Posted on 09/20/2009 2:42:00 AM PDT by kingattax
Mike Huckabee may have won the straw poll at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit, but Tim Pawlenty may have done himself the most good. I saw the major contenders give their speeches and thought, like Mark Hemingway of NRO, that Pawlenty showed he had the goods.
Pawlenty's presentation of his own record as a budget-balancer in MN was impressive and he sounded like the kind of conservative candidate who knows how to handle himself in a debate. The Minnesota governor came off as smart, tough, and ready for prime time. If he keeps making the rounds speaking the way he did Friday night, he is going to gain supporters in every part of the Republican coalition.
I'm tempted to include some excerpts from the remarks, but I don't think it will do him justice. What impressed me more than any particular phrase was the way he carried himself. His countenance exuded challenge to the left. There was, to employ an overused sporting phrase, a notable swagger in the way Pawlenty looked and talked. This is a guy who wouldn't make you afraid to tune in to debates or press conferences. Instead, you'd relish the chance to see him in action. Tim Pawlenty is ready for a fight.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
“Pawlenty in Miami was publicly angry, agitated, and even cranky, possibly because he found himself at odds with the far more conservative tone of every other speaker here. Hundreds of RGA members, who paid thousands of dollars to attend this Conference, wildly applauded “red meat” conservative pronouncements by speakers and not the more moderate and conservative-jabbing words by Pawlenty. And then there’s his “Palin problem,” real or imagined, that hit the fan yesterday in front of the national media, possibly upon the insistence of Pawlenty himself, as the above-reported comments to CNN by an anonymous presidential aspirant indicate.”
I keep forgetting about their popup ads, the heck with American Spectator, I don’t want to deal with their aggressive computer ads.
I like Tim Pawlenty overall. He’s my governor and he and I are from the same home town (South St Paul, MN). So, it would be nice to see a home town boy go all the way.
I do agree that he will gain support from all parts of the conservative coalition, but I also wonder if he may not have the “fighting” tone that will be demanded of the candidate that will take on Hussein in 2012.
Pawlenty is a good politician, good debater, and right on most issues. He’s a born again Christian, pro-life, pro national defense, and fiscally conservative.
He balanced the budget in MN every year without raising taxes (although there was a cigarette “fee” one year). He accomplished this in a state with overwhelming Democrat majorities in both the state House and Senate.
In fact, as a Minnesotan, I thank God for Tim Pawlenty cause if it weren’t for him, Minnesota would have gone the way of California and New York in the past few years as far as higher taxes go. He’s currently the only statewide elected official in Minnesota with an ounce of sanity at all.
Pawlenty’s main drawback is that he has bought into this environmentalist crap. He’s been on the ethanol bandwagon and pushed for cuts in greenhouse gases. I haven’t heard his views lately though, and they may have changed after two back to back brutal Minnesota winters. I don’t think he came out in support of ‘cap and trade.’
All in all, he’s definitely a candidate worth considering. If he can stay away from the environmental nonsense, he will be right on most every issue.
I would keep my distance from this whole Family Research Council/Value Voters Summit/Dobson/Huckabee/Romney and their liberal friends mess. This is all of the devil and not so covertly aiding Obama.
God...You just destroyed your chance at credibility, what do you do for a living?
Welcome to FR.
Another big government Republican. No Thanks. These people love big gov. They are only upset because they are not in charge. Jeb Bush is lurking out there too. Not one of them has REDUCED government. They just want to manage it better.
“God...You just destroyed your chance at credibility, what do you do for a living?”
All I said is that Pawlenty is worth considering. And, I gave you a run down of his positions and acknowledged his drawbacks. I even fully disclosed my bias in the fact that he’s from the same home town as me.
Truth be told, my first choice would be Palin, but if Pawlenty ended up being the guy on the ballot in 2012, I wouldn’t have a problem supporting him.
Thanks for being gentle, I may have sounded more harsh than I meant to or more accurately, should have.
It is too early to settle for people that are not conservatives.
Do you have interest in years before the 2012 election, trying to steer a conservative into that election cycle?
http://www.redstatenetwork.com/stories/featured_stories/gov_tim_pawlenty_makes_the_case_for_mccain
From this gal's perspective, besides his left-of-center political stances, the governor lacks a forceful presence, an absolutely necessary quality for our next leader.
Regards . . . Penny
I’d have to pass on Pawlenty, #1 he would have trouble delivering his home state.
I listened to the Pawlenty speech and I thought it was great. He has a novel concept which is to get more people over to our side vs. throwing read meat to the converted via facebook.
“Do you have interest in years before the 2012 election, trying to steer a conservative into that election cycle?”
Of course, the 2010 elections are top priority right now. I think if we send a strong message by electing tons of conservatives, that could bring more true conservatives to the 2012 election.
I think especially we need to make sure that we don’t elect high profile RINOS like Crist in FL. The message has to be made loud and clear next year that RINOS wont be tolerated in the 2012 primaries.
That said, I would expect people like Huckabee and Romney to take that and SOUND more conservative, but we know based on their records that they are frauds.
So, even after we send a message in 2010, we need to be discerning about these candidates in 2012. I would hope that Palin and Jindal both enter the 2012 race cause I think they are both genuine.
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