Letter: Pawlenty needs to turn focus to Minnesota

• Gov. Tim Pawlenty

File Photo: Gov. Tim Pawlenty announces that he will sign all legislative-passed budget bills, with some things removed, and make cuts on his own to balance the state budget. The move sent shock waves through the Capitol. Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie is on the left. (Don Davis/State Capitol Bureau)

Talk about it

What is up with Gov. Pawlenty? Running for president can cause any neophyte candidate to frantically pander to his party base, but Pawlenty’s recent behavior has taken this to an extreme.

Attempting to appeal to the far right remnant of the GOP, Gov. Pawlenty has again and again pushed forward on issues to later, under pressure of facts, pull back. He initially claimed he would not accept federal stimulus money knowing that Minnesota could not balance a historic deficit without it. He has backpedaled from claims of health care reform death panels, state’s rights to opt out of federal legislation, and the president’s prerogative to talk to school children. In each example Gov. Pawlenty cravenly pandered to his party’s far-right base only to later backpedal in an attempt to reassure Americans that he is not unhinged from reality.  

The governor gave us a new example of this phenomenon when he directed to all departments of Minnesota state government to immediately stop cash transfers to ACORN when the fact is Minnesota does not fund the group. Is checking facts before issuing orders too much to expect of a governor? The unnecessary directive can only be understood in the light of politics; as one more attempt at pandering in the Governor’s quest for the White House.

Minnesota is facing yet another historic deficit. We need Gov. Pawlenty to set aside his ambitions for the moment, return home, deal with reality, speak sense, and cooperate toward a solution acceptable to the broad majority of Minnesotans. Given his record, I am not holding my breath.

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