McCain's Vice President: Tim Pawlenty (redstate calling it for Pawlenty)

Right now though, every sign, signal, and background chatter indicates John McCain will pick Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota's governor, as his running mate.

UPDATE: A source close to the campaign now confirms for me that it "more likely than not" is Pawlenty. He does, however, caution me that the campaign does not actually want to leak tonight lest the Obama camp get too much of a chance to play the victim card with a sympathetic media.

Below the fold, I've compiled data on Pawlenty that you might find useful. Protecting the Unborn

Recognized as a pro-life leader by “Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life” *

Has appointed judicial conservatives to the bench, and recently drew praise from pro-life advocates for his appointment of Eric Magnuson as Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court *

Fought for and signed pro-life measures including: Woman’s Right to Know (requiring 24 hour waiting period and required information be provided before an abortion), a fetal pain awareness act (requiring notice and information regarding pain experienced by fetuses) and positive alternatives to abortion act (providing funding and support for organizations promoting alternatives to abortion). *

Achieved long-standing state goal of moving Minnesota out of the top ten highest taxed states according to the U.S. Census Bureau *

In 2003, resolved the largest budget deficit in state history and the largest budget deficit in the nation at the time (as percent of state budget) without raising taxes *

Vetoed all bills which increased taxes, including setting single session record for vetoes (34) by a Minnesota Governor *

Supported Performance Pay for politicians, which would dock the pay of state office holders if a balanced budget is not passed by the constitutional deadline *

Has keep state employment roles essentially flat during his 5+ years in office. *

Proposed and signed into law welfare reform that requires able-bodied people to seek work *

As majority leader in Minnesota legislature, fought for and achieved historic tax cuts. *

Supports an Initiative and Referendum Amendment to the state constitution to empower citizens to make and repeal laws

Required visa expiration dates printed on driver licenses for legal resident aliens *

Blocked passage of the DREAM Act which would have allowed in-state tuition for illegal immigrants *

Fought Minneapolis and St. Paul ‘sanctuary’ laws, which prevent police and other city agencies from inquiring about immigrations status *

Proposed state law enforcement task force to crack down on illegal immigration *

* Strongly supports constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage and authored statutory changes supporting traditional marriage as a legislator

* Established an office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to assist social organizations increase their effectiveness by gaining better access to the financial resources of state and federal governments

Developed and implemented nation-leading reforms in education, including performance pay for teachers. *

This article was written by Jason Lewis, local talk radio host that fills in for Rush. Pawlenty has definitely turned to the left. He and McCain have alot in common.

But in 2005, signs of his “progressive” instincts emerged. In a quest for new revenue, Mr. Pawlenty supported a 75 cents per-pack cigarette tax. He called it a “health impact” fee. No one was fooled. User fees are generally charged to ensure that those who use a government service pay for the cost of providing that service. In this case, however, it was obvious that smokers were just being tapped to fund health-care entitlement programs.

Following the tax hike, the governor pushed through a state-wide smoking ban in workplaces, restaurants and bars. Aggressive, Nanny-state government seems to be big with Republican governors these days — although policies such as smoking bans do little to stem the costly tide of state-run health care.

In 2006, liberal Democrats (there is no other kind here) proposed a universal health-care behemoth to cover all residents. Mr. Pawlenty responded with a more limited proposal to expand the state’s child health-care program, Minnesota Care, to cover all children. More recently, the governor’s Health Care Transformation Task Force recommended imposing a mandate — à la Massachusetts — on residents to buy health insurance.

On prescription drugs, Mr. Pawlenty set up the state’s RX Connect Program to import price-controlled Canadian drugs. The South St. Paul populist also advocated a temporary ban on ads paid for by pharmaceutical companies. Not exactly the stuff of which markets are made.

Not everything has been bleak for the right during Mr. Pawlenty’s tenure. Last session he vetoed several major spending bills pushed by the Democratic Farmer Labor Party; they were so profligate that his vetoes elicited barely a whimper from Minnesota’s reliably liberal media. Nevertheless, Mr. Pawlenty has presided over back-to-back biennial budget increases of 12.4% and 9.8% respectively. Last year the governor’s proposed budget survived essentially intact but still spent the state’s $2 billion surplus, with half the general fund increase going to education. Minnesota, with five million people, now has a biennial budget of nearly $35 billion.

Mr. Pawlenty’s proactive government stance extends to support for mass transit and sport stadium subsidies, as well as for hiking the state’s minimum wage, which is now $6.15 an hour for large employers (the federal minimum wage is $5.85). But it is education and the environment where Mr. Pawlenty hopes to establish his progressive bona fides.

He calls for accountability in education, but does little to buck the most powerful lobby in state politics, Education Minnesota. Indeed, Mr. Pawlenty has courted the unions, telling the Minnesota Business Partnership that “I can’t have the Republican governor talk about changing the school system without having the support and help of the teachers’ union and my friends on the other side of the aisle. It just won’t work.”

On the environment, Mr. Pawlenty imposed some of the most aggressive renewable energy mandates in the country. Other states will be requiring, in coming years, that energy producers get 20% of their electricity from “renewable” sources such as wind, solar or animal manure. In Mr. Pawlenty’s Minnesota, the state’s largest utility will be required to generate 30% of its power from renewable sources by 2020.

Mr. Pawlenty is using his influence through the National Governor’s Association to export his ideas across state lines. The NGA meets in Washington, D.C. next week. Look for Mr. Pawlenty to be on hand and stumping for renewable mandates.

In April, Mr. Pawlenty delivered the remarks that probably best reveal his views on the environment. “It looks like we should have listened to President Carter,” he told the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group. “He called us to action, and we should have listened. . . . Climate change is real. Human behavior is partly and may be a lot responsible. Those who don’t think so are simply not right. We should not spend time on voices that say it’s not real.”

At times it seems that Mr. Pawlenty’s first political instinct is to placate liberal critics, as he did following the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis last August. When Rep. James Oberstar, a Democrat, tried to exploit the tragedy that killed 13 people and injured 100 others — by blaming it on a lack of federal gas tax revenue — Mr. Pawlenty responded by calling for a state gas tax increase. Thankfully, the governor started backpedaling on that idea almost immediately after proposing it. He now promises to veto any tax increase to come out of the legislature this year (handing down one such veto yesterday).

That’s good. But it doesn’t mean that he’ll be able to deliver the state for Mr. McCain. In the run-up to Super Tuesday earlier this month, Mr. Pawlenty stumped hard for Mr. McCain only to watch as Republican voters delivered Minnesota overwhelmingly to Mitt Romney.

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