When I look over the list of potential Vice Presidential picks being looked at by Senator McCain, I always see the name of Minnesota Governor Jim Pawlenty, who is said to be quite close to McCain personally. To be honest with you, until last Fall, when Pawlenty (along with Governor’s Crist, Huntsman, Perry and Schwarzenegger) spoke at the semi-annual California Republican Party State Convention. Right off the bat, I was concerned because a large part of Pawlenty’s remarks were praiseful of Governor Schwarzenegger’s battle against man-made carbon emissions which amounts to a mountain of new government regulations. I had an opportunity to chat with Pawlenty a bit at that convention, and he is a personable, and smart fellow. But after that weekend, and since, I have done some poking around concerning Pawlenty, and pretty much figured out that McCain and Pawlenty are not just friends, but in many ways are ideological comrades.
If McCain reaches out and taps Governor Pawlenty to be his running mate, it will be because he wanted an already-vetted "safe" Republican pick, with whom he has a close relationship, but a Pawlenty pick would do nothing to energize conservatives. In fact, speaking for myself, I would be pretty disappointed, as Pawlenty’s record when it comes to fighting for individual freedom, liberty and responsibility is pretty rocky.
First and foremost, the fact that Governor Pawlenty enthusiastically embraces the global warming alarmism agenda championed by Al Gore is deplorable. If mankind’s impact on the Earth’s temperate through carbon emissions were not in doubt (the scientific community is not in agreement on this point), there is no doubt that the proposals supported by Gore and Pawlenty would disproportionately penalize Americans for what would (if proven) be a world-wide problem. There are huge costs in terms of individual freedom and liberty when you support as Pawlenty has, requiring utilities to produce 25% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2025, and setting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. He also supports the terrible idea of "cap and trade" where the government creates, through mandate, a scarcity in the energy marketplace which will make it very costly for consumers.
Pawlenty has also been a big advocate of going after smokers — in 2006 signing a massive cigarette tax increase (which he says wasn’t a tax but a fee) — and then he signed into law a huge statewide ban on smoking.
When the core economic issue of mandating wages on employers came up in Minnesota last year, Pawlenty signed a law hiking the "minimum wage" by a dollar (as a potential Veep pick, he vetoed another increase this year).
July 13th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Here you go again, Jon, off the rails far to the right. Personally, I cannot think of but one case where the Vice Presidential pick helped put the Presidential pick over the top. That case would be in 1960, where Lyndon Johnson helped put John Kennedy over the top in Texas through voter fraud. But I’d like you to tell us all which Vice Presidential candidate you think put the Presidential candidate over the top in modern history.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I like Governor Palin of Alaska.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Oh Jon, Bob is right again when he said, “Here you go again, Jon, off the rails far to the right”. If we want to grow as a party the Republicans must start voting and acting like Democrats. We need to embrace global warming and amnesty. The Farm Bill was great because that is how we buy votes. Increasing minimum wage… we need to increase that up to say $50,000 or $60,000 per year. And the cigarette tax, who cares if smokers get taxed? We need to raise more taxes, where do you think we get the $ to run our frugal and efficient government?
Jon, look at how Governor Schwarzenegger has done… he is very popular because his policies demonstrate he could be Governor Davis’s twin. Get rid of this right wing Reagan stuff of limited government, low taxes and more freedom… we need to become more like Democrats.
Bob Evans is correct Jon!
July 13th, 2008 at 12:00 am
And there you go again, Ken. From his record in office in Sacramento and Washington, Reagan looks more like a centrist than a right winger. And Governor Schwarzenegger is definitely a centrist. Centrists win election and can therefore put in place policies and programs that are limited, that do what is intended and which lead to growth in jobs and a better way of life for our all our citizens. Centrists are for freedom (not religiously based snooping on our citizens) low taxes (not no taxes) and government that works (helps people).
July 14th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Sarah Palin would make an excellent VP choice. She could wipe the floor with either Biden or Webb, like she did with Murkowski. Furthermore if this campaign gets nasty, then that will be two times that Obama will have to attack a woman. More Hilliary voters may think about defecting. Not to mention, I’d like to see her defend conservative principles on Oprah, Ellen, and The View.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Bob…
I am agreeing with you, but now it sounds like you are agreeing with Jon: “Centrists are for freedom (not religiously based snooping on our citizens) low taxes (not no taxes) and government that works (helps people).”
It sounds like you think the cigarette tax is a bad idea… and increasing taxes to support our frugal and efficient government. It even sounds like you are for more freedom and less regulations. And all this time I thought I knew you… maybe you went off the deep end. Who is going to take care of us if our government doesn’t?
I just read that great book, “Great Centrist in American History”. I highly recommend it! I will have to go back and look, but I don’t think President Reagan was mentioned.