent)

Colorado
Pawlenty polled at 6 percent
(Romney at 22 percent)

Connecticut
Pawlenty polled at 5 percent
(Romney at 28 percent)

Illinois
Pawlenty polled at 7 percent
(Someone else/undecided at 23 percent, Huckabee at 18 percent)

New Hampshire
Pawlenty polled at 4 percent
(Romney at 40 percent)

Pennsylvania
Pawlenty at 2 percent
(Huckabee at 23 percent)

You can find links to the polls here, here and here.

Update: The blog, GOP12, gives a broader look at where each candidate stands by state.

Gauging Pawlenty's presidential prospects

Posted at 3:22 PM on November 11, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Since the 2010 Midterms are over, the political chattering class is now focused on 2012. Public Policy Polling released several polls that examined how the Republicans under consideration for a White House run will do in several states. The polls found that Mitt Romney is ahead in the critical early primary state of Florida. Sarah Palin has leads in Texas, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Maine. Gov. Pawlenty has a lead in Minnesota but it's a small one. Just 19 percent of those polled in Minnesota support his presidential prospects. Palin is polling at 18 percent.

Pawlenty's poor showing in the polls has led pollster Nate Silver to question why there's so much buzz about Pawlenty's prospects. The New York Times writer suggests Pawlenty is one of the 2012 hopefuls to "bet against."

The analogy is to a baseball team that is 7 games out of first place at the All-Star break: how likely is this team to come back and win its division?

The answer depends to a great extent on how many other teams separate them from the first-place team. If they're in second place in a two-team race, their odds really aren't so bad: they just have to get hot, or the other team has to wilt down the stretch run, and they'll have a pretty good chance.

But if they're in, say, fifth place between a tightly-bunched group of front-runners (even if those front-runners are flawed in various ways), then making up a 7-game deficit is quite difficult. There's now almost no chance that they can win just by watching the first-place team fold: the second-, third- and fourth-place teams would all have to do so as well. Instead, they'll have to get really hot - and even if they do, they'll have to hope none of the four teams in front of them get as hot or hotter. This is the situation that candidates like Mr. Pawlenty now find themselves in.

The other potential flaw in the analysis of candidates like Mr. Pawlenty and Mr. Thune is that some seem to think it an asset that they are bland and unobjectionable. In a primary election that isn't an asset, but a liability. A primary election isn't a reality show in which candidates are eliminated one at a time for failing some challenge. Instead, voters pick the one candidate whom they most like, rather than the one they most dislike; a candidate who has strong favorables and strong unfavorables is going to be more people's first choice than one whom everyone feels indifferent about. Someone with a more distinct and provocative brand - like Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey or Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin - might stand a better chance in an underdog role, although neither is likely to run for president in 2012.

One thing that could help Pawlenty's standing are a large number of debates. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, CA announced that it intends to host the first 2012 GOP debate in the Spring of 2011. Right around the same time Pawlenty says he'll announce whether he'll make a run for the White House.

Another issue that could help him is if he catches fire for opposing the federal health care law. Pawlenty filed a motion today to request filing a friend of the court brief in a lawsuit challenging the federal health care law.

Pawlenty is #2 in the power rankings

Posted at 9:34 PM on November 9, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty ranks #2 in the power rankings

The National Journal's The Hotline is ranking Pawlenty #2 in its rankings of presidential contenders. The Washignton D.C. based publication says Pawlenty is ranked second among the potential candidates in the "strongest position to win the GOP nomination."

Here's what "The Hotline" says about Pawlenty:

Like Romney, Pawlenty is acting like a traditional candidate, putting together the staff and resources necessary to jump in with both feet. He's certainly got the executive experience and conservative credentials, but early reviews of his public appearances make us wonder whether he's exciting enough to inspire a primary audience. Our burning question: Does "Minnesota Nice" play in presidential primary politics?

This is a double edged sword for Pawlenty. Just like polls that show him in the middle or bottom of the 2012 pack can both help and hurt. They help because he has no where to go but up. His high ranking means in this ranking shows he has little room to grow and could lose critical momentum if he falls a rung or two.

A closer look at Pawlenty's federal PAC.

Posted at 5:53 PM on October 25, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Center for Responsive Politics took a look at the 2012 GOP hopefuls and how they're spending money raised through their federal Political Action Committees. The group found that Gov. Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC gave $85,100 to 36 federal candidates. The PAC spent $134,239 on travel, $10,666 on media expenses and another $375,000 on campaign expenses.

The analysis found that Pawlenty was the fifth highest contributor to federal candidates through October 13th. Pawlenty gave $85,100 to federal candidates through that time period. Mitt Romney, John Thune, Sarah Palin and Mike Pence gave more. One side note is that Pawlenty reported having more than $500,000 left in the bank to spend which means he could give a lot more through Election Day.

Here are the toplines:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty
Associated PAC: Freedom First PAC
Total receipts: $3.14 million
Amount donated to federal-level candidates: $85,100
Total federal-level candidates receiving donations: 36
Travel: $134,239
Media expenses: $10,666
Campaign Expenses: $375,000

You can read the full analysis here.

Pawlenty to campaign in eight states in final week

Posted at 1:04 PM on October 25, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is scheduled to make campaign stops in Texas, New Mexico, Georgia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota and Iowa in the final week of the campaign.

Pawlenty will be campaigning mostly on behalf of the Republican candidates for governor. Some of the events are closed fundraisers (Texas and Louisiana ). Other events are rallies for candidates (NM, OH, PA, IA).

Pawlenty, who campaigned for Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tom Emmer over the past two days, will attend a rally for Emmer on Saturday in Blaine. He will also spend the Monday before Election Day campaigning for Emmer.

Perry helps Pawlenty's Iowa PAC

Posted at 12:40 PM on October 19, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty is getting some financial help for his Iowa based political action committee from someone who has helped him win reelection in 2006. Big time Texas donor Bob Perry and his wife gave $50,000 to Pawlenty's PAC.

It isn't the first time Pawlenty has benefitted from Perry's generosity. In February, Pawlenty hand delivered a $100,000 check from Perry to the Alabama Republican Party.

Perry also gave $500k to A Stronger America-Minnesota in 2006. That group ran TV ads ripping Democrat Mike Hatch, during Pawlenty's reelection.

Perry is best known for giving to The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that ran ads in 2004 criticizing Democrat John Kerry.

Other GOP heavyweights including Minnesota business leaders Stanley Hubbard and David Frauenshuh and Francis Rooney, a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and big-time fundraiser for President George W. Bush. You can read the full report on who donated to Pawlenty here.

Pawlenty also used his PAC money to help some Iowa candidates. The biggest contributors are Terry Branstad, the GOP candidate for governor, and House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen. Pawlenty made 42 contributions to state candidates. You can read how Pawlenty spent his money here.

Pawlenty: "Mitt and I are friends..."

Posted at 5:59 PM on October 14, 2010 by Tom Scheck (4 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty said today that he intends to appear alongside potential 2012 rival Mitt Romney on Monday. Romney is scheduled to be in Bloomington, MN on Monday to raise money for Emmer and also hold a rally for the Republican candidate for governor. Pawlenty said he will also attend the event provided the special session wraps up in a timely manner.

"Mitt and I are friends I like him," Pawlenty said. "Last time he was here, he and I spent some social time together. I spent some time with him backstage. We appeared together on the state so there's no tension or problem with me or Mitt."

When asked why there would be a problem, Pawlenty said "I have a lot of respect for Gov. Romney."

Pawlenty said he also intends to do some campaigning of his own for Emmer near the end of the month. Pawlenty told reporters this afternoon that he's scheduled to campaign for Emmer, has raised money for him and he also hinted at doing more.

"There are some things that I'm doing independently that will reveal themselves in due course," Pawlenty said.

When asked if he will appear in an ad touting Emmer's campaign, Pawlenty said "stay tuned on that."

Pawlenty, who reported this morning that his three political action committees has $667,000 on hand through September 30th. When asked if he intends to spend that money, Pawlenty responded "It's not to sit on money."

Pawlenty will ramp up his campaigning over the weekend. He's scheduled to be in New York City tomorrow morning for a fundraiser for the Republican Governors Association. On Saturday, he'll be campaigning in New Hampshire. He suggested that it won't be the only out of state campaigning he'll do between now and Election Day.

"I'm doing everything I need to do to make sure my job and responsibilities are met here but I will be campaigning pretty hard in the next few weeks..."

Pawlenty's 3 PACs raised $778k in 3rd Quarter

Posted at 7:04 AM on October 14, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty's three political action committees report raising nearly $778,000 in the 3rd quarter of the year. A source with Pawlenty's PACs says the federal PAC raised $557k, the Iowa state PAC raised $135k and the New Hampshire PAC raised almost $86k. Pawlenty's federal PAC is aimed at helping state and federal candidates across the country. The New Hampshire and Iowa PACs are aimed at helping state and local candidates in those respective states.

Pawlenty also gave $113k to candidates and political party units in the 3rd Quarter. He gave $5,000 each to the New Hampshire Republican Party, the Florida state Senate GOP, gubernatorial candidates in Nevada, Oregon and Illinois and three New Hampshire candidtes who are running for the U.S. Senate and Congress (Kelly Ayotte, Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass).

The deadline to file the FEC reports on the federal level is tomorrow.

Gov. Pawlenty is heading to New Hampshire on Saturday.

Posted at 4:32 PM on October 13, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The spokesman for Governor Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC says Pawlenty is headed to New Hampshire on Saturday.

Pawlenty is holding an afternoon reception for Republican Charlie Bass (a candidate in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District) and will also hold an evening reception in Whitefield, NH for Raymond Burton, a candidate for Executive Councilor.

This is Pawlenty's 5th trip to New Hampshire since he announced he wasn't running for reelection.

Pawlenty goes after Teacher's Union (in D.C.)

Posted at 2:15 PM on October 13, 2010 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty has again put the teacher's union in his cross hairs but it's not Education Minnesota. Instead, he's targeting the teacher's union in Washington D.C. Pawlenty, who is ramping up a run for the White House in 2012, released a statement today after Washington D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced she was leaving her post.

Here's Pawlenty's statement.

"Our nation's capital is losing a superwoman in education. Michelle Rhee's resignation is more evidence of the corrosive impact of teachers' unions in American schools. Despite -- or maybe because of -- the early success of her school reforms, the teachers' unions worked tirelessly to stop her, showing no compassion for the thousands of children stuck in failing D.C. schools. Despite the teachers' unions' success in defeating Michelle Rhee, her leadership is inspiring to reformers everywhere and will make it harder for the unions to defend the failed status quo."

Cato gives Pawlenty top marks

Posted at 1:13 PM on September 30, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The conservative Cato Institute has released grades for the governors across the country. The analysis found that Gov. Pawlenty's approach to taxes and spending is in line with Cato. Pawlenty was one of four governors who received top marks. The others are Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D). Here's what Cato said about Pawlenty:

In his first few years in office, Governor Pawlenty backed tax increases on corporations and cigarette consumers. However, the governor has changed course in recent years, consistently supporting tax cuts and opposing tax increases. In 2008, he vetoed a large gasoline tax increase. In 2009, he twice vetoed giant tax packages passed by the legislature, which included increases in the top personal income tax rate and increased taxes on gasoline, beer, wine, and liquor. In 2010, he again vetoed an income tax rate increase. Pawlenty has also proposed substantial business tax cuts to make the state more competitive, and he wants the corporate tax rate reduced from 9.9 percent to 4.8 percent. Under Pawlenty, state general fund spending rose 22 percent between FY03 and FY08, which was less than the average state increase. The governor's proposed spending for FY11 is down 10 percent from the FY08 peak. Pawlenty has proposed a constitutional amendment to limit annual growth in the state's general fund spending over the long term.

Pawlenty's potential 2012 rivals for president received lower marks. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels received a B rating. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour received a C rating.

Pawlenty to address Family Research Council event in Minnesota

Posted at 4:54 PM on September 24, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty is scheduled to speak to the Family Research Council's Watchmen on the Wall Minnesota event on Monday. The organization's website lists Pawlenty as one of the group's featured speakers. Others include FRC President Tony Perkins and Minnesota Family Institute CEO John Helmberger. The event is targeting Minnesota's pastors to:

* Be informed on the current legal and spiritual challenges facing the church
* Connect with other pastors and ministers in Minnesota
* Receive a free Voter Impact Toolkit
* Enjoy a complimentary lunch

You will leave encouraged, refreshed, and empowered to address the critical issues you and your church face in the important days ahead.

The Minnesota Family Institute and the Family Research Council have been pushing to ban same sex marriage and is opposed to legalized abortion. Pawlenty, who is ramping up a bid for the White House in 2012, is scheduled to speak to the group in the morning. The event could help Pawlenty market his presidential qualifications to Perkins and the other leaders in the Family Research Council. The group is a political force on social conservative issues and reportedly has 455,000 members.

However, it will be difficult to know what Pawlenty says to the group, however. Pawlenty's spokesman says the event is closed to the press.

Pawlenty announces NH trip, endorsements

Posted at 3:25 PM on September 21, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty announced that he's giving out a total of $16,000 to the GOP candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House in New Hampshire. He also announced he's giving $250 checks to 34 state and local candidates in New Hamsphire and $500 to five candidates for New Hampshire Executive Council. The donations are being given through his federal Freedom First PAC.

The governor also announced that he'll make his 4th trip to New Hampshire since he announced he wasn't running for a 3rd term as governor. He'll be in New Hampshire on September 30th to campaign for John Stephen (the GOP candidate for governor) and Frank Guinta (a GOP candidate for Congress).

Pawlenty has been active in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Two critical states for any candidate who is ramping up a run for the White House. Pawlenty says he'll announce his official intentions early next year.

Pawlenty traveling to Tennessee and Ohio today

Posted at 10:48 AM on September 21, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to Nashville, TN and Cincinnatti, OH today to attend two fundraisers. Gov. Pawlenty's spokesman says Pawlenty will hold a fundraising lunch in the Nashville area today and a fundraising dinner in Cincinnatt tonight. Both fundraisers will help his Freedom First PAC.

The spokesman says he'll be back in Minnesota this evening.

Pawlenty was scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Wisconsin last night but he couldn't attend because of plane problems.

Latest poll shows Pawlenty trailing in NH

Posted at 2:54 PM on September 17, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The latest 2012 GOP poll has Gov. Pawlenty trailing five other candidates in the critical state of New Hampshire. Public Policy Polling shows Mitt Romney up big in the state with the support of 41 percent of those polled. Newt Gingrich polled at 12 percent support, Sarah Palin received 12 percent, Mike Huckabee got 10 percent and Ron Paul got 8 percent. Pawlenty polled at five percent. Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana got two percent.

PPP Pollster Tom Jensen said Romney has a dominant lead right now:

The New Hampshire primary is still almost a year and a half away but Romney's persistent dominant lead in the polling makes you wonder- if that holds is New Hampshire even going to be viewed as that relevant to the 2012 nomination contest? If his status as the rare New England Republican Presidential candidate makes it impossible for anyone else to build momentum there the state may just get written off with everyone reallocating their resources to Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada, and Florida.

Pawlenty has been active in New Hampshire. He sent staffers to the Granite State to help get out the vote on Tuesday's primary. He also created a state PAC to help candidates in that state.

Pawlenty says trade trip kept him off straw poll

Posted at 11:56 AM on September 17, 2010 by Mark Zdechlik (3 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Values Voter Summit is underway in Washington D.C.

A long list of well-known conservatives and some GOP presidential hopefuls are speaking there, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty is not among them.

In a telephone conference call from Tokyo Pawlenty called the Values Voter Summit'an "important group," and noted that he's addressed the summit before. He said he took his name out of the summit's presidential straw poll this time because he was unable to be there in person.

"We certainly appreciate the Values Voter Summit, but I wasn't able to be there because of the trade mission," he said. "And because I was unable to be there, we didn't think it would be appropriate to participate otherwise in the event. So it's fairly straight forward in that regard."

Rep. Michele Bachmann spoke at the summit today. Bachmann's name is included in the presidential straw poll.

Update: AP reports that Bachmann requested her name be taken off the straw poll, and she will not be included.

Pawlenty says Quran burning "not wise"

Posted at 11:15 AM on September 9, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he doesn't think burning the Quran is a good idea, but he's not specifically calling on a Florida pastor to cancel a planned weekend protest.

The Republican governor, who is viewed as a likely presidential candidate in 2012, commented on the Quran controversy today at an airport news conference before leaving on an Asian trade mission. Pawlenty said that people have a legal right to burn books, but that doesn't mean it's wise. He stopped short of saying the burning shouldn't go forward.

"You know, I think everybody has to make their own judgements,"Pawlenty said. "But in my view, I don't think it's a helpful or needed thing. It's not something that's a wise act on his part."

Asked if he shared Gen. David Petraeus' concern about the Quran burning putting American troops at risk, Pawlenty said he would defer to the general.

"He is the expert on the situation in Afghanistan relative to American troops," Pawlenty said. "I would certainly give anything he said great deference and respect."

Pawlenty rejects health care funds

Posted at 1:37 PM on August 31, 2010 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty today signed an executive order directing state agencies to decline all discretionary participation in the federal health care legislation.

"Obamacare is an intrusion by the federal government into personal health care matters and it's an explosion of federal spending that does nothing to make health care more affordable," Pawlenty said in a news release. "To the fullest extent possible, we need to keep Obamacare out of Minnesota."

A spokesman for Pawlenty hasn't returned a question on how much federal money is at stake.

Democrats in the Legislature say Pawlenty is "putting his personal political ambitions ahead of the future of Minnesota." DFL Senator John Marty says he can't understand why Pawlenty is rejecting money that could help the state's bottom line.

"It doesn't matter if anybody supports it or not. The question is whether you turn down the money or not. The plan is going ahead. It's a question do we want to turn down our share of the money that our taxpayers paid for. Why should we turn down the money when the other states are taking it?"

It isn't certain how much money is at stake. DFL legislative leaders say state law does require Pawlenty to apply for some of the funds. They say there's a possibility the Legislature could take him to court if the doesn't apply.

Pawlenty is taking steps to run for president in 2012.

Here's the Executive Order:

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10-12

DIRECTING STATE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

REGARDING DISCRETIONARY PARTICIPATION

IN THE FEDERAL HEALTH CARE LAW

I, TIM PAWLENTY, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and applicable laws do hereby issue this executive order:

WHEREAS, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA" or "the Act") (Pub.L. 111-148) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010; and

WHEREAS, the Act represents a dramatic attempt to assert federal command and control over this country's health care system, which accounts for one-sixth of our nation's economy, thereby reducing individual freedom for health care decisions; and

WHEREAS, the Act includes unprecedented federal intrusions into individual liberty, including the mandate that individual citizens are compelled to purchase health insurance under penalty of law; and

WHEREAS, the Act was passed with massive new spending commitments at a time when the growing federal government debt threatens private sector economic growth; and

WHEREAS, the revenue to pay for the Act is based on increased taxes and fees coupled with unrealistic assumptions regarding purported future cost-savings; and

WHEREAS, this legislation includes a multitude of programs and demonstration projects intended to speed the transition to federally-controlled health care; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Laws of Minnesota 2010, 1st Special Session, Chapter 1 (Special Session Chapter 1) my Administration has determined Minnesota will not participate in the early expansion of the Medicaid entitlement program offered by the federal government as part of the legislation; and

WHEREAS, consistent with this determination and in recognition of my obligations to protect Minnesota's sovereign interests and those of its citizens, the boundary between state and federal government must be maintained to prevent an unwise and unsustainable federal takeover of health care in our State.

NOW, THEREFORE, I hereby order that:

All executive branch departments and agencies are directed that no application shall be submitted to the federal government in connection with requests for grant funding for programs and demonstration projects deriving from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA" or "the Act") (Pub.L. 111-148) unless otherwise required by law, or approved by the office of the Governor.

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 2009, section 4.035, subdivision 2, this Executive Order will be effective fifteen (15) days after publication in the State Register and filing with the Secretary of State and will remain in effect in accordance with Minnesota Statutes 2009, section 4.035, subdivision 3.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have set my hand this 31st day of August, 2010.

Pawlenty raises money for Brady

Posted at 6:43 AM on August 31, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Tim Pawlenty was in Chicago last night raising money for the Republican candidate for governor of Illinois. Pawlenty, who is Vice-Chair of the Republican Governor's Association, held the private fundraiser for Bill Brady. Brady is challenging Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

A spokesman for Pawlenty says Pawlenty's visit to Chicago was a "quick trip" and he was back in the state within a few hours.

Pawlenty going "All In" in Iowa?

Posted at 5:02 AM on August 31, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

IowaPolitics examined where the Iowa GOP political strategists are lining up for 2012. In the report, it suggested Pawlenty has built "the largest and most formal organization in Iowa:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has been to Iowa four times and has spent seven days here since last fall, appears to have built up the largest and most formal organization in Iowa so far as he works to improve his name recognition in the state. At least six Iowans are working for him, and he's one of only two potential candidates who have formed an Iowa political action committee, Freedom First PAC - Iowa, whose treasurer is Mark Havlicek of Clive.

Former Iowans and national Republican strategists Sara Taylor and Terry Nelson are senior advisers for Pawlenty's PAC, while Brian Hook is the policy director. Also working with Pawlenty as consultants are Chuck Larson and Karen Slifka of the Larson Shannahan Slifka Group (LS2g), a bi-partisan public relations, public affairs and government affairs firm in West Des Moines.

"Neither are helping in an official capacity, but they did help out with our recent travels in the area," said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Freedom First PAC.

Larson is a former state senator and former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa who served as an ambassador to Latvia during the administration of President George W. Bush. Hook is a graduate of the University of Iowa law school. Nelson is an Iowa native who served for a time as John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign manager. And Taylor is an Iowa native who ran Bush's White House office of political affairs.

Pawlenty's NH PAC raised $42.5k

Posted at 12:08 PM on August 27, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty raised $42,500 for his state political action committee in New Hampshire.

The latest New Hampshire campaign finance report shows Pawlenty raised the bulk of his funds from Minnesota contributors. Several high profile Republican donors like Stanley Hubbard, Wheelock Whitney and former Target CEO Robert Ulrich gave to the PAC. The PAC gave $27,500 to candidates for the New Hampshire Legislature, Republican groups in the state and political consulting.

Pawlenty, who is laying the groundwork for a presidential run, filed state PACs in Iowa and New Hampshire. He also has a federal PAC. Pawlenty is using the PACs to help Republican candidates across the country. The latest fundraising reports show Pawlenty also raised $2.6 million for his federal PAC since he formed it in October. He also raised $32,500 for his PAC in Iowa.

Pawlenty's book coming in January

Posted at 6:25 PM on August 23, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's book is scheduled to be released in January, just days after he leaves office. Amazon's website reports that the book will be released on January 11th and will cost $26.99.

Pawlenty, who is ramping up a run for president, said in the past that the book will focus on his life reflections, his career and his "vision for America."

Pawlenty headed to Oregon

Posted at 2:50 PM on August 15, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to Oregon this week. He'll be attending the Education Commission of the States National Forum on Education Policy in Portland. The forum runs Wednesday through Friday. Pawlenty is the chair of the organization.

During his trip to Oregon, Pawlenty will also hold a breakfast fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial hopeful Chris Dudley.

Pawlenty, who appears to be ramping up a run for the White House in 2012, is also polling at the back of the pack. A CNN poll found that Pawlenty trails Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. Pawlenty, who has three percent support in the poll, is also tied with Haley Barbour and Mike Pence.

Here's the full poll.

Pawlenty to barnstorm Iowa (again)

Posted at 8:00 PM on August 9, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to Iowa later this week and has several campaign stops on his schedule.

On Wednesday night, he's scheduled to raise money for Iowa state Rep. Erik Helland.

He will also hold a breakfast fundraiser for Terry Branstad on Thursday morning. Pawlenty will then visit the Iowa State Fair where he'll do several radio interviews. He wraps up his trip by holding a fundraiser for Brad Zaun's bid for Congress.

This is Pawlenty's second trip to Iowa this month. Pawlenty is ramping up a possible run for the White House. He said he won't make a final decision on his future until early next year.

Pawlenty to campaign in Michigan

Posted at 3:22 PM on August 9, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to Michigan on Tuesday to campaign for the GOP candidate for governor. His PAC spokesman says Pawlenty is headed to Michigan to help Rick Snyder's campaign for governor and other local Republicans.

He says he'll hold a series of fundraisers in Grand Rapids and Detroit before being the featured speaker at the Macomb County GOP dinner in Sterling Heights.

This isn't the only out of state campaigning Pawlenty will do this week. He's scheduled to be in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday night and Thursday.

Pawlenty in Iowa

Posted at 9:50 PM on August 1, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

MPR's Mark Zdechlik is tracking Governor Tim Pawlenty as he barnstorms Iowa this week. You should check his coverage here.

Z-man also sent along Pawlenty's Saturday speech at a farm in Waverly, Iowa. He was headlining a fundraiser for Iowa State Senate candidate Bill Dix. There were about 200 people there.

You can listen to Pawlenty's speech here: Listen

The Daily Digest

Posted at 6:14 AM on July 30, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Campaign 2010: U.S. House, Daily Digest, MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. House, U.S. Senate

The three DFL candidates for governor debate the issues tonight in Mankato.

Republican Tom Emmer has tax rallies scheduled for today in four cities (Mankato, Duluth, Detroit Lakes and St. Paul).

Independence Party candidate Rob Hahn told reporters on Thursday that he doesn't have anger issues and a protective order against him shouldn't stop people from voting for him. He called it a "one-time incident."

City Pages says he was shopping the story - a claim Hahn denied.

Republican Tom Emmer says the controversy over Target Corporation's donation to a group that is backing him has become "too personal." MPR and AP have stories.

The MNGOP pays for billboards supporting Emmer. The party won't say how much they're spending but the latest campaign finance report says the MNGOP spent $35,000 for two billboards in mid July.

IP candidate Tom Horner released a Vikings stadium plan.

Democrat Mark Dayton released a new ad that focuses on jobs.

2010 Race for Congress

GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann and the MNGOP are giving away a donation from a questionable veterans group.

A congressional candidate in Idaho called Bachmann a "visionary leader."

Democrat Tarry Clark says she opposes individual health care mandates.

Attorney General Race

Republican R. Chris Barden was for the public subsidy before he was against it.

2010 Other

A federal judge shoots down state rules regarding judicial races. The rules prevented candidates for judge from backing political candidates or soliciting or accepting campaign dough.

Under for Dome

CNN says the states are borrowing money at a rapid clip. Here's a nifty graph that shows how Minnesota compares with the rest of the nation.

MnSCU and the U of M ponder what to do with their next leaders.

The courts are flooded with requests to change child support terms.

Low performing Minnesota schools get more money but there are some strings attached.

Tougher tobacco laws take effect on Sunday.

Congress

President Obama takes on critics of his education plan.

Economic growth has likely slowed in the second quarter.

The House passed a bill to boost commercial airline safety but it's slimmed down from other efforts. DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar is mentioned.

The House Ethics Committee hits New York Democrat Charlie Rangel with 13 counts of ethics violations. The New York Times says it's nearly certain he'll face a trial on the charges.

DFL Sen. Al Franken says net neutrality is a First Amendment issue.

On Sunday, he bowls.

GOP Rep. John Kline pushes the House for a clean vote on a troop funding bill.

MPR's All Things Considered talked with DFL Reps. Tim Walz and Keith Ellison over their votes for Afghanistan war funding.

A new database tracks transportation earmarks in Congress.

DFL Rep. Collin Peterson writes an op-ed pushing for trade with Cuba.

Pawlenty for Prez Watch

It sure does seem like the Pawlenty for President train is leaving the station. He met with Washington D.C. reporters earlier this week. He's campaigning in Iowa this weekend and a few more weeks. And now he's released a web video that has presidential candidate all over it.

AP says Pawlenty is helped by the fact that Minnesota is so close to Iowa.

The Star Tribune says his weak standing in the polls hasn't quieted the 2012 buzz around Pawlenty in Washington D.C.

Politifact checks two Pawlenty statements.

Indiana Republican Mike Pence suggests he may make a run.

2012 DNC Convention Watch

DNC officials are touring St. Louis.

Pawlenty works up his roots in new web video

Posted at 4:25 PM on July 29, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty released a new web video on his Freedom First PAC today that touts his background. Over the past few days, Pawlenty has talked a lot about how Republican candidates need to connect with voters outside of the country club. In particular, he said Republicans have to be able to look voters in the eye and be able to connect with them.

This video emphasizes Pawlenty's upbringing in South St. Paul, his work in a grocery store and shows him playing hockey. The video was released just days before Pawlenty, a possible 2012 contender, visits Iowa.

His critics say Pawlenty has forgotten his roots a long time ago and his time as governor reflects that.

Side note: Anyone else notice the brief video clip of GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann?

New Hampshire poll has Pawlenty at back of pack

Posted at 6:42 AM on July 28, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Public Policy Polling, a Democratic leaning firm, shows Gov. Pawlenty trailing the pack in a poll of 2012 GOP hopefuls in New Hampshire.

Here are the results from the poll:

Mitt Romney - 31%
Newt Gingrich - 14%
Ron Paul - 13%
Mike Huckabee - 12%
Sarah Palin- 9%
Tim Pawlenty - 3%
Mitch Daniels - 1%

PPP also suggested that it won't include Pawlenty in every 2012 poll because his name identification isn't high enough:

We get a lot of e-mail asking us to include Tim Pawlenty in all of our 2012 Presidential polling but his numbers here are a reminder of why we aren't- yet. Pawlenty was at 3% in our New Hampshire polling in April and he's still there. He's getting a lot of attention in insider circles as he positions himself for a 2012 bid but it's not translating to the general public enough yet for him to make a real dent in the polls. Pawlenty still has plenty of time to become a serious player for the Republican nomination but his name recognition isn't to the point yet where we'd get much out of including him every month on our national 2012 poll testing match ups against Obama.

Pawlenty is in Iraq

Posted at 1:08 PM on July 21, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty is in Iraq today visiting troops in the region. He's making the trip along with several other governors from Vermont, Missouri, South Dakota and Massachusetts.

During a conference call with reporters, Pawlenty said dramatic progress has been made since the U.S. sent more troops to the region as a part of the so-called surge.

Pawlenty couldn't provide any other details from the trip and couldn't say when he'll return to Minnesota.

This is Pawlenty's fifth visit to the Middle East. He last visited the region in July of 2009. The governor says he kept the trip private for security reasons.

Pawlenty will finish his second term in January. The governor has kept a heavy travel schedule since he announced last year that he won't seek a third term. He's visited 26 states, seven different countries and Washington D.C. He's also scheduled to go on a Trade Mission to Japan and China in September.

Pawlenty PAC raises $723,501 in 2nd Qtr

Posted at 6:20 AM on July 15, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's federal Political Action Committee will file its fundraising figures later today but a person with knowledge of the figures say the PAC raised $723,501 between April and June for a total of $2.6 million since he formed the committee in October.

The PAC has almost $940,000 in the bank to spend on politics through November.

The PAC has given almost $84,000 to state and federal campaigns and committees.

Pawlenty headed to Colorado

Posted at 3:04 PM on July 13, 2010 by Tim Pugmire (3 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is scheduled to be in Aspen, Colorado, Wednesday where he'll attend an event for Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis.

Pawlenty will remain in Aspen Thursday for Republican Governors Association events as well as a panel discussion at the Aspen Institute. On Friday, Pawlenty will deliver a keynote address to the Denver County and Arapaho County GOP Dinner in Glendale.

Pawlenty visits Oklahoma, will back Haley in SC

Posted at 5:41 PM on June 22, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is spending the day in Oklahoma City, OK. He's scheduled to host a fundraiser tonight for Republican Mary Fallin's campaign for governor.

Fallin also told reporters that Pawlenty met with Oklahoma business leaders, the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce and Republicans in the Oklahoma Legislature.

Pawlenty and Fallin met with Oklahoma reporters this afternoon. He discussed Fallin's candidacy, the BP oil spill and his endorsements.

Pawlenty told reporters that he "personally backs Nikki Haley" in South Carolina's race for governor and expects his federal political action committee to endorse her today. Haley is in a runoff today with Republican Congressman Gresham Barrett. The winner would be the Republican nominee for governor.

Here's the audio from Pawlenty's meeting with reporters.

Listen

Listen

(Thanks to Kurt Gwartney of KGOU for the audio)

Pawlenty's speech to the Heritage Foundation

Posted at 11:19 AM on June 22, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty gave a roughly thirty minute speech to the Heritage Foundation. Pawlenty used his speech to criticize the state's teacher unions, defend Arizona's immigration law and suggest that he would refuse to allow Minnesota from accepting early Medical Assistance. Pawlenty said we would hear some news in the coming days that Pawlenty would refuse to accept the MA option (made available through the new federal health care law) but he has said repeatedly that he wouldn't accept the MA option.

The Heritage Foundation's Nick Reid and Darryl Owens introduced Pawlenty. Pawlenty's speech starts about 9:30 minutes into the file.

You can listen to the speech here: Listen

Pawlenty is in Oklahoma today to raise money for Oklahoma's Republican candidate for governor. He also gives a speech in Tennessee on Friday.

Pawlenty to Oklahoma on Tuesday

Posted at 12:33 PM on June 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to Oklahoma City, OK on Tuesday to raise money for GOP gubernatorial hopeful Mary Fallin.

The Oklahoma trip will come one day after he speaks to the Heritage Foundation in Minneapolis.

Pawlenty was in California earlier this week to raise money for his federal PAC>

He's also scheduled to host a fundraiser for the Minnesota House GOP on June 24th, speak to the Tennessee Republican Party's Statesman's Dinner next Friday and to the South Carolina Republican Party on June 29th.

McClung leaves governor's office to work with political group

Posted at 10:28 AM on June 16, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's spokesman Brian McClung is leaving the governor's office to form his own public relations firm. A news release sent through the governor's office said McClung will direct MN Forward, a newly formed independent expenditure fund. The fund will be bankrolled by Minnesota job providers. The contacts on the news release from MN Forward head the Minnesota Business Partnership and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

The Minnesota Business Partnership's Charlie Weaver says the fund will accept corporate contributions. It's the second such fund to take that action in light of a new Minnesota law that allows corporate spending on independent expenditures. Minnesota was forced to change its law after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend money on independent expenditures like advertising and campaign literature. The court kept a ban on direct corporate contributions to candidates.

McClung's last day in the governor's office is Friday. He starts his new job on Monday.

Pawlenty sets up state PACs in NH and IA

Posted at 6:57 AM on June 16, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

In another sign that he's preparing for a 2012 run, Gov. Pawlenty created state PACs in New Hampshire and Iowa. The PACs allow him to raise money and give to state candidates. Pawlenty has a federal PAC but not every state allows him federal PACs to give to state candidates.

The move allows Pawlenty to help make Republican contacts in states that hold the nation's first caucuses and primary. Pawlenty has not ruled out a run for the White House in 2012.

Update: Here's a statement from the DNC's Hari Sevugan:

"It's nice that Tim Pawlenty has found a way to help politicians from other states who can help his political ambitions. Too bad he couldn't do the same for the families of Minnesota who he was elected to serve with his draconian budget cuts. It looks like if you want Tim Pawlenty to work for you these days, you need to live in Iowa or New Hampshire, not Minnesota."

Pawlenty headed to Bay Area

Posted at 9:27 AM on June 15, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to California today and will be in the state until Thursday. I'm told all of his events are private. It appears that he'll be raising money in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

The Bay Area GOP reports on its website that Pawlenty will have a fundraising luncheon in San Francisco today. He'll also hold a Silicon Valley Reception and Dinner tonight.

Pawlenty headed to South Carolina

Posted at 10:06 AM on June 11, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is headed to South Carolina later this month. The South Carolina Republican Party says Pawlenty will speak at a fundraising dinner for the group on June 29th.

This will be Pawlenty's first trip to the Palmetto State. He was scheduled to visit the trip in May but canceled the event because of budget negotiations.

By the way, you can find Pawlenty's appearance on Good Morning America here.

Iowa poll shows Pawlenty behind Romney, Palin and Gingrich

Posted at 7:17 AM on June 11, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Des Moines Register released a poll that looked at the Republican 2012 race and it found that a majority of those polled are likely to vote for Mitt Romney. The poll found Sarah Palin was the second top choice. Newt Gingrich was third. Governor Pawlenty has the highest name recognition among lesser known candidates. The poll found that Pawlenty is unknown by 53 percent of those polled.

Read the full report here.

Meanwhile, Pawlenty is in New York City today. He's scheduled to be on ABC's Good Morning America this morning. He was on The Daily Show last night. He's also in town to raise money for his federal PAC.

Pawlenty's Daily Show advice

Posted at 10:05 AM on June 8, 2010 by Tom Scheck (4 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty, who is scheduled to be on Comedy Central's Daily Show on Thursday, said he expects the discussion with host John Stewart to focus on the news of the day. When asked if he wanted to try out any lines on the press corps, Pawlenty responded that his advice for anyone going on that show is not to be funnier than Jon Stewart.

"He's the king of the show," Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty to do Daily Show

Posted at 2:03 PM on June 4, 2010 by Mike Mulcahy (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said on Facebook and Twitter today that he will be Jon Stewart's guest on the Daily Show next week.

It will be Thursday night when Pawlenty is in New York.

Pawlenty raises Dallas dough

Posted at 10:20 AM on June 4, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Dallas Morning News reports this morning that Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty was in Dallas, TX on Wednesday night to raise money for his federal polication action committee. He also reportedly ate at a nice restaurant.

Pawlenty was asked by reporters on Wednesday morning whether he had any upcoming out of state travel scheduled he responded "a lot" but declined to specify. When asked for specifics he said "I'm not going to be your PAC scheduler."

Pawlenty to raise money for Rubio

Posted at 8:35 AM on June 3, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has a fundraiser scheduled on Friday for Marco Rubio, a Republican running for U.S. Senate in Florida. Pawlenty, former MNGOP Chair Bill Cooper and former U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz will host a luncheon for Rubio at the Minneapolis Club on Friday.

"Marco Rubio represents the future of the Republican Party and has the common sense, conservative ideas we need more of in Washington," said Alex Conant, spokesman for Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC. "Governor Pawlenty wants to do whatever he can to help Rubio's campaign, and is glad to host him in Minnesota."

Rubio is a popular candidate in GOP circles. His candidacy forced Republican Governor Charlie Crist to switch to an Independent in the Florida Senate race.

Pawlenty didn't back a candidate for Florida Senate until Crist decided to run as an independent.

He's the latest White House hopeful to back Rubio. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin are all backing Rubio.

(h/t Blois Olson).

Memorial Day speeches

Posted at 1:03 PM on June 1, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. Senate

Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty and DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar gave speeches at the Fort Snelling Memorial Day services.

Here's Pawlenty's speech: Listen

Here's Klobuchar's speech: Listen

H/T MPR's Laura Yuen.

Pawlenty raises concerns over any changes to Don't Ask Don't Tell

Posted at 5:44 PM on May 26, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. House, U.S. Senate

Gov. Tim Pawlenty sent a letter to congressional leaders today raising concerns over the effort to change the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. The letter comes just days after President Obama and Democrats in Congress reached a deal that would repeal the 17-year-old federal law banning openly gay Americans from serving in the military.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Pawlenty wrote that changing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would amount to a "major policy change."

"As you know, Guard units currently not only supplement active duty military units engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, they also provide states with indispensable help in responding to domestic emergencies and natural disasters. The impacts upon Guard units and all military units need to be understood before any significant policy changes are decided.

It would be unwise for Congress to address this long-standing policy without the benefit of full hearings and the completion of the impact study being conducted by military leaders. I urge you to take no legislative action until the Department of Defense has completed its review and public hearings have been held to thoroughly discuss the findings."

Pawlenty isn't the only one expressing concern about any change to Don't Ask Don't Tell. The nation's military leaders are also urging Congress to wait until a review is completed. Opponents of the policy say it requires military service members to lie about their lifestyle in order to serve their nation.

DFL Rep. Al Juhnke, chair of the Minnesota House Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs Finance Division, said he's never heard Minnesota National Guard members raise concerns about Don't Ask Don't Tell in his committee.

"The state just does what the federal government passes down. It appears to be political to me," Juhnke said of Pawlenty's letter.

Rasmussen Poll: Gov race a toss up

Posted at 8:47 AM on May 26, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

A recent poll by Rasmussen Reports shows that the race for governor in Minnesota is a clear toss-up. Republican Tom Emmer has a slight lead over the 3 DFL candidates but it's within the Margin of Error. Here are the toplines:

Tom Emmer (R) 37%
Mark Dayton (D) 35%
Tom Horner (I) 12%
Not sure 16%

Tom Emmer (R) 38%
Margaret Anderson Kelliher (D) 36%
Tom Horner (I) 11%
Not sure 15%

Tom Emmer (R) 37%
Matt Entenza (D) 34%
Tom Horner (I) 12%
Not sure 17%

Fifty-three percent approve of the job the President Obama is doing, while 46% disapprove.

Fifty-two percent of Minnesota voters approve of how he is doing his job. Forty-six percent disapprove. But only 35 percent of those polled say they'd vote for Pawlenty if he's the GOP presidential candidates in 2012. 49 percent say they won't vote for him.

The poll also found that 50% of those polled support the repeal of the national health care law while 43% support it.

53% of Minnesota voters favor an immigration law in their state like the one in Arizona, while 34% oppose such a law. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided.

Pawlenty making 3rd trip to New Hampshire

Posted at 3:05 PM on May 25, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty announced on his Facebook page that he'll be making his third trip to New Hampshire on July 10th. The newspaper says Pawlenty, who visited the state in December and March, will speak before the Strafford County Republican Committee summer picnic at Guppey Park in Dover, NH.

The Union Leader also quotes Pawlenty's spokesman saying Pawlenty will make other stops during the trip.

Pawlenty hits the Sunday circuit

Posted at 4:48 PM on May 21, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

I'm told Gov. Pawlenty will be on CNN's "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley at 9 am ET this Sunday, April 23. He will appear with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, to discuss the 2010 elections, economy, and state budgets.

Pawlenty trails in New Hampshire poll

Posted at 7:22 AM on May 19, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty may be getting lots of love from national news outlets over the past few weeks but it isn't yet resonating with voters. In New Hampshire, Pawlenty is a distant seventh among possible 2012 GOP contenders. The Granite State poll shows that 41 percent of those polled support former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Pawlenty is second to last among the field of

Among likely Republican Primary voters, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the 2008 New Hampshire runner-up, has consistently been the most popular. In the most recent Granite State Poll, 41% of likely Republican Primary voters said they would vote for Romney, 12% favor 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, 11% would vote for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 9% support former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, 6% support Texas Congressman and 2008 candidate Ron Paul, 5% prefer former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, 3% favor Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, and 2% favor former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

Meanwhile, Pawlenty isn't do so well on the home front either. A MPR/U of M poll shows that his approval rating is at historic lows. You can find information on Pawlenty's approval and the 2010 governor's race here.

Pawlenty discusses his book...

Posted at 4:35 PM on May 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty said he hasn't started his memoir yet but said the book will focus on his personal experiences and vision for America.

"Along the way, I've been at this a while as governor and Majority Leader and legislator, you learn some things, you observe some things in term of leadership, in terms of service, in terms of people, in terms of policy and issues. As I see it, and it hasn't been written yet so I'm just giving you some very advanced sense of what it might include, it's kind of reflections and lessons learned along the way in terms of service, leadership, personalities, policy and using some of the things I encountered as a way to share those lessons with other people."

Pawlenty joked that the market for the book would be the press corps. He said the specifics of the book, who it will be marketed to and other details are still being worked out.

The book is set to be released in 2011, which is the same time Pawlenty says he'll make a decision about a White House run.

Pawlenty said he will receive an advance for the memoir bout wouldn't disclose the sum.

Pawlenty's newser

Posted at 8:08 PM on May 17, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty has been receiving some national press for the way he handled the state budget deficit. He talked at length about it with reporters today. Pawlenty is also scheduled to be on MPR's Midday tomorrow at 11am. Here's the video of the newser.

"Me and my friends will catch Pawlenty"

Posted at 12:36 PM on May 12, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The governor's fishing opener is this weekend on Lake Kabtogama in norther Minnesota and a singer songwriter is documenting the event. The International Falls Daily Journal reports that a 59 year old construction worker named John Kurkosky wrote a song about the governor's fishing opener. Here's the chorus:

"The governor and his crew will only catch a few but me and my friends will catch Pawlenty. And I won't rub it in if Tim's catch is thin, I'll only say that we caught Pawlenty."

This will be Pawlenty's last time hosting the Governor's Fishing Opener but Kurkosky suggested in the song that he may be back in other capacities:

"I hope he has a great time and remembers this event because the next time he comes a fishing he might be president."

Here's the full song.

(h/t Bring Me the News)

Pawlenty cancels his trip to South Carolina

Posted at 2:53 PM on May 6, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's spokesman, Brian McClung, said Gov. Pawlenty has canceled this weekend's trip to South Carolina. The decision was made in light of a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that ruled his unilateral budget cuts were unlawful.

Pawlenty, a possible candidate for the White House in 2012, was scheduled to speak at two fundraisers in Columbia, South Carolina this weekend.

Pawlenty's budget fix

Posted at 6:38 PM on May 4, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty released a budget plan today that would cut $176 million in state aid to local governments, $211 million in health and human services programs, $13 million in K-12 Education and takes $95 million from an Iron Range economic development fund.

That comes to a total of $536 million in cuts and one-time money.

Pawlenty announced the plan after it became clear that $405 million in federal funds won't be available to plug the budget gap.

Here are the specifics (I use that term loosely) from MMB.

Pawlenty inks a book deal

Posted at 4:34 PM on April 30, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty has signed a book deal. A news release with Tyndale House Publishers has agreed to publish Pawlenty's memoir in 2011.

"We are honored to publish this new book by Governor Tim Pawlenty, which will include his reflections on his life, his remarkable career, and his vision for America," said Ron Beers, Senior Vice President and Group Publisher, Tyndale in a news release.

The book is untitled at this point. Several White House watchers predicted a book would be next on Pawlenty's schedule if he was mounting a serious run. The governor has already set up a federal political action committee, has been traveling to key political states like Iowa and New Hampshire and is working to elect Republicans in 2010.

Pawlenty said he'll make a decision about a 2012 run in early 2011.

Pawlenty gets standing ovation...

Posted at 12:15 PM on April 30, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Addressing his final state Republican convention as governor, Tim Pawlenty talked about reducing the scope and cost of government today (FRI). Pawlenty also took a shot at Democrats who last week endorsed Margaret Anderson Kelliher as their gubernatorial candidate at the state DFL convention in Duluth.

Pawlenty got a round of applause from Republican delegates gathered in Minneapolis when he talked about single-payer health care and the DFL gubernatorial endorsement.

"The candidate who dropped out, a couple of the prominent candidates said the reason that they threw their support behind the ultimate endorseed candidates was because she wanted to go further than Obama care and have the government adopt a single payer health care system and take over the entire health care system in Minnesota."

Republicans are set to endorse a candidate for governor at their convention today. The leading candidates are state Representatives Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert.

Here's Pawlenty's speech: Listen

Pawlenty opts out of portion of health care law

Posted at 11:31 AM on April 30, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius saying he'll opt out of a portion of the the health care reform bill. Pawlenty told reporters that Minnesota already has a high risk pool and the federal government isn't paying the state for the federal portion.

"Minnesota has an insurance pool for high risk individuals who can reasonably access insurance in the private market. It's working well and we think it would work better than having the federal government take it over. And the money they would provide would pay for what they want to do so we're declining."

You can read the letter he sent to Seblius here.

Pawlenty to co-chair Chamber event in Washington D.C.

Posted at 10:46 AM on April 29, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is scheduled to co-chair a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event in Washington D.C. on Monday. The Chamber sent out a news release saying Pawlenty and six other governors will attend the event:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation (NCF) will host seven bipartisan governors - including Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty - to discuss our nation's most important challenge: creating jobs and reviving economic growth. The event comes as the Chamber intensifies its American Free Enterprise. Dream Big. campaign, a nationwide effort to spur the creation of 20 million jobs over the next decade, by engaging governors and releasing its Enterprising States study. Governor Pawlenty will discuss specific examples, also highlighted in the new study, of how Minnesota is playing a pivotal role in fostering the conditions for job growth through its diverse industry portfolio, a legacy of national leadership in education, a highly-skilled and productive workforce, a robust entrepreneurial spirit, and keen interest in innovation.

The other governors scheduled to attend include Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, Tennessee, Delaware Governor JackMarkell, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico, Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri, Texas Governor Rick Perry and West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin.

I'm told the event will be webcast here.

Pawlenty's spokesman Brian McClung says Pawlenty will leave on Sunday for the event and that the state will not be paying for the trip.

Meanwhile, Pawlenty spoke at the Milken Institute's Global Conference on Shaping the Future on Wednesday. The event was held in California.

Pawlenty to speak at Augsburg College

Posted at 3:48 PM on April 26, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty is scheduled to give the commencement address to the 2010 graduating class at Augsburg College in Minneapolis on Saturday. The topic will be civic engagement and the role of graduates in the greater society.

College officials say Father Fernando Cardenal of Nicaragua, who has long worked to improve the literacy of the poor in his country, will receive an honorary degree.

Pawlenty is halfway there

Posted at 4:15 PM on April 23, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is scheduled to speak to the Washington state Republican Party on Saturday night.

A look at Pawlenty's travel (that we know about) shows that his trip to Washington state means Pawlenty will have visited 25 different states since he announced in June that he wasn't running for reelection. Pawlenty, who hasn't ruled out a run for the White House, also visited Washington D.C., Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, Chile, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Kuwait in that time.

You can find a map of Pawlenty's travel here.

Pawlenty heads south

Posted at 4:16 PM on April 22, 2010 by Mike Mulcahy
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is taking another political trip outside the state, this time to South Carolina. On May 8 he will headline a fundraiser for Mick Mulvaney, who's running for Congress against Democratic incumbent John Spratt.

The fundraiser is on Saturday morning, so it's likely Pawlenty will have another S.C. event on Friday the 7th.

If you want to follow the governor's travels, here's a good place to start.

Pawlenty in back of pack in New Hampshire poll

Posted at 10:03 PM on April 21, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Public Policy Polling released a GOP 2012 poll that shows Gov. Pawlenty trailing other GOP rivals.

The poll found that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has 39 percent support from Republicans in the state. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin received 13 percent support. Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich are tied for third at 11 percent. Ron Paul gets 7 percent support. Pawlenty received 3 percent support just above Haley Barbour and Rick Santorum.

Here's a snapshot of the poll. Here's the total poll.

Pawlenty has made two appearances in New Hampshire and stumped in Iowa twice. His next trip is to Washington state on Saturday.

Speeches from the 1st District GOP convention

Posted at 4:44 PM on April 19, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD1, Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Campaign 2010: U.S. House, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

On Saturday, Republicans in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District endorsed state Rep. Randy Demmer to challenge DFL Rep. Tim Walz.

I'm posting the speech he gave just before he was endorsed by acclamation. Listen

Republicans Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer, who are both vying for the GOP endorsement for governor, also spoke at the event.

Here's Seifert's speech: Listen

Here's Emmer's speech: Listen

Update: Gov. Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC is backing Demmer for Congress. His spokesman, Alex Conant, says the PAC will give $2400 to Demmer's campaign.

Pawlenty calls for an Economic Bill of Rights

Posted at 8:34 PM on April 17, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty called for an "Economic Bill of Rights" today as he courted fiscal conservatives in Iowa. Pawlenty stuck to many of his main talking points when he spoke to the conservative Iowans for Tax Relief and reiterated his concern that the federal deficit is skyrocketing. He said his so-called Economic Bill of Rights would require a federal balanced budget and line-item veto authority for the President of the United States.

"As a governor who holds the single season record with the most vetoes ever issued in the history state of Minnesota," Pawlenty said. "I have a particular appreciation for the power of the line-item veto. I also think we should have a Congress be required to have a super majority before they can either raise taxes or raise the debt ceiling in this country."

Pawlenty also touted his record of keeping taxes low during his time as governor. (Full speech here: Listen).

DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez told reporters before Pawlenty's speech that Pawlenty shouldn't be touting his economic philosophy.

"We are struggling with massively and historic high budget deficits," Melendez said. "We are struggling with high levels of unemployment. Whatever Tim Pawlenty's economic strategy has been, if he claims to have one, it's been a failure."

This is Pawlenty's second trip to Iowa since he announced last June that he wasn't seeking a third term as governor. He hasn't ruled out a run for president and has been travelling the country to raise his profile and help elect Republicans to Congress. His next publicly known out of state trip is next week. He's scheduled to keynote the Washington State GOP Dinner on April 24th.

(Thanks to Iowa Public Radio's Joyce Russell for supplying the audio)

Update: FDR offered an Economic Bill of Rights in the 1940s.

Pawlenty's PAC contributions by state

Posted at 11:48 AM on April 16, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

We reported yesterday that Gov. Pawlenty released his 2010 PAC report for the first quarter of the year. Today, we broke down the contributions by state.

As AP reported yesterday, Minnesotans have given a bulk of the funds.

One interesting aspect is that Pawlenty is lagging in donations from several key primary and caucus states. He received $2,000 from Iowa and no funds from New Hampshire or South Carolina. Here's the snapshot:

Minnesota $237,695.00
Illinois $79,750.00
Florida $59,750.00
Texas $40,250.00
Arizona $29,750.00
Virginia $19,900.00
New York $16,500.00
Pennsylvania $10,500.00
California $10,000.00
New Jersey $7,500.00
South Dakota $7,000.00
Florida $5,561.00 (in-kind contribution)
Oklahoma $5,500.00
Washington DC $5,250.00
North Dakota $5,250.00
Wisconsin $5,250.00
Nebraska $4,500.00
Massachusetts $2,500.00
Maryland $2,250.00
Iowa $2,000.00
Wyoming $1,500.00
North Carolina $1,500.00
Nevada $1,080.00 (in-kind contribution)
Nevada $800.00
Washington DC $740.00 (in-kind contribution)
Georgia $500.00
Minnesota $500.00 (in-kind contribution)
Utah $500.00
Indiana $250.00
Michigan $250.00
Minnesota $250.00 (conduit contribution)

(Thanks to MPR's Bill Wareham for crunching the data).

Some specifics on Pawlenty's report

Posted at 3:49 PM on April 15, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC filed their fundraising report with the Federal Elections Commission. His PAC already disclosed that he raised $567 thousand dollars, but today's report reveals more specifics on who gave him money, which candidates received PAC money and what the PAC is spending money on.

The report shows that Faegre and Benson's PAC, Mid American Energy's PAC and Unisys PAC all gave money to the Freedom First PAC. We also learned that the CEO of Pawn America (Bradley Rixmann) and John McCain's point man on vetting his 2008 running mate (Arthur Culvahouse) also donated to Pawlenty's PAC. Side note: Culvahouse didn't give to Sarah Palin's PAC.

On the spending side, Pawlenty spent more than $40,000 on travel related expenses (airfare, hotels, etc.).

His PAC gave $29,000 to several candidates including Arizona Sen. John McCain's Senate campaign, GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley's Senate campaign (Iowa), Roy Blunt's Senate campaign (Missouri) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

When asked today why the PAC spent more on travel than on other candidates, Pawlenty said the PAC shouldn't be measured by how much is given to other candidates.

"If you look at the history of PACs and the percentage of money they give to other candidates versus other activities, it's within the range of what PACs normally do and always do. But I don't want you to be misled to think that the only thing that the PAC is intended to is give money to other candidates. That's part of it and we're committed to that but with the new media, the social media, the ability to reach audiences whether that be through speeches and op-eds. That's a big part of it as well..."

You can read Pawlenty's full report here.

Pawlenty to speak to MN Young Republicans on Thursday

Posted at 6:06 PM on April 14, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is scheduled to give speeches in three different states over the next three days. On Thursday night, he'll give a speech to the Minnesota Young Republicans. He's scheduled to be the keynote speaker to the group's 2010 Annual Convention and Dinner. His spokesman, Brian McClung, will introduce him.

Pawlenty said earlier today that he won't attend the Tax Day Tea Party event at the State Capitol.

On Friday night, Pawlenty will give a speech in Chicago, IL.

On Saturday, he's in Des Moines, IA.

Pawlenty is also scheduled to appear on Iowa's WHO Radio at 10:07AM on Friday.

Pawlenty hits Chicago airwaves

Posted at 10:59 AM on April 14, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty appeared on a Chicago talk radio show this morning where he primarily discussed the new federal health law and its impact on the states. It didn't produce any newsworthy moments, however. You can listen to the interview here.

Pawlenty is scheduled to speak in Chicago on Friday night.

Pawlenty filled out Census

Posted at 2:43 PM on April 12, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's spokesman Brian McClung says Pawlenty filled out his Census form over the weekend. Pawlenty made news on Friday when he said he missed the deadline to submit the paperwork. AP reported at the time that he was one of only a few governors not to send it in in a timely manner.

McClung didn't respond to a follow up e-mail that asked if Pawlenty sent in the form.

McClung said the governor did put the form in the mail.

Pawlenty in NYC today, Illinois and Iowa later this week.

Posted at 12:25 PM on April 12, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's political spokesman, Alex Conant says Pawlenty is in New York City today for "PAC meetings." He didn't offer any other details except to say he'll return Tuesday morning.

Pawlenty will also be out of the state later this week.

He's scheduled to be in Chicago, Illinois on Friday night to speak to the The Lake County Republican Federation. On Saturday, he's scheduled to speak to the Iowa Taxpayers' Day event in Des Moines, Iowa.

Pawlenty PAC raises $566k in 1st Qtr.

Posted at 11:26 AM on April 10, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC reports raised $566,000 in the first 3 months of 2010. Pawlenty released the figures by news release. We won't get the specifics until the report is filed with the FEC. The deadline is April 15th.

Here's the full release:

ST. PAUL, Minnesota - Governor Tim Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC announced today that it raised over $1.84 million in its first six months, including over $566,000 in the first quarter of 2010. The funds are being used to spread the Governor's common-sense message and elect conservative candidates in 2010.
 
"President Obama and Congressional Democrats are taking our country in the wrong direction and Americans have had enough," said Governor Tim Pawlenty. "We need to put freedom first again in America, and stop the out-of-control spending in Washington. The early support for our organization will help us elect candidates who can rein in Washington and renew the promise of freedom."
 
Since the beginning of the year, the majority of Governor Pawlenty's political activity has been on behalf of other candidates, state parties, and the RGA. In the last three months, he's attended fund raisers and events to help Republicans in more than half a dozen different states, including Alabama, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Texas. 
 
In a report to be filed with the Federal Election Commission next week, the Freedom First PAC will report that it received nearly 2,000 new donations in the first quarter of 2010 and began April with over $911,000 on hand.
 
 "We're very pleased with another strong quarter for the PAC," said Phil Musser, senior advisor for the Freedom First PAC. "Between his work for the RGA, the PAC, and the many events for state parties, Tim Pawlenty is moving the needle in terms of helping Republicans prepare to win this fall."

Romney and Pawlenty share stage in Bloomington

Posted at 9:45 PM on April 9, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Two Republicans who could be on a collision course for the Republican nomination for president in 2012 stood on the same stage in Bloomington on Friday night.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney spoke to a group of 500 donors to the conservative group, the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota. Both Romney and Pawlenty appear to be ramping up campaigns for president, and both criticized President Obama's economic and foreign policies. Romney said he's worried those policies run counter to the history of the country.

"Everyone in the world, who sought opportunity, who wanted to be a pioneer, came here to this country," Romney said. "That's who we are. What worries me right now is that Washington today, more than I've seen in my lifetime. In fact, Washington over a large period of time is smothering the spirit of America." (Listen to Romney's speech here: Listen)

Pawlenty and Romney both heaped praise on each other during the event despite the possibility of becoming opponents in 2012. Pawlenty, who left before Romney gave his speech, said he and Romney shared ideas when the two were governors of their respective states between 2003 and 2007.

"He is a wise leader," Pawlenty said. "He is a smart leader. He is an effective leader. He has served our state and nation really well." (Listen to Pawlenty's speech here: Listen)

Romney, who is in Minnesota signing his book "No Apology: The case for American Greatness," and Pawlenty have been crisscrossing the nation endorsing candidates and speaking to Republican groups fueling speculation that they want to be the party's nominee in 2012. Neither has announced his intentions.

The fundraiser comes at a time when another high profile Republican gathering is underway in New Orleans. Several other well known Republican candidates, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, are speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.

Former Republican Congressman Vin Weber, who co-chairs Pawlenty's federal political action committee and advised Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, joked that the national media shouldn't be watching New Orleans so closely.

"They're talking about it as a preview of perhaps the next presidential election," Weber said. "My only comment is that they have the right river but they might be at the wrong end."

Romney declined to attend the Southern Republican Leadership Conference this year. Pawlenty was scheduled to speak but canceled his appearance in order to attend a troop ceremony in Minnesota. He's scheduled to speak to the New Orleans meeting by video.

Democratic National Committee spokesman Frank Benenati predicts that Romney and Pawlenty's praise for each other will be short lived. He said Pawlenty has taken jabs at Romney for backing a health care plan that is similar to a federal plan recently signed into law by President Obama.

"On the stage, they'll act like they've been friends from grade school but behind the scenes it will be a different story," Benenati said.

The fundraiser caps off a busy week for Republicans in Minnesota. On Wednesday, 11,000 people attended a Minneapolis rally for Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

GOP presidential parade?

Posted at 10:44 AM on April 5, 2010 by Mike Mulcahy
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

If you're really looking ahead to the 2012 presidential election keep your eyes Minnesota this week.

Three oft-mentioned GOP possible presidential candidates will be here (counting Gov. Tim Pawlenty). On Wednesday, Sarah Palin will appear at a campaign rally in Minneapolis with Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. and Pawlenty. She will also hold a private fundraiser for Bachmann's re-election campaign. Palin was the Republican nominee for vice-president in 2008. She resigned as governor of Alaska last summer.

On Friday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will sign his autobiography in Bloomington. Romney and Pawlenty will also give speeches to the conservative Freedom Foundation Of Minnesota.

They're choosing to appear here instead of in New Orleans at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference which runs Thursday through Sunday. Pawlenty was orginally scheduled to speak there on Saturday, but he cancelled to attend a welcome home celebration for Minnesota troops instead. The agenda now lists him addressing the conference by video. Palin is scheduled to speak at the conference.

Palin, Romney and Pawlenty are all widely considered to be potential Republican candidates for president in 2012. None of them has said whether they're running.

Pawlenty plans trip to China, Japan

Posted at 9:58 AM on April 2, 2010 by Mike Mulcahy (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Tim Pawlenty will lead a trade mission to China and Japan in September.

Pawlenty said on his weekly radio program this morning that he will announce details this afternoon, but that the trip is designed to boost Minnesota exports.

He said it's a great opportunity for Minnesota businesses to learn more about exporting their products.

Anticipating criticism over the cost of the trip Pawlenty noted that the business people going will pay their own way, and he said his travel costs will not come from the state's general fund.

Update:

Here's the press release:

Saint Paul - Governor Tim Pawlenty will lead a trade mission to China and Japan this fall to help Minnesota companies increase exports, build strategic relationships, and explore new business opportunities.

The mission takes place September 9-18 and includes stops in Shanghai and Beijing, China and Tokyo and Osaka, Japan for meetings with business leaders and government officials, presentations by market and industry leaders, networking activities and business site visits. The delegation will also travel to Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. Minnesota has had a sister-state agreement with Shaanxi Province since 1982.

The economies of Japan and China rank second and third, respectively, behind the United States as the largest national economies in the world.

"China and Japan have dynamic economies that provide significant opportunities for Minnesota businesses interested in increasing their exports," Governor Pawlenty said. "We're looking forward to building on the relationships established through the Minnesota-China Partnership and making new connections in Japan."

The Minnesota-China Partnership, announced by Governor Pawlenty in 2005, engages public and private organizations throughout the state to promote trade and investment, science and academia, arts and culture, and friendship and humanitarian endeavors.

"China and Japan are important marketplaces for Minnesota companies," said Ed Dieter, Minnesota Trade Office acting director. "Japan has long offered excellent markets for Minnesota products, and any company doing business internationally should consider China's tremendous and continuing growth."

China buys more Minnesota manufactured goods than any country after Canada, importing more than $1 billion of Minnesota products every year since 2005. Top exports to China include machinery, including electrical machinery, medical instruments and plastics.

Japan also offers a wide variety of opportunities. Minnesota's most important exports to Japan include medical instruments, electrical and other machinery, food, grain and other agricultural commodities.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, Minnesota exports increased to four of our state's top ten trading markets, including China ($363 million, up 19 percent) and Japan ($226 million, up 6 percent). Korea ($129 million, up 20 percent) and Australia ($112 million, up 31 percent) were the other two markets in the top ten that showed an increase.

The trade mission is being coordinated by the Minnesota Trade Office (MTO). Those interested in applying to join the trade delegation should contact Li King Feng, 651-259-7484 or li.king.feng@state.mn.us, or Jennifer Kocs, 651-259-7488 or jennifer.kocs@state.mn.us. MTO is focused on increasing state export sales in foreign markets. MTO promotes international trade by providing export information, export education and training, and counseling to Minnesota companies that wish to sell goods and services in the international marketplace. More information is online at www.exportminnesota.com.

Governor Pawlenty has led previous trade missions to Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, India, Israel and Poland. Delegation members pay their own expenses. Expenses incurred by the Governor's office for this trade mission will be paid from trade mission participant funds, not taxpayer funds.

Not quite a Biden moment

Posted at 4:08 PM on April 1, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Vice President Joe Biden recently taught us that open microphones can catch some entertaining, off-hand comments.

One such catch came today at the State Capitol just before a bill signing ceremony. This time no bleeping was required.

When Gov. Tim Pawlenty entered the reception room, he greeted about a dozen legislators and other dignitaries who were assembled for the event. State Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, was standing near the podium and the microphone, when she shook hands with the well-traveled governor. Listen

"Welcome back to Minnesota," Ortman said. "It's good to have you here."

Pawlenty headed to Wisconsin

Posted at 11:32 AM on March 30, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is scheduled to speak at the Chairman's Reception at the Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention on Friday, May 21, 2010.

"The Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention is going to be an opportunity for conservatives to come together and kick off an outstanding campaign season," Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Reince Priebus said in a news release. "I can't think of two better Republicans than Governor Pawlenty and Congressman Ryan to get participants motivated to actively spread our message of common-sense conservative solutions and fiscal restraint."

The trip will come after the legislative session is over. The constitutional deadline for the Legislature to adjourn is May 17th.

Pawlenty also appeared on NBC this morning. He talked about his recent criticism of Massachusetts health care plan, the RNC spending issue and his Facebook townhall that will feature "endorsements."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Pawlenty targets Romney on health care

Posted at 1:43 PM on March 29, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty decided against taking an open shot at Mitt Romney during last week's appearance on Good Morning America. Instead, Pawlenty decided to rip the possible 2012 foe during an appearance in New Hampshire. Pawlenty didn't openly take a shot at Romney but it was clear who he was targeting when he criticized the Massachusetts health plan to the Nashua Telegraph.. Romney signed the universal health plan into law when he was governor of Massachusetts.

Here's part of Pawlenty's interview regarding the Massachusetts law:

"The plan is dramatically propped up by federal money," he said. "Take that away and there would be dire economic consequences.

"Looking at the Massachusetts experience, it would not be one I would want for the country to follow any further.''

Pawlenty has criticized the Massachusetts model before but this is the first time he's done it since President Obama signed the health care overhaul into law last week. The topic could be a dicey one for Romney since he signed the Massachusetts model into law but is calling for the repeal of a federal law that is similar.

One side note, Pawlenty is critical of the plan being propped up by federal money but fails to mention that he relied heavily on federal stimulus money to balance the current budget. In 2009, he used $2.1 billion to help balance the state's budget.

He's also relying on a $408,000,000 extension in stimulus money to erase the current budget deficit. Congress has yet to pass that extension.

Update: Pawlenty will hold a "Facebook Townhall" on Wednesday night.

I'm told Pawlenty will appear via webcam and answer unedited questions from Facebook users via instant messaging technology.

Testing the waters?

Posted at 11:11 AM on March 26, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty was in New Hampshire yesterday fueling even more speculation that he's going to make a run for the White House in 2012. MPR's Mark Zdechlik reports that Manchester, NH Mayor Ted Gatsas relayed his take away from an earlier meeting with Pawlenty about presidential politics.

"Pawlenty makes no secrets about it, he's testing the presidential waters," Gatsas said. "During our conversation it was clear that he was thinking about this because he loves his country and the he believes in a blueprint that our founding fathers laid out. And that's very refreshing."

That is a dramatic difference than Pawlenty's canned "I don't know what my future holds" comment.

So which is it? Is he testing the waters or isn't sure. MPR interviewed Pawlenty this morning and he reverted back to his canned response:

"I haven't made a decision about my future plans," Pawlenty said. "I have a day job and need to finish out my job as governor and make sure we do that right."

He added he won't decide about his future until "sometime next year."

H/T MPR's Tim Nelson for getting the audio.

Pawlenty and Bachmann speak to anti-abortion group

Posted at 10:22 PM on March 24, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: U.S. House, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. House

Gov. Pawlenty and GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann spoke to a closed press fundraiser for the anti-abortion group, Susan B. Anthony List. While the event was closed press, Politico was able to hear the speeches and there was plenty of red meat thrown around.

The news outlet reports that Pawlenty said President Obama and the Democratic controlled Congress is "being more hostile and challenging the pro-life position and values than any time since Roe V. Wade:

"We don't honor the Constitution when we elevate a vague idea that is the right to privacy over the right to life," Pawlenty said, going on to urge the assembled donors to re-arm for a renewed fight over abortion.

"We have to realize that this is not just about the tactics," he said. "The laws and the court decisions and the like will change when hearts are changed and minds are changed."

(Side note: Obama signed an executive order today that is designed to ensure no federal money can be used for elective abortions under the nation's new health care law. Several groups that support legalized abortion criticized the move.)

Meanwhile, Bachmann reportedly told the audience that she may have been clairvoyant when she called President Obama "anti-American."

Bachmann also said that her controversial remarks of more than a year ago - in which she called Obama "anti-American" and suggested members of Congress be investigated for "anti-American activities" - have proven prophetic.

"I said I had very serious concerns that Barack Obama had anti-American views," she said. "And now I look like Nostradamus."

Pawlenty cancels trip to Southern Republican Leadership Conference

Posted at 9:55 AM on March 24, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty has cancelled his trip to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in April. Pawlenty was scheduled to speak to the group on April 10th. Alex Conant, a spokesman for Pawlenty's Freedom First federal political action committee, said Pawlenty cancelled the event because the Red Bulls 34th Infantry Division will hold a ceremony to celebrate the return of troops from Iraq on the same day.

Gov. Pawlenty will be in Washington D.C. tonight to speak to the Susan B. Anthony List. He's scheduled to speak in New Hampshire tomorrow.

His next major out of state trip will be Iowa on April 17th.

Reading the politics into Pawlenty's NCAA picks

Posted at 4:13 PM on March 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty released his NCAA picks today and there's two things we learned.

1) He likes the chalk. He has three number 1 seeds in his Final Four (Kansas, Duke and Kentucky) and a number 7 seed (BYU) instead of number 1 seed Syracuse (my alma mater). In other words, he's playing it safe.

2) He's a homer. Pawlenty picked the University of Minnesota to get to the Sweet 16.

Several folks on Twitter also pointed out something interesting. Governor Pawlenty, who is ramping up a run for president, gave a little love to the first caucus state when he picked Northern Iowa to beat UNLV (not a big stretch).

That got me thinking how Pawlenty's picks play politically.

Northern Iowa is a key pick because it's the only school representing a state that plays an early part in the 2012 nomination. Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina aren't dancing this year.

But the tea leaves show he may be watching 2012 politics at least a little bit...

The governor picked Michigan St., Ohio St., Florida St., Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Missouri. All of those schools are in key presidential battleground states. The only picks that go against the battleground grain are Florida (who ended up losing today to BYU) and Ohio (he's picking Georgetown).

Pawlenty also didn't pick any teams from the Big East to make the Final Four. Another signal that a 2012 GOP hopeful is writing off the east?

Am I missing anything?

Side note:

Here's a link to President Obama's picks and some analysis by the New York Times...

Poll: 38% of Minnesotans would support a Pawlenty Prez run

Posted at 12:56 PM on March 12, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

A new Rasmussen Poll says 38 percent of those polled would support Gov. Pawlenty if he were to win the GOP nomination for president in 2012. That's down four points from a similar poll in November. Nearly half also say his potential run for president has had a negative impact on his job as governor.

His overall job approval is at 49 percent.

This is the second poll in the past week that showed Pawlenty receiving approval ratings below fifty percent and shows fewer than forty percent want him to run for president in 2012. Pawlenty has not ruled out a run for the White House. (Survey USA released a poll last week).

Pawlenty is in Florida this weekend. He spoke to the Minnesota Club in Naples this morning and will spend time with his family this weekend. He'll be raising money for the Republican Governors Association in Orlando on Monday.

The poll also shows that DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar continues to get high marks among Minnesotans. Her job approval is at 67 percent. DFL Sen. Al Franken's job approval is at 50 percent.

You can read the full poll here.

Pawlenty headed to North Dakota later this month

Posted at 4:04 PM on March 10, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty is adding another state to his map. North Dakota Republican Party executive director Adam Jones says Pawlenty will speak to the NDGOP's state party convention on March 21st (note, it's not on the schedule yet but Jones says he'll speak in the morning).

This is the first time Pawlenty will visit North Dakota since he announced he won't seek a third term.

Pawlenty staying out of Florida Senate race (for now).

Posted at 2:05 PM on March 10, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty is headed to Florida on Monday to raise money for the Republican Governor Association but he isn't giving the current GOP governor an endorsement.

Pawlenty was asked today if he'll back a Republican candidate in Florida's hotly contested Senate race. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist iand former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio are both vying for GOP backing in the U.S. Senate race in that state.

When asked if he is backing a candidate, Pawlenty responded "I have not." When asked if he'll decide to back one, he responded "I don't know."

Pawlenty headed to Tennessee, near bottom in Iowa poll

Posted at 6:36 AM on March 10, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to Tennessee in June, according to Blog 4 President. Pawlenty will be speaking to the Tennessee Republican Party's Statesmen's Dinner on June 25th.

Pawlenty also received just one percent support in a poll of 2012 candidates in the key state of Iowa. The poll, conducted by a conservative blog Rightosphere, shows former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with the most support. Here's the preference from likely voters:

Mike Huckabee 21%
Mitt Romney 14%
Sarah Palin 12%
Tim Pawlenty 1%
Gary Johnson 0%
Undecided 52%

Important word of caution -- The rate of undecided is huge in this poll. Also, it's 2010 not 2012.

Pawlenty, who appears to be gearing up for a White House run, is making his second trip to Iowa on April 17th.

Pawlenty headed to Sunshine State

Posted at 5:52 PM on March 9, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty will be raising some cash for the Republican Governors Association on Monday. The Orlando Sentinel reports the price-tag to see Pawlenty and Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno will be $2500. This will be Pawlenty's fourth trip to Florida since he announced in June that wasn't seeking a third term. Here's the map of Pawlenty's travel.

Poll: Pawlenty and Legislature get poor marks

Posted at 9:51 PM on March 5, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

A KSTP-TV/Survey USA poll is giving Gov. Pawlenty and the Minnesota Legislature are getting poor marks.

Gov. Pawlenty says 42% of those polled approve of the governor's job performance while 52% disapprove.

State lawmakers are getting worse marks. They're receiving 25% approval in the poll. 66% disapprove.

63% of those polled also say Gov. Pawlenty should not run for president. 28% say he should run.

A strong majority also supports Racino, opposes tax increases and public funding for a new Vikings stadium.

You can find the full poll here

You can find the KSTP story here.

April is 2012 month in Minnesota

Posted at 11:47 AM on March 5, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Everyone in Minnesota knows that Gov. Pawlenty's 2012 hopes are getting plenty of attention of Minnesota's press corps. But some of that attention will be shifting to other candidates in April. Three other Republicans who may be eyeing a run for the White House in 2012 will be visiting Minnesota in April.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is scheduled to campaign for GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann and raise money for Bachmann and the MNGOP on April 7th.

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota also announced that Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, will sign books in Minnesota and speak at a dinner on April 9th.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will also be speaking to the Minnesota Family Council dinner on April 26th.

For those wondering, here's a list of which states Pawlenty will be visiting in April. He's scheduled to speak in New Orleans, Iowa and Washington that month.

Side note:

It will also be a big month for the 2010 gubernatorial hopefuls. The DFL state party convention is scheduled to begin on April 23rd in Duluth. The MNGOP starts its state party convention on April 30th.

Pastor pops Pawlenty on God

Posted at 12:58 PM on March 1, 2010 by Tom Scheck (24 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Grant Stevensen, a Pastor at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in St. Paul, criticized Gov. Pawlenty today for cutting funding for health insurance for the poor while campaiging across the country saying "God is in Charge."

Stevensen was one of several members of the faith community who held a news conference today urging the Minnesota House to override Pawlenty's veto of a bill that extends General Assistance Medical Care for 16 months. The House just started debating the issue.

Before the House action, Stevensen ripped Pawlenty for invoking God during stump speeches yet cutting health insurance for the poor:

"I'm concerned that because they are feeling pressure from a governor who has a speech to write that he wants to run around the country and give as he's elected president. I'm not so sure he cares so much anymore about Minnesota and the people that are here.

I have a personal request of the governor. Governor please, stop talking to us about God. the governor is going around saying 'God is in control.' We elected you. We elected you to be making decisions for this state that will help everyone in this state. Things that will lift up the poorest in this state. Don't pass this on to God. That's no God we've ever heard of.

And please stop lecturing us about god. It's offensive. The only God we're aware of is the one who says 'If you want to follow me, you'll look our for the widows, and the orphans, for the fatherless, for the poorest in the land.' Please stop talking to us about God. It's offensive. We can't take it." Listen

Stevenson is referring to a portion of Pawlenty's stump speech that says God is in charge. Here's Pawlenty talking to GOP activisits in Las Vegas on Saturday night:

"One of the first principles that we should turn to always and remembers is that God is in charge. God is in charge. A lot of people hear me say that and say 'Pawlenty, don't bring that up, that's outdated, that's politcally incorrect or they'll put some other label on it. Hogwash. This is in the very founding perspective in our country. The Declaration of Independence says this "We are endowed by our creator by certain unalienable rights." Listen

Discuss...

Pawlenty on backing McCain: "If it costs me, it costs me."

Posted at 12:35 PM on February 27, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty spoke with Missouri reporters after he gave a 25 minute speech to conservative activists at the Missouri Republican Party's Lincoln Days Dinner on Friday night.

During the q and a, Pawlenty was asked if he thought his decision to back John McCain's U.S. Senate bid would hurt him among far right conservatives if he ran for the White House in 2012. Here's his response:

"I've known John McCain for twenty years dating back the last 1980s, I've long considered him a friend and somebody I greatly admire for his service to our country both in the military and as a United States Senator. I believe he deserves reelection to the United States Senate as a Republican. So I'm going to stand on that principle, if that costs me it costs me but it's what I believe." Listen

Pawlenty co-chaired the McCain for President committee in 2008 and was considered to be on McCain's short list of running mates. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ended up getting the nod.

Pawlenty on CPAC straw poll: "It's progress"

Posted at 12:10 PM on February 27, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty defended his standing in last week's straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Pawlenty finished a distant fourth to Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. He also finished one percentage point behind former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and tied with undecided (results here).

During a q and a with reporters in Missouri, Pawlenty disputed a reporter's notion that he didn't do well in the poll.

"First of all, the straw poll is preliminary. Last year, I finished second to last, I don't know how many were there something like fifteen people and I was second to last. And this year, out of fifteen people or whatever, I came in fourth. Unfortunately they showed just the top four finishers on TV so it made it look like I was last but there was a lot of people below including some other folks. To me that's progress.

You have to remember we just started this PAC last fall. Nobody really knows who I am. I'm from a small state and I don't have a lot of national awareness so most people even in the party don't know that much about me or even know who I am." Listen

Pawlenty sidestepped questions on whether he'll run for president in 2012 but defended his conservative credentials when asked if he was "conservative enough."

"By any definition, I would fit into the mainstream conservative mold," he said.

Pawlenty in MO

Posted at 12:16 AM on February 27, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty was in St. Charles, Missouri tonight to talk to roughly 500 GOP activists at the Missouri Republican Party's Lincoln Days Dinner. He blasted federal spending in Washington D.C., criticized President Obama's foreign policy and urged Republicans to stick to their conservative principles.

It was mostly Pawlenty's standard stump speech. He even included the now familiar cell phone jokes and the "I didn't think you were going to win" story from his wife.

Pawlenty may also be trying out a new big tent strategy calling for Republicans to consider themselves "constitutional conservatives" first.

"We talk a lot about being Tea Party conservatives or Reagan conservatives or mainstream conservatives or common sense conservatives," Pawlenty said. "Those are all good words but I hope we realize that first and foremost and all of the other phrases that we build upon, that we are first constitutional conservatives in this country."

Pawlenty also repeated the now debunked statement that President Obama was using a teleprompter in a grade school classroom.

Here's Pawlenty's speech (he was introduced by Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder): Listen

Side Note: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Pawlenty also held a fundraiser for GOP Rep. Roy Blunt's Senate run.

Pawlenty told reporters after his speech that the Missouri Republican Party paid for his trip.

Pawlenty is scheduled to be in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday. While he's out of state, some of his surrogates will continue to negotiate with Democrats in the Legislature on a possible fix to General Assistance Medical Care. DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher says the House will attempt the override of Pawlenty's veto of GAMC on Monday.

The Pi Press reports that one House Republican, Keith Downey of Edina, will vote to sustain Pawlenty's veto but blasted Pawlenty in an e-mail to a constituent:

While I will uphold the Governor's veto, I sure hope the rhetoric tones down once he returns to Minnesota. Accusations of "irresponsible spending" and one-liners about writing checks with no money in the bank lack credibility and would have to apply equally to the Governor's own GAMC fix which costs taxpayers almost twice as much per person and bankrupts the Health Care Access Fund in 2011, and to his reliance on hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable federal money in his budget balancing plan, and to his bonding recommendation for $680M of new borrowing and debt with no way to pay for it. In times like these, everyone's proposals are fraught with fiscal challenges, but the political process and proposals must continue, and we have no choice but to press on for real reform and budget solutions. I hope the condescending scoldings and tiresome threats to "call people out" so common from the politicians in Washington D.C. do not find their way to Minnesota.

Pawlenty headed back to Iowa

Posted at 3:04 PM on February 26, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty will make his second trip to Iowa since he announced he wasn't seeking a third term. He's scheduled to speak to the Iowans for Tax Relief event in Des Moines. Here's the release:

Governor Tim Pawlenty and four Iowa candidates for Governor will speak at the 2010 Iowa Taxpayers' Day

MUSCATINE, IA--Iowans for Tax Relief announced today the line up for the 2010 Iowa Taxpayers' Day on Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 3:00pm to 5:00pm at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites Northwest in Des Moines. The keynote speaker is Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty who is also the Vice Chair of the Republican Governors Association. Also speaking at the event will be the following candidates for Iowa Governor; Terry Branstad, Jonathan Narcisse, Rod Roberts, and Bob Vander Plaats.

Ed Failor Jr., President of Iowans for Tax Relief, said today, "We are excited to have Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty speak to our members as he has a record of balancing budgets without raising taxes in Minnesota. The Iowa candidates for Governor will provide their vision for the fiscal future of our great state. Iowa Taxpayers' Day continues our mission to educate and inform Iowans on tax and spending issues."

Governor Culver was invited but declined to respond by the set confirmation deadline. Multiple contacts were made to the campaign with no return response.

Iowans for Tax Relief (ITR) started more than 30 years ago as a member driven organization to protect the taxpayer and today we have more than 54,900 members, making ITR the largest taxpayer protection organization in the state. Visit our website for additional details on the event at www.taxrelief.org. Invitations will be mailed to our members in the coming weeks.

Pawlenty headed to Missouri and Nevada this weekend

Posted at 7:07 AM on February 26, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Missouri Republican Party's Lincoln Days Dinner in St. Charles, Missouri tonight. On Saturday night, he'll be in Las Vegas speaking to the Clark County Lincoln Day Dinner.

Pawlenty's weekend travel means he'll have visited at least 21 different states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and six different countries since he announced in June that he wasn't seeking a third term as governor.

Pawlenty has not ruled out a run for president and appears to be preparing for a White House run. He has formed a federal political action committee and is appearing at conservative events across the country.

Democrats in Minnesota say Pawlenty should be focused on the job he was elected to do and focus on fixing the state's budget problems.

DNC hits Pawlenty on stimulus

Posted at 9:47 AM on February 24, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Democratic National Committee created a web video ripping Gov. Pawlenty and two other Republicans for criticizing the stimulus but accepting the money and praising it later.

Side note: The DNC told me they also intend to call Pawlenty Tea-Paw (instead of the standard TPaw) because they say he's working to court Tea-Party members.

Pawlenty didn't sign NGA letter because it praised stimulus

Posted at 5:26 PM on February 23, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty responsed today to his decision not sign a letter urging Congress to pass legislation that extends the federal stimulus for Medicaid. Pawlenty was one of eight governors who did not sign a letter from the National Governors Association urging Congress to pass the bill. When asked why he didn't sign it, Pawlenty said he didn't agree with the language praising the stimulus:

"I worked with the NGA staff in Washington D.C. over the weekend over that. With the Medicaid program, it is a federal program, we act as a pass through agent. The enrollment in the MEdicaid program is growing. I do believe that the federal government should pay more for that program. But the way the letter was worded, in the first paragraph in particular, it had kind of glowing or positive comments about the stimulus bill more generally and its jobs impact and because we're trying to get fifty people to agree on the same language, getting that out of there was not agreed upon so I didn't sign the letter." Listen

The first paragraph of the NGA letter said "On behalf of the nation's governor's we write to request your assistance in protecting jobs and speeding economic recovery by extending the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) enhanced federal match for Medicaid (FMAP) for two additional quarters."

Several Democrats in the Legislature have criticized Pawlenty for ripping the stimulus bill but relying on it to balance the state's budget.

Tim from St. Paul - Hello!

Posted at 5:13 PM on February 23, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The spokesman for Gov. Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC says Pawlenty is scheduled to be on CNN's Larry King tonight. King's show page doesn't feature Pawlenty (it says Men's Figure Skating Olympic Champion Evan Lysacek will be on the show) nor does King's blog (which has an incredible story that says the Dalai Lama has no idea who Tiger Woods is!).

Larry King Live airs at 8PM Central.

Pawlenty doesn't sign letter that urges Congress to pass funds he needs to balance budget

Posted at 5:34 PM on February 22, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty has not signed on to a letter by 47 of the nation's 55 governors of states and territories that urges Congress to pass legislation that extends federal Medicaid money. Why is that newsworthy? Well, Pawlenty is relying on that money erase a third of the state's $1.2 billion budget deficit.

The letter said "States and territories are in the process of finalizing budgets for FY 2011 that our legislatures will be considering over the next several months. Timely passage of an extension of ARRA's enhanced FMAP would greatly assist us in maintaining services and further stabilizing the economy."

A spokeswoman for the NGA said all of the governors of the fifty states and five territories were asked to sign the letter. Pawlenty is a former chair of the NGA.

Pawlenty, who has been in Washington D.C. since Thursday, has repeatedly bashed the federal stimulus (most recently calling it wasteful on NBC's Meet the Press). Several DFL lawmakers have said it would by hypocritical of him to earmark the federal money in his budget and then not lobby for the funds to be passed into law.

For the record, Pawlenty also relied on $2.6 billion in stimulus funds to fix the state's budget problem last year.

The Hotline says Pawlenty a "loser" at CPAC

Posted at 11:04 AM on February 21, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Hotline On Call, the National Journal's political blog, released the "winners and losers" of the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference and MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty didn't fare well.

The blog said the "Tea Party movement," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and The Bush Administration were all winners at the conference.

They said the CPAC Straw Poll (where TX Congressman Ron Paul won by a wide margin), the GOP in general and Pawlenty all fared poorly. Here's what the blog wrote about Pawlenty:

MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty: TPaw finished next to last, just ahead of Crist, in the '09 CPAC straw poll, and he finished 4th, with just 6%, this year. Students greeted Pawlenty when he showed up on Thursday, but his Friday speech didn't excite the crowd as much as Romney's, ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich's or even Rep. Mike Pence's did. The knock on Pawlenty has always been that he doesn't light a fire in many activists, and this year's speech showed he hasn't gotten over that drawback yet.

Read the full post here.

Pawlenty met the press

Posted at 10:00 AM on February 21, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

If the first rule of a Meet the Press appearance is to survive without any major damage done, Gov. Tim Pawlenty did just that.

NBC's Meet the Press host David Gregory challenged Pawlenty on his recent Tiger Woods comments ("Are people supposed to take you seriously?"), on whether the federal stimulus created jobs (he cited John McCain's 2008 economist saying it did) and on his budget, which featured business tax cuts but cuts to social services (Is that your vision for America, social service cuts but lower taxes on businesses?").

Pawlenty stressed that the private sector is best suited to create jobs and said money spent on the stimulus would have been better used by cutting the payroll tax.

There were two newsy items in the interview. Pawlenty said he supports "Don't ask, Don't tell" and said he would "sketch out his future" regarding a possible 2012 run in 2011.

Pawlenty also side-stepped a question regarding deficit reduction. When asked about cuts to Medicare and social security (the two biggest growers in the federal budget) he used the vague "Reform is needed" line and then touted the bus driver strike in 2004 that resulted in benefit cuts.

He also said he hopes President Obama is a one-term president and is hopeful that the GOP will retake Congress.

Reaction to Pawlenty's appearance is following a partisan divide on Twitter. Democrats say Gregory needed to be stronger on Pawlenty with tougher follow-ups. Republicans characterized it as a grilling.

Here's the rush transcript (via TVeyes) or you can listen to the audio of the appearance here (Listen)

Update: The TVeyes transcript only works on certain browsers. It worked on Internet explorer but not on Safari for me.

Update. Here's the full Meet the Press.:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ron Paul wins CPAC Straw Poll, Pawlenty finishes fourth

Posted at 4:46 PM on February 20, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Texas Congressman Ron Paul won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference. 31 percent of the 2395 registrants polled picked Paul. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished second with 22 percent support. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin finished third at seven percent. Gov. Tim Pawlenty finished fourth with six percent support. Pawlenty tied with "undecided" (6 percent) and just ahead of other (5 percent).

The crowd booed when Paul was announced the winner at CPAC.

Government spending was by far the biggest concern of those polled.

Here's a bad sign for Pawlenty and the other candidates -- A majority of those polled (53 percent) said "they wish the GOP had a better field of potential candidates."

You can read the full results here..

Update: Romney won the 2009 straw poll, with 20 percent support, followed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal with the support of 14 percent of those polled. Paul and Palin tied for third at 13 percent. Pawlenty was second to last in 2009 with 2 percent support.

McClatchy: Pawlenty teleprompter statement wrong

Posted at 10:32 AM on February 20, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Yesterday, Gov. Pawlenty criticized President Obama for needing a teleprompter to talk to grade school children (you can listen to Pawlenty's full CPAC speech here):

"President Obama was in a grade school classroom speaking to elementary school children and he was using a teleprompter,"

"That's not a joke. That's a real story." (listen to full speech here)

But McClatchy is reporting that Pawlenty's statement is, in fact, false (and have video to prove it):

The tale spread by bloggers over the Internet and in some media, including the Comedy Channel's Jon Stewart, blended together two Obama appearances Jan. 19 at the Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia, to make it appear he used the teleprompter when speaking to a classroom of 30 pupils.

In reality, Obama sat on a chair and spoke with the pupils without the device.

In a different classroom, he used the teleprompter to give scripted remarks on education to television cameras.

Why do these types of fact-checks matter? AP says it can sour people to public policy.

Side note: Pawlenty is scheduled to appear on Meet the Press tomorrow morning.

Here's what the show says about his appearance:

One year after Pres. Obama signed the stimulus bill, when will the U.S economy finally turn around? What more needs to be done to get Americans back to work? And as Conservatives meet this weekend in Washington, what is the future direction of the Republican party and who will emerge as its leader? Plus, as Republicans hope to see strong gains in this year's midterm elections, what does the GOP need to do to convince voters they are ready to take back control of Congress? We'll have an exclusive conversation with an often-mentioned potential 2012 Presidential contender, Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota.

For your viewing pleasure...

Posted at 3:50 PM on February 19, 2010 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. Senate

Here's a look at who will be on this weekend's public policy shows...

TPT's Almanac:
This week on Almanac we debate the next step in the GAMC debate with Rep. Tom Huntley and Rep. Matt Dean... and ad exec John Rash analyzes a week of Olympic coverage.

WCCO's Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy:
Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung, Tom Horner, an I-P candidate for governor and DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

KSTP's At Issue with Tom Hauser:
They didn't get back to me.
Jim Miller, with the League of MN Cities, and St. Coud Mayor Dave Kleis talk to about local government aid cuts.

Capitol Report:
Job creation tools continue to surface at the Capitol. Sen. James Metzen joins moderator Julie Bartkey to discuss his job bill. Republican Sen. Amy Koch counters with measures her caucus would like to see included to gain GOP support. Finally, a bipartisan bill to move Minnesota's primary election up a month passes unanimously. Senate author Terri Bonoff explains what voters need to know.

On the national scene...

NBC's Meet the Press:
General David Patraeus, MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty

ABC's This Week:
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell.

CBS' Face the Nation:
Guest: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Fox News Sunday:
Guests: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.), Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D).

Pawlenty's CPAC speech

Posted at 10:54 AM on February 19, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty gave a 25 minute speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference this morning. My back of the envelope count shows that "freedom" was the most referenced term in his speech (at least ten times). He mentioned "government spending" or "big government" six times, "President Obama" five times and "God" four times. He didn't mention a potential run for president in 2012 and didn't mention his veto of GAMC.

Pawlenty also recycled his Tiger Woods joke (smash a nine iron into the back windshield of big government spending) and criticized President Obama for spending too much.

You can listen to the speech here (side note - I had to do a little surgery on it because we had an audio drop out. The audio gets tinny for five minutes): Listen

Update: DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse issued this statement on Pawlenty's speech:

"Tim Pawlenty proved today that he is not serious about moving the country forward or engaging in the real policy debates we are having today. If Tim Pawlenty were the least bit serious, he would not use fiscal responsibility as a talking point while he uses one-time accounting fixes to 'balance' his state's budget even as the state's credit rating has been downgraded. If Tim Pawlenty were the least bit serious, he wouldn't engage in false debate about Miranda rights for terrorists when the Obama Administration has pursued the most successful targeting of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in eight years. Tim Pawlenty today said that the country should take a nine iron to the government - but instead all he did today was take a nine iron to his own credibility."

"The American people don't need more empty soundbytes and red meat one-liners for the extreme right wing. They need serious leaders with serious solutions to the problems we face - and Pawlenty proved today that the only thing he is serious about is pandering to the radical right wing and embracing the Republican platform of obstruction and polarized partisanship that only makes it more difficult to get things done. Like other Republicans, Tim Pawlenty is out of touch with what Americans want, and just like their ideas, Pawlenty is just more of the same."

Pawlenty and Bachmann speak at CPAC today

Posted at 6:59 AM on February 19, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: U.S. House, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty, who appears to be preparing a run for president in 2012, is scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference at 9am Central. Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist will introduce him.

Pawlenty is also on a 2012 straw poll of conservative activists. Results will be announced on Saturday.

Meanwhile...

GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann is scheduled to speak to the group at 11:20am Central. Ed Morrissey, with HotAir.com, will introduce her.

You can watch the speeches live here.

Speaking to Nevada reporters from D.C., Pawlenty won't talk Minnesota issues

Posted at 8:34 PM on February 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck (4 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty participated in a conference call with Nevada reporters this afternoon from Washington D.C. to rip President Obama and Nevada Sen. Harry Reid. Obama will be in Nevada tonight.

Pawlenty is in D.C. this weekend for the Conservative Political Action Conference. He's scheduled to speak in Nevada next week.

After Pawlenty's opening statement, the operator opened it up to questions. After a minute and a half of silence, I figured no other reporters were asking questions so I buzzed in to ask why he was vetoing the GAMC bill. Here's the q and a:

Scheck: "Hey governor, I know you're talking with the Nevada delegation, but there is some news in Minnesota. Your spokesman just sent out a note saying you're going to veto the GAMC bill. Can you say why?"

Pawlenty: "We're trying to limit this to the Nevada press but Brian McClung has outlined the reasons for that in a communication to you and if hasn't he will shortly."

Scheck: "Can you identify what your main objections are to it?"

Pawlenty: "It will be the ones that Brian identifies for you when you get that information if you haven't already." Listen

No other reporters (from Nevada or Minnesota) asked questions on the call...

Pawlenty vetoes GAMC bill

Posted at 7:49 PM on February 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty acted quickly on his threat to veto the GAMC bill. In a letter to the Legislature, Pawlenty wrote:

"I initially vetoed the program in May, 2009 because its costs were skyrocketing out of control, and the program was badly in need of reform. Senate File 2168 does not represent meaningful reform and does not address fundamental costs issues. It essentially re-established GAMC in its prior form, while reducing provider reimbursement rates by 50 percent."

You can read his veto letter here.

Pawlenty to be on Meet the Press

Posted at 7:36 PM on February 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is scheduled to be NBC's Meet the Press this Sunday. Pawlenty is also scheduled to speak to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday morning and will attend the National Governors Association's Winter meetings over the weekend.

Meanwhile....

Pawlenty is scheduled to keynote a dinner to Republicans in Washington state in April.

Pawlenty to veto GAMC bill from Washington D.C.

Posted at 4:41 PM on February 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck (7 Comments)
Filed under: MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's spokesman said Pawlenty will veto the GAMC bill. Here's his e-mail to reporters explaining why (and that he'll issue veto message from Washington D.C.):

TO: Capitol Press Corps

FROM: Brian McClung

RE: Governor Pawlenty to veto GAMC bill

Several of you have asked me for a response to the legislature's passage of the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) bill.

The Revisor's Office presented the bill to our office this afternoon. As you know, the Governor has three days, following the date of presentment and not including Sundays, in which to take action on a bill. That window begins immediately and runs through the end of Monday.

For your background information, vetoed bills do not require a signature. In issuing a veto, the Governor does not sign the bill and does not file it with the Secretary of State. Article IV, Section 23 of the Minnesota Constitution says, "If he vetoes a bill, he shall return it with his objections to the house in which it originated." http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/CCO/RULES/MNCON/Article4.htm

Governor Pawlenty is in Washington, D.C. at this time. He is preparing a veto message with assistance from our Washington, D.C. office and will sign that veto message. The veto message, along with the bill, will be returned to the Senate as soon as possible, either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Here is a statement you can attribute to me:

Governor Pawlenty will veto this bill tonight or early tomorrow morning. He is currently preparing a veto message with assistance from our Washington, D.C. office.

Governor Pawlenty is vetoing this bill because it irresponsibly spends $170 million, further exacerbating the state's budget problems, and includes virtually no reform. The legislature has chosen to pass a massive spending bill without first crafting a comprehensive, balanced budget solution. They've got things backwards. Both DFLers and Republicans who voted for this bill should be held accountable for taking out the state's checkbook when there's not only no money, but a deficit.

Senate starts the tick tock on Pawlenty

Posted at 2:54 PM on February 18, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Minnesota Senate quickly passed the House version of bill to extend General Assistance Medical Care for another eighteen months. They took the action just hours after the Minnesota House passed the bill. The bill is now headed to Gov. Pawlenty for him to sign or veto the legislation.

The Senate's quick action on the bill is a surprise since DFL state Rep. Erin Murphy thought the House and Senate would have to negotiate their differences on it. GOP Sen. Julie Rosen also said Senate Republicans had no idea that they were taking a final vote on the bill today.

Part of the plan may be to jam Governor Pawlenty. Pawlenty is scheduled to be in Washington D.C. tonight (he has a CPAC reception at 7:30 EST) through Tuesday morning for the CPAC conference and the National Governors Association's Winter Meetings.

Under the Minnesota Constitution (Article 4, section 23) the governor has three full days to sign or veto the bill (that includes Saturday). Michelle Timmons with the Revisor's office said it's highly likely that her office will engross and present the bill to the governor's office today. That means Pawlenty will have Friday, Saturday and Monday to act on the bill. He has to file it with the Secretary of State's office and notify the body that the bill originated in (Senate) by midnight Monday.

If Pawlenty doesn't take action on the by that time, the bill will become law. The governor told reporters that he's returning to Minnesota on Tuesday morning. I'm checking to see how they'll handle the issue if it's sent to him.

Update: The governor's office could potentially send the bill to Washington D.C. for Pawlenty take action on it.

Tick tick tick...

Update: An official in the Minnesota House says the House Speaker and the President of the Senate signed the bill and it's now on its way to the governor's office.

Does Pawlenty have the most to prove at CPAC ?

Posted at 10:22 PM on February 17, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty will be speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C. on Friday. He'll be among several possible 2012 candidates who are scheduled to speak at the conservative event.

The National Journal interviewed several CPAC insiders and party leaders to get their thoughts on the 2012 field. They think Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin will be the top competitors in the weekend's straw poll.

They also say Pawlenty has the most to prove:

"Everyone knows he's working the inside game harder than anyone, so he's got to prove he's at least a Tier 2 candidate and show people something, or else he's just another dude with a mullet."

"Pawlenty has most to gain and lose since he is dying to be the alternative and has his people and new media folks salvating to pounce on this."

"He simultaneously has the most well-organized proto-campaign at the moment and the least clear identity among conservatives. Conservatives just don't know Pawlenty as well as they know most of the others -- which means he has tremendous room to grow, but also a bigger hurdle to jump in the first place."

Here's more of the survey.

Pawlenty is scheduled to speak to the group on Friday morning at 9 o'clock Central. You can watch it live here. Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, with Americans for Tax Reform, will introduce Pawlenty.

How do you think this will play in Iowa?

Posted at 5:36 PM on February 15, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty cut $1.9 million in state ethanol producer payments. From his detailed budget proposal (emphasis mine):

This proposal reduces the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's (MDA) program and grant spending by 6.7 percent. The largest reduction is a one-time decrease in ethanol producer payments ($1.931 million), with the remainder making up reductions in grants to county fairs, livestock breeders, agricultural research and education organizations and Second Harvest Heartland. Mental health grants, farm-to-school grants, livestock investment grants and MDA's dairy development and profitability enhancement program are also reduced.

I suspect Iowa voters may challenge Pawlenty on this proposal along with his plan to cut $23.8 million in ethanol subsidies in 2003. That's if Pawlenty decides to run for president.

Pawlenty headed back to New Hampshire

Posted at 10:44 AM on February 12, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty reported on his Facebook page today that he's headed back to New Hampshire, the state that holds the first presidential primary in the nation:

The Manchester Republican Committee invited me to keynote their Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner on March 25. I'm glad to do it -- it's a great event that will help Republicans win in 2010. Can any Granite Staters tell me when the ice-out is? Would be fun to also play some hockey while I'm there.

This is Pawlenty's second trip to New Hampshire since he announced he wasn't seeking a third term. He attended a fundraiser for Republicans in New Hampshire's state Senate. He has visited roughly twenty states since he announced he wasn't running for governor again. You can view his out of state travel here.

Update: Pawlenty also sits down with Esquire to talk politics. It's a six page interview.

Pawlenty ushered check on behalf of Texas home builder

Posted at 11:07 AM on February 9, 2010 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty said this morning that the $100,000 check he delivered to the Alabama GOP on Friday night was from Texas homebuilder Bob Perry.

If you think the name sounds familiar, it should. Perry is a big-time GOP donor who contributes to the Republican Governors Association and several conservative 527 groups (including the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth organization in 2004). He also gave $500,000 to A Stronger America Minnesota, an independent 527 that worked to get Pawlenty reelected in 2006.

Pawlenty says he met with Perry a few weeks ago and mentioned that he was speaking to the Alabama Republican Party. He said Perry, who gave to the Alabama GOP in the past, asked him to deliver the check to the group:

"I understand they (Alabama GOP) asked him for the contribution. I was there on behalf of the RGA in my capacity as vice-chair of the RGA and he said 'Look, they asked me to give this contribution would you deliver it to them?' I said sure."

Pawlenty said he met with Perry a few weeks ago when he was raising money in Houston and Dallas on behalf of the RGA and his federal political action committee. At the time, the spokesman for Pawlenty's PAC would only say that Pawlenty was raising money in Texas but wouldn't provide additional details.

Pawlenty's meeting with Perry also signifies that he's meeting with some wealthy GOP donors as he considers whether to run for president in 2012. As I wrote in a 2006 profile about Perry, one campaign finance watchdog called Perry "an 800 pound gorilla."

At that time I also noted on the blog how many groups he contributed in the 2006 election cycle.

Pawlenty buys some Alabama goodwill, but who paid for it?

Posted at 3:19 PM on February 8, 2010 by Tom Scheck (5 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

On the same weekend that Sarah Palin was collecting a $100,000 appearance fee from the Tea Party Convention, Gov. Tim Pawlenty was the courier for a $100,000 check to the Alabama Republican Party.

On Friday, Pawlenty gave a 25 minute speech to Republican activists in Montgomery, AL. Before Pawlenty spoke to the group, Alabama GOP Chair Mike Hubbard announced that Pawlenty showed up at the speech bearing gifts. Hubbard told the audience of about 700 GOP activists that Pawlenty hand-delivered a $100,000 check from an unnamed donor.

"Gov. Pawlenty told him 'Well, I'm going to speak in Alabama and I know Gov. Bob Riley and I've heard with what they're doing in the Republican Party. I think they're going to make a a real difference. They have an opportunity to take the House and Senate for the first time in over 100 years and he urged him to support our efforts because he thought it was a great investment. So when Gov. Pawlenty came through the doors of the hotel today, he brought with him a check for $100,000. It's made to the Alabama Republican Party. So not only is Gov. Pawlenty not charging us, he's bringing money with him. He's our favorite speaker." Listen

Philip Bryan, a spokesman for the Alabama Republican Party said Pawlenty's check came from a donor, but he wouldn't disclose the individual's name. He said the funds were earmarked to help Republicans win the Alabama House and Senate and would comply with disclosure laws. Bryan then referred other questions to Pawlenty's spokesman. Pawlenty's spokesman referred me to the Alabama Republican Party.

It looks like the next filing deadline for campaign finance activity in Alabama is April 12th.

Pawlenty tries to get creative.

Posted at 11:22 AM on February 8, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty gave a speech to the 25th annual Emerging Issues Forum in Raleigh, NC this morning. His speech was standard fare for Pawlenty watchers. He stressed that schools and universities better start offering classes online.

He also talked about 2012 (not sure what he's going to do next), the Tea Party and creativity in general with reporters after the speech.

Mark Binker with the News and Record in North Carolina recorded the speech and the q and a. You can listen to both here.

Roll tide.

Posted at 12:36 AM on February 6, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty was in Montgomery, Alabama tonight talking to roughly 700 Republican Activists at the Alabama Republican Party's Red, White and Blue dinner.

The speech was standard fare (Government is spending too much. President Obama isn't tough enough on national defense. It even included Pawlenty's standard Michael Jordan speech at the end...): Listen

This is the nineteenth different state Pawlenty has visited since he announed in June that he wasn't running for a third term as governor. He also made the trip one day after the 2010 legislation session began. DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez said Pawlenty is "checked out" as governor:

"Tim Pawlenty should spend his full time being governor of Minnesota and if he needs to leave the state occassionally, that's one thing but leaving every week and on the second day of session means he's really checked out as being governor. If he's not going to do the job then he should resign and let Carol Molnau take over." Listen

Pawlenty will also visit North Carolina on Monday and has trips planned for Missouri, Washington D.C. and Nevada later this month.

(Thanks to Alabama Public Radio's Daniel Cherry for the audio...)

What happens in Vegas...

Posted at 12:17 PM on February 4, 2010 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty announced today that he's headed to Las Vegas, Nevada in late February. Pawlenty said on his Facebook page that he'll be headlining a Nevada GOP dinner on February 27th:

Governor Pawlenty will defy President Obama's orders and go to Vegas on February 27 for the Nevada GOP dinner. Goal is to replace Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with a Senator who values the needs of Nevadans more than the partisan interests of his political party.

Pawlenty will have a busy end of the month.

One day before he speaks in Nevada, he'll be speaking to GOP activists in Missouri.

He's also scheduled to speak to CPAC on Friday, February 19th (he has a reception scheduled the night before his speech) and will attend the National Governors Association's Winter Meetings between February 20-22.

He speaks to the Alabama GOP on Friday and will be in North Carolina on Monday.

Pawlenty's smack down smacked down

Posted at 12:10 PM on February 1, 2010 by Mike Mulcahy (4 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Tim Pawlenty today expanded on his oft-repeated "ponzi scheme" slam of the federal budget in an opinion piece for Politico.

"Sooner or later," the governor writes, "the federal government's scheme will come crashing down, and the loss will be mammoth."

Pawlenty calls for a balanced budget amendment and for giving the president the line-item veto. He also wants the Bush tax cuts made permanent and more free trade agreements.

The governor has been making a similar pitch as he travels the country raising money for his federal political action committee.

But today he's taking some heat for his stance on another blog.

Bruce Bartlett worked in the Reagan and first Bush administrations but later wrote a blistering attack on President George W. Bush in the book Imposter. And it looks like that book was just a warm up for his slam against Pawlenty.

He calls the governor's article "grossly ill-informed," and then gives a detailed critique of the balanced budget amendment proposal.

Bartlett writes that "Pawlenty is not ready for prime time," and that Pawlenty's budget ideas are "too transparently phony even for" the tea party/Fox news crowd.

Freedom Club paid Palin $25,000

Posted at 10:17 AM on February 1, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2008: MN Legislature, Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Freedom Club PAC paid Sarah Palin $25,000 to host a fundraiser for the conservative group in December. The group reported the appearance fee in campaign finance reports that are due today.

Palin hosted a private fundraiser for a group of roughly 70 Freedom Club members on December 7th. She hosted the fundraiser after she signed her book, Going Rogue, at the Mall of America.

The Freedom Club PAC helps elect Republicans to the Minnesota House. Midge Dean, who organized the fundraiser for the group, declined to say how much they paid Palin when the fundraising invitations went out.

The former Alaska governor and running mate to John McCain in 2008 has been requesting upwards of $100,000 for appearances. The Freedom Club paid Palin through the Washington Speaker's Bureau.

The Freedom Club reports raising $481,500 in 2009.

Pawlenty says PAC fundraising has no impact on 2012 run

Posted at 11:35 AM on January 29, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty says he's grateful for the support his Freedom First Political Action Committee is receiving but says it won't impact his decision on whether he'll run for president in 2012. Attorneys for Pawlenty's PAC will report that he's raised nearly $1.3 million in the final three months of 2009 when they file the report with the Federal Election Commission. The deadline to file the report is Sunday night.

Here's video of Pawlenty talking with reporters about his fundraising totals, President Obama's small business tax credit and a DFL leaning group's criticism of his decision to reduce the renter's credit in Minnesota.

(sorry the video is a bit shaky - forgot the tripod - #scheckfail)

Thanks to WCCO-AM for allowing me to interview the governor in their offices.

Pawlenty's PAC raised nearly $1.2 million

Posted at 6:16 AM on January 29, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

A person with knowledge of Pawlenty's fundraising told MPR News that Pawlenty raised more than $1.2 million between October first and December 31st of last year from over 2,750 donors. The committee has roughly $800 thousand in the bank after it spent funds helping Republican candidates including Senator-elect Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Rob Portman of Ohio, Minnesota's Congressional delegation and Doug Hoffman, who lost a special election in a New York.

Phil Musser, senior advisor to Pawlenty's Freedom First PAC, issued this statement about the figures:

"As more people learn about the Governor, they're really impressed by his record in Minnesota, and his natural ability to connect with people. He's an optimistic, authentic leader with a conservative record of balancing budgets and passing innovative reforms. The PAC is off to a solid start, and we look forward to playing a big role in the ideas debate, and in supporting the next generation of Republican leaders."

Pawlenty's full FEC report has to be filed by midnight Sunday.

Pawlenty makes it a southern swing...

Posted at 10:28 AM on January 27, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is scheduled to be in Raleigh, North Carolina on Monday, February 8th. He's scheduled to speak before an emerging issues forum hosted by the Institute of Emerging Issues.

Pawlenty's trip will be just three days after he speaks to the Alabama Republican Party's winter dinner. That speech is scheduled to be in Mobile, AL.

Pawlenty will also travel to Washington D.C. to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference between February 18-20. He will also attend the National Governors Association's Winter Meetings between February 20-22 in Washington D.C.

Pawlenty is also scheduled to speak to the Missouri Republican Party's Lincoln Days Dinner in St. Charles, Mo. on Feb. 26.

In March, he's scheduled to speak at a fundraiser for the Susan B. Anthony List in Washington D.C. That group helps elect women who are opposed to legalized abortion.

He will also speak to the Dallas County Republican Party on March 6th.

In April, Pawlenty will speak at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.

Pawlenty said in December that he intends to scale back his out of state travel when the legislative session begins on February 4th. He is scheduled to give his final State of the State address on February 11th.

He has not ruled out a run for the White House in 2012.

State of the State announced

Posted at 1:17 PM on January 26, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty will deliver his final State of the State address on Thursday, February 11th at 11am. He'll make his comments from the chamber of the Minnesota House.

Pawlenty headed to Dallas in March

Posted at 6:51 AM on January 25, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty will appear at a fundraiser for the Dallas County Republican Party on March 6th. Donors are asked to give anywhere from $100 to $10,000.

Read the invite here.

Gambling on the Vikings game...

Posted at 5:48 PM on January 21, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Campaign 2010: U.S. House, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Several Minnesota politicos are wagering with their Louisiana counterparts on this weekend's Vikings/Saints game.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin are betting music.

GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen is betting a Minnesota meal (walleye and wild rice) against GOP Rep. Steve Scalise's offer of a New Orleans meal (alligator sausage and blackened redfish, as well as a pot of seafood gumbo).

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal are also preparing a bet but are taking suggestions on their respective Facebook pages. Pawlenty asked on his Facebook Page which option is best:

1. Option 1:As much Lutefisk (whitefish soaked in lye) as he can eat?


2. Option 2:A Viking cooler filled with Minnesota's best microbrews?


3. Option 3:My favorite SPAM recipes (precooked meat from Austin, MN)?

Some of the responses to Pawlenty's request are funny including...

1. Al Franken
2. A chance to run as your vice-president
3. A letter of resignation.

Jindal has also been asking friends on his Facebook page what Pawlenty should wager. That posting even generated a TV story in New Orleans.

Some of the suggestions on Jindal's Facebook page include:

1. Money for education
2. Pawlenty singing Pants on the Ground!,
3. Jobs
4. Pawlenty singing Who Dat in a Saints jersey,
5. If the Vikes win, Pawlenty runs for pres in 2012. If the Saints win, Jindal runs
6. Have them endorse Bobby Jindal for President!

AP is also reporting that Pawlenty turned down an offer to join him in a Superdome suite for the game.

Update: DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) also made a wager:

If the Vikings win, Landrieu will cook a Minnesota wild rice casserole and deliver it to Klobuchar's office while wearing a Brett Favre jersey for Minnesota constituents to enjoy. If the Saints win, Klobuchar will cook gumbo and deliver it to Landrieu's office while wearing a Drew Brees jersey for Louisiana constituents to enjoy.

Bachmann backs Parry

Posted at 11:52 AM on January 19, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has weighed in on next week's special election in state Senate District 26 with an endorsement of GOP candidate Mike Parry.

Parry is running against Democrat Jason Engbrecht and Independence Party candidate Roy Srp. The winner of the Jan. 26 special election will finish the term of Sen. Dick Day, R-Owatonna, who resigned to become a lobbyist.

Here's Parry's news release:

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann today endorsed Republican candidate Mike Parry to replace retiring state Senator Dick Day, (R-Owatonna) for the special election to be held on Jan. 26, 2010.

"I'm proud to endorse Mike Parry for the special election in Senate District 26. Mike is a strong fiscal conservative who will be a powerful voice for lower taxes, limited government and economic opportunity in St. Paul. As a small business owner, Mike understands the need to set priorities and hold government accountable for results. The people of Waseca, Steele and Rice counties will be well served by this steadfast champion of conservative values who will stand up to the big spending, big taxing liberals in the legislature."

Update: Gov. Pawlenty will hold a business round table with Parry on Wednesday night at 7:30pm in Owatonna Country Club in Owatonna.

Time to build or time to cut back?

Posted at 3:45 PM on January 15, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2008: MN Legislature, Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty released his bonding bill recommendations earlier today (watch video from the first portion of his news conference above). He's proposing $685 million in state bonding for public works building projects. He called his bill "austere" and said it prioritized the state's needs.

"The idea that we can just endlessly spend is out the window. You have to prioritize and you have to focus and you have to be willing to say no."

But DFL Rep. Alice Hausman of St. Paul said she thinks the bonding bill should be $1 billion, especially since there are low interest rates a it's cheaper to build right now.

"Our taxpayer dollar will go farther this year than if we wait two years for these projects. That resonates with everyone."

Pawlenty also said the state has reached a deal to buy land on Lake Vermilion from U.S. Steel but that plan needs legislative approval to lift a cap on the purchase price. If they don't get approval, Pawlenty said U.S. Steel is prepared to move forward with their development plans this summer.

Minnesota politicos get involved in the Massachusetts Senate race.

Posted at 9:04 AM on January 14, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2008: U.S. Senate, Campaign 2010, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts is getting very interesting. The polls are tightening, a Democratic staffer roughed up a reporter and one of the candidates posed nude for Cosmopolitan during law school.

Both political arms of the Senate are ramping up staff, money and support for their respective candidates, Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown.

The stakes are huge for both sides. Republicans see an opportunity to win the seat, reduce the Democratic majority in the Senate to 59 and stop the health care reform bill.

Gov. Pawlenty is using his Freedom First PAC to direct contributions to Brown:

We have our best chance yet to stop the spending binge in Washington with Massachusetts Senate candidate Scott Brown. Brown is running neck-and-neck in a special election for the late Senator Ted Kennedy's seat and is Republicans' best shot at a 41st vote in the Senate to reject policies that firmly plant government as the arbiter of our lives.

But Democrats, like Sen. Al Franken, are working to make sure that doesn't happen.

Franken sent an e-mail to his supporters yesterday asking them to contribute to Coakley (the contribution runs through the Democratic leaning site Act Blue). He invoked the name of the late Ted Kennedy in the e-mail:

I served only briefly with Ted Kennedy, but like many of you I was inspired by his fight for health care for all Americans. I'm writing today because Ted's legacy is at risk. Polls show the special election for his Senate seat tightening, and voters head to the polls in less than a week.

If we lose Ted's Senate seat in Tuesday's special election, it's very likely that Republicans will have the votes to kill health care reform and undo all the tough, good work that's been done to fix our broken system. We simply can't let that happen.

Pawlenty headed to D.C. in March

Posted at 3:31 PM on January 13, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Politico is reporting that Gov. Pawlenty has accepted a speaking engagement to the Susan B. Anthony List:

The annual event for the group that supports anti-abortion candidates is one of the largest functions for Washington's social conservative circle each spring and represents a strong forum for Pawlenty to bolster his conservative credentials.

The SBA gala is the latest prominent GOP event that Pawlenty, who polls show is not well known outside Minnesota, plans to attend as he builds his national brand.

On Monday, Pawlenty suggested he was cutting back on his out of state travel to deal with the upcoming legislative session.

Pawlenty's fundraising blitz.

Posted at 10:37 AM on January 13, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is scheduled to have a busy month raising money. To date, he has at least six fundraisers on the books in January. Here's a list of what we know:

On January 11th, Pawlenty was the featured guest at a fundraiser for David Carlson, candidate for MN Senate, on Jan. 11th.

Today, Pawlenty heads to Texas to raise money for his Freedom First PAC in Texas. His spokesman won't provide any other details on the event.

Pawlenty will hold a fundraiser for the MN Senate Republicans on Friday, January 15th Thursday, January 21st in West St. Paul at 7:30am.

On Tuesday, January 19th, he'll hold a fundraiser for his FreedomFirst PAC at the Chambers Hotel in Minneapolis from 6 to 8pm.

He has two three fundraisers scheduled for Thursday, January 21st (update: see MN Senate GOP fundraiser above).

He'll be bowling for dollars with the MN House GOP at the PINZ Bowling Alley in Oakdale at 2:45pm. He will later hold another fundraiser for his FreedomFirst PAC at O'Gara's Restaurant in St. Paul at 5pm.

Pawlenty isn't just using his physical presence to raise money. He also has a splash page on his PAC's website urging supporters to contribute to Scott Brown, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts.

Please send me any info if you hear of political fundraisers of any kind. We like to keep tabs on the events.

Hook 'em Horns

Posted at 7:11 PM on January 12, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty is headed to Texas tomorrow to raise money for his Freedom First PAC. His spokesman, Alex Conant, declined to provide additional details.

Pawlenty is making the trip to Texas in the same week that the Vikings host the Dallas Cowboys in a key NFL match-up. Pawlenty predicted earlier this week that the Vikings would win the game by ten.

GOP insiders prefer Romney to Pawlenty

Posted at 9:25 PM on January 7, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The National Journal polled GOP insiders to gauge the interest in the potential 2012 GOP candidates. The poll interviewed 109 party leaders, political professionals and pundits.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the runaway favorite garnering 81 first place votes. Gov. Pawlenty was second among the field with 46 points. If Pawlenty does run, and he hasn't ruled it out, he may have some competition from the Upper Midwest. South Dakota Sen. John Thune also polls high among the insiders.

Pawlenty headed to Missouri in February

Posted at 11:22 AM on January 6, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty will give the keynote speech at the party's Lincoln Days dinner in St. Charles, Missouri on February 26th. The party chair called Pawlenty a rising star in the GOP. Pawlenty has not ruled a run for president in 2012 and has formed a federal political action committee to help candidates in 2010.

Since he announced in June that he isn't seeking a third term, Pawlenty has visited 17 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and six foreign countries. He's also scheduled to speak out of state two other times in February. He'll speak to the Alabama Republican Party on February 4th and to the Conservative Political Action Conference the weekend of February 20th.

Pawlenty will be making his trips at a time when the state faces a $1.2 billion budget deficit. He said in December that he would curtail his travel schedule during the legislative session to focus on the budget. The legislative session begins on February 4th.

Here's the map of his travel.

Update:

Pawlenty also has a fundraiser scheduled two fundraisers scheduled for his PAC. The fundraisers will be on January 19th in Minneapolis and January 21st in St. Paul.

Here are the invites:

Jan19MN.pdf

Pawlenty headed to New Orleans this week.

Posted at 11:14 AM on January 5, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty will add to his frequent flyer miles this week. He's scheduled to attend a meeting for the Education Commission of the States meeting in the Big Easy on Wednesday and Thursday. Pawlenty, who chairs the commission, is scheduled to give the introductory speech at the meeting. Another possible 2012 contender, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has also been invited to speak.

The meeting will be a part of his public duties as governor but he'll return to New Orleans in April for politics. Pawlenty, along with a long list of 2012 candidates, is scheduled to speak at the Southern Leadership Council at that time.

Pawlenty PAC discusses some, but not all, donations to candidates.

Posted at 10:37 AM on January 4, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty's federal political action committee gave donations to the three Republicans in Minnesota's congressional delegation, Reps. John Kline, Erik Paulsen and Michele Bachmann. In an e-mail to supporters, Pawlenty also said he gave to former Congressman Rob Portman, who also directed the Office of Management and Budget in 2006 and 2007. Here's a bit of the e-mail:

I've been humbled by the initial support for our efforts. Thanks to many generous contributions, Freedom First has already been able to help the campaigns of Representatives John Kline, Eric Paulsen, and Michele Bachmann, as well as former Congressman Rob Portman, who is fighting to retain a critical Senate seat for Republicans in Ohio. This support is just scratching the surface -- we plan to support many more candidates next year as we work to elect more Republican governors and retake control of Congress.

New Year's provides a unique opportunity to recharge and set goals for the year ahead. One of my primary goals for 2010 is to ensure that I do my part in restoring the principle of freedom in America. Freedom requires hard work, gratitude and accountability, and I'm committed to doing everything I can to advance these principles through Freedom First, and elect candidates who embody those principles.

Pawlenty didn't mention Doug Hoffman. Hoffman challenged the GOP backed Dede Scozzafava in a special election in NY-23. At the time, Pawlenty's PAC gave its first donation to Hoffman. Scozzafava dropped out of the race and backed Democrat Bill Owens, who eventually won it.

The full campaign finance reports are due on January 31st.

Pawlenty and Legislative leaders to speak to MN Chamber on 2/4

Posted at 2:39 PM on December 29, 2009 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2008: MN Legislature, Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce says Gov. Pawlenty will address the organization's Session Priorities dinner on Thursday, February 4th. Pawlenty will give a speech at 6:45. There will be a legislative roundtable later that evening.

There has been speculation that Gov. Pawlenty would use the dinner as his State of the State speech. An official with the Minnesota Chamber said "it's under consideration."

Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung issued this written statement when asked whether about the prospects of Pawlenty using the Chamber dinner as his annual State of the State:

"The governor is booked to speak at the Minnesota Chamber dinner on Feb. 4. He is considering delivering the State of the State Address at that time, but a final decision hasn't been made."

The event is held on the same day lawmakers convene the 2010 Legislative session.

CPAC says Pawlenty a confirmed speaker at February meeting

Posted at 1:17 PM on December 29, 2009 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Conservative Political Action Conference says Gov. Pawlenty is confirmed to speak at the 2010 conference in February. It's one of the largest gatherings of conservative activists in the country. The conference agenda hasn't been set yet so it's not clear when Pawlenty will be speaking.

CPAC will be held just days before the National Governors Association's Winter Meetings will convene in Washington D.C.

Pawlenty spoke at CPAC's event last year. You can listen to that speech here.

The group also takes a straw poll of possible presidential candidates. Pawlenty, who has not ruled out a run for president in 2012, polled near the bottom in last year's CPAC straw poll.

(h/t Minnesota Independent)

Poll: Coleman has high negatives, a majority don't want Pawlenty to run for president and 2010 gov match-ups

Posted at 10:36 AM on December 23, 2009 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Public Policy Polling released some more information from a poll recently taken in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. The poll (which only gauged only those who live in the 6th) found that former Republican Senator Norm Coleman has high unfavorables, even in the GOP leaning district:

Even in Minnesota's most Republican district, more voters (42%) have an unfavorable than favorable (41%) opinion of him. His statewide numbers are likely to be much more brutal than that. Keep in mind Coleman still leads Mark Dayton and RT Rybak by 13-14 points in the district in hypothetical contests but that's probably got more to do with its GOP leaning nature and Coleman's superior name recognition than anything else. Coleman will have to do some serious rehabilitation of his image if he decides to jump in the race.

The poll found that Coleman leads former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton (DFL) 50% to 36% and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (DFL) 49% to 36%.

Republican state Rep. Marty Seifert leads Dayton 40% to 33% and Rybak 40% to 34% in those hypothetical match-ups.

The poll also found that Gov. Pawlenty's approval rate of 52% but about a third want to see Pawlenty run for the White House in 2012.

Minnesotans don't want Tim Pawlenty to run for President in 2012. Even though Pawlenty has a solid 52/39 approval spread in MN-6, only 32% of its voters would like to see him make a bid for the White House to 50% who are opposed. This backs up a Star Tribune poll finding from September that found just 30% of Minnesotans statewide keen on a Pawlenty run.

Here are the full results.

Pawlenty met with GOP bigwigs in New Hampshire

Posted at 7:06 AM on December 18, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

The Manchester Union-Leader is reporting that Gov. Pawlenty had a private dinner with several Republican leaders in the New Hampshire House:

"According to House GOP spokesman Jim Rivers, Pawlenty received a "history lesson" on the New Hampshire primary. They also discussed legislative issues."

The newspaper also reports that Pawlenty met for an hour with the Ted Gatsas, Mayor-elect of Manchester and several members of the New Hampshire Young Republicans. Gatsas says a potential Pawlenty run for president never came up.

Pawlenty has not ruled out a potential run for the White House in 2012 and may be working to secure some support in New Hampshire if/when he decides to run.

The meetings come after Pawlenty spoke at a fundraiser for Republicans in the New Hampshire State Senate.

Live Free or Die

Posted at 7:40 PM on December 16, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

During a speech to GOP activists in New Hampshire, Governor Pawlenty criticized federal spending, the health care bill being debated in Congress and President Obama's failure to deliver bipartisan agreement on key issues.

Pawlenty called federal government spending a "Ponzi scheme," said the Democrat's version of the "Live Free or Die" motto would be "grow government and stagnate" and called the health care bill a monstrosity.

Here's the speech: Listen

Meanwhile, Democrats are criticizing Pawlenty for leaving Minnesota again. The DFL Party released a statement saying Pawlenty should end the charade and say he's running for president.

DNC spokesman Frank Benenati says Pawlenty should be focusing less on New Hampshire and more on Minnesota:

"I think Tim Pawlenty should care less about his 1.2 percent name recognition nationwide and care more about $1.2 billion deficit in Minnesota."

Pawlenty calls for limits on federal spending

Posted at 7:06 AM on December 16, 2009 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty appeared on New Hampshire radio station WGIR this morning and called for greater limits on federal spending. During his interview, Pawlenty said federal spending has gotten out of control and wants to see a federal constitutional amendment imposed to rein it in.

"One of the things that I think we should do is ask for a federal constitutional amendment for a balanced budget with the exception for war, natural disasters and emergencies, we have to give the president line-item veto authority and we need to reward politicians who are willing to say no instead of rewarding politicians who are willing to say yes"

Pawlenty is scheduled to speak at a fundraiser tonight in New Hampshire - fueling speculation that he's running for president in 2012. Pawlenty hasn't ruled out such a run.