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Tim Pawlenty is Starting a Federal PAC. Add Him to the 2012 GOP Presidential Contender List.

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  October 1st, 2009 at 08:16 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Tim Pawlenty is on the phone with me now. A few of us were asked to get up early and be on a conference call this morning. We did not know what it was about.

Now we know. He is starting a new leadership PAC as he heads out the door of political office.

His PAC is going to be called the Freedom First PAC. The particular focus will be “on re-elevating the principles of freedom and liberty first . . . in the political discussion.”

This sounds very much like the first step toward a run for the White House in 2012. Everyone sets up a leadership PAC to fund other campaigns and, in effect, buy support.

He says he wants to do outreach to younger voters and also to demographic areas that haven’t really gotten the conservative message.

“Overburdensome taxes and regulations” will be one focus of the PAC as those issues hurt freedom and deprive people of economic liberty.

He also talks about school choice and families “locked into school systems that are failing them.”

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  • dhorowitz3

    While there will be a vigorous debate about his conservative crudential there is one thing I don’t understand from the beginning. I remember waiting with baited breath to here Pawlenty speak at the convention in Minn. being that he was so highly touted as a potential POTUS. I was shocked by what I saw. He had less charisma than John McCain. He seemed way out of leauge for what is needed to excite a party for the presidential nominationan regardless of his political views. Am I missing something? Has he given exciting speeches.

  • mbecker908

    And I don’t think we really know much of anything about Pawlenty. He has done some interesting things in MN, and with respect to his charisma, he apparently knocked it out of the part at the VV forurm last week.

  • bk

    I wonder if in 2012 being a low-key kind of boring candidate will carry the day. After all, we tried the “I can read great speeches off a teleprompter” guy. Maybe 2012 will be the year when people listen to someone who says, “Hey I might not be as polished a speaker as some other folks, but I guarantee you I will be as good as leader as that other guy is in just talking about how great he is. People want someone who will get things — make that get the RIGHT things — done, and (again unlike that other guy) I have an actual record that proves it.”

  • Scope

    “he knocked it out of the part”?

  • dhorowitz3

    we are all having a spelling problem today. I have a bad habit of typing too fast.

  • mbecker908

    More appropriate snotty I can’t recall, and I did deserve that. However, in defending the indefensible I would point out that while I used the wrong word, it WAS spelled correctly, thanks to Firefox.

  • MNConservative

    I’ve had the pleasure of voting for Governor Pawlenty, and have even met him and shaken his hand. Great guy!! He’s held the line on taxation and spending against the hoardes of DFL (Dumb F*** Liberal) Morons in St. Paul, wielding his veto pen like a broadsword. I give him his due credit.
    However, be warned: Pawlenty buys into the global warming hype, supports ethanol subsidies, and was a big McCain supporter. Those are the issues he’s going to have to overcome to gain the support of conservatives.

  • Right Reason

    . . .let’s not start this again. Can we please get behind a candidate who can effectively carry out conservative prionciples and forget all the “tingle down my leg” bulls**t, PLEASE?!!!!!!

    An “exciting speech”, might be what gets you going, but a truly conservative candidate is what gets me going. It’s up to US, the rank and file conservatives, to generate the excitement.

    I’m not touting any particluar candidat at this point. I’m just saying we have to find the guy who walks the walk and put him over the top, instead of settling for the “guy who can win” and convincing ourselves that he’s really a conservative.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    The only people who weren’t supporters of our nominee were RiNOs.

  • azaeroprof

    We must have someone who can do both. It doesn’t matter if you’re the greatest conservative governor (small ‘g’) if you cannot get elected.

    Personally, I’m willing to give Pawlenty a chance, but what I’ve seen so far doesn’t get me going at all. And that includes *both* charisma and conservative governance.

  • azaeroprof

    Pawlenty is nothing if not a team player, to his credit. And he handled being the supposed #2 choice for VP with a lot of class. He didn’t send his people out to backbite Sarah Palin like some other potential 2012 GOP nominee.

  • MNConservative

    And it turns out he was a pretty bad pick, wouldn’t you agree?

    Next time let’s not have the MSM make our pick for us!

  • Aaron Gardner

    Fred Thompson campaigned for McCain after he was selected as the R nominee, does that make Fred less conservative?

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    And the press didn’t pick our nominee. The primary voters did.

    He bested his opponents, plain and simple. Then the party supported him as the party does.

    So I don’t see what your point is at all by bringing him up in a Pawlenty discussion.

  • dhorowitz3

    As a conservative I agree 100%. I would take a solid contitutionalist any day even if he is as boring as hell. (not that I believe Pawlenty is such a person). But do you think that will resonate with enough people?

  • dhorowitz3

    doesn’t believe in the global warming crap which is the most consequential issue for conservatives. It is the biggest threat to our free market, prosperity, super power status, and individual liberty. If any issue should be a litmus test it is this one.

  • dhorowitz3

    http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/14167711.html
    Pawlenty urged congress to curb “greenhouse gas emissions”.

    Enough said.

  • Aaron Gardner

    No I didn’t. What I am saying is that you can’t dismiss Pawlenty simply because he supported the Republican candidate for President.

    If I had wanted to address Pawlenty’s green thumb I would have replied to the first comment, not the second.

  • http://andrightlyso.com/ civil_truth

    …if so, then you may have a valid criticism, MNConservative.

    On the other hand, if Pawlenty was behind McCain in the general election, that’s being a loyal party member and is a good thing (unlike our Republican “moderates” who refuse to support conservatives in the general and who try to push them out of primary campaigns rather than letting the voters decide).

  • dhorowitz3

    for the context. I agree with you on that point. Its the other thing raised by MN conservative that I was reffering to. I know that we will not get a perfect nominee who is solid on every last issue. But my gosh, If we elects a guy who buys into this carbon crap we will lose everything.

  • Scope

    http://www.globalclimatescam.com/?cat=41

    “Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has been leading the charge for increased ethanol mandates. During his tenure as chairman of the National Governors Association, he advocated increased ethanol usage nationally and in 2005, he signed a law doubling Minnesota’s ethanol mandate from 10% to 20% by 2013. Only people on the far margins of the political spectrum oppose ethanol he said.”

    http://minnesotaindependent.com/8485/on-global-warming-pawlenty-the-mccain-surrogate-distances-himself-from-pawlenty-the-governor

    Didn’t many have a problem with Romney for his flip-flopping? Is it something about Republican Governors in Blue States? I believe in the first article linked above, he is not only for “ethanol mandates” but also advocates for Cap and Trade. It will be interesting to see what or if he has anything to say about the soon to come up Cap and Trade Bill in the Senate. I remember well how most Redstaters and American citizens felt about the House Cap and Trade Bill that passed, and, I suspect that we will all feel the same about the Senate version. Does Pawlenty agree that the Coal Industry needs to die, and does he agree with Obama’s statement that Cap and Trade “will necessarily skyrocket energy prices”?

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a97T5pGNMgp8&refer=home

    This article quotes some of Pawlenty’s remarks at this years CPAC convention-

    “Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has a message for his fellow Republicans: Get over Ronald Reagan. The old Republican orthodoxy of limited government, lower taxes and conservative social policies needs an update if the party hopes to challenge Democrats on issues such as health care, energy and education, he said.” “In a straw poll at CPAC- Pawlenty came in after Romney, Jindal and Palin among others.” My own observation- Palin wasn’t even there.

    Many here believe that it takes someone with both style and substance to connect with the citizens. From a comment above, Pawlenty has no style, and I believe he isn’t sure of what substance he should try to portray.

    No Thanks Governor Pawlenty, I’m not buying what you are selling, even if you do have an epiphany.

  • texas214

    I couldn’t vote for him until he gets rid of that ridiculous dye job on his hair. No way could he be POTUS with that.

  • Right Reason

    We’ve got to do some of the resonating. Recent events show that we can’t count on the national party to do it for us. We, if we are to consider ourselves conservative activists (remember, the first part of that is “active), are the ones who have to change the debate.

    I think the last few months have more than proven that the American people are ready for a government that does what it’s supposed to do, and nothing more. The question is, will we give them the candidate that can deliver that, or will we give them the “I’m not Obama” candidate?

    Conservative credentials alone may not get a candidate elected. But electability is no reason to overlook the fact that they are lacking.

  • Richard Mullins

    Ace but he seems to stay in his own little world. Really, the reason McCain became the nominee is because of the fact the others were weak and unelectable. The Primary system works well when it comes to sorting things out.

  • MNConservative

    Actually, that’s what I meant originally. Pawlenty supported McCain in the Primary. If we were to discount anyone who supported McCain in the General, we’d be up a creek.

  • Right Reason

    . . .hair grooming habits are practically a window into the political soul.

  • MNConservative

    January 2008 – Pawlenty was co-chair of the McCain campaign.
    http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/01/09/minnprez/

  • Ben White

    Tim Pawlenty didn’t believe in Freedom First when he signed anti-smoking bills and tax increases on cigarettes — despite making a no taxes pledge.

    He was a huge supporter of John McCain in the Republican primaries in 2008. This alone should disqualify him for any serious consideration as a conservative. No one who supported John McCain in the primaries should be listened to until they acknowledge their error and claim to have learned where they went wrong.

    Tim Pawlenty is not a leader and not a conservative.

    He’s a pretty good governor in pretty bad state. He’s mostly held the forces of envy and decline at bay here in Minnesota, but he hasn’t made any headway toward improvement here and he doesn’t lead.

    Unless he has changed in some fundamental way since 2008, he’s not what America needs in a president.

  • Scope

    HORSERACE

    Tim Pawlenty Gets Called Up to the Major Leagues

    Few political figures have rolled out political action committees to greater fanfare than Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty did today. Pawlenty, whose term ends in January 2011, seemed to be punching above his weight today ? featured on Drudge, a big profile on Politico, lots of bloggers on conference calls today. It?s no secret that I liked Patrick Hynes, Liz Mair, Mindy Finn and Patrick Ruffini before they signed on with Pawlenty; they clearly figured out how to generate maximum attention for the debut of Tim Pawlenty?s Freedom First PAC.

    Pawlenty is an exceptionally nice guy, so I hesitate before uttering a discouraging word. But I?d note that as he aims to raise his profile on the national stage, I think even his supporters could concede he?s not exactly a whirling dervish of raw charisma and almost nothing he said today was terribly groundbreaking or stood out: the danger to liberty from ?even well-meaning bureaucracies?, the fact that freedom requires the public to feel safe, the ability to pursue economic opportunity, and access to education and the ability to learn skills; the importance of reminding public that the promises that the other side makes are not free. He called the failure of schools to help students in disadvantaged communities is ?the civil rights issue of our time.?

    All good stuff, of course, but I was reminded of a conversation I had a few months ago with a top strategist for one of the Republican candidates of last year. He liked Pawlenty, but said he couldn?t describe himself as a believer: ?Do you see Tim Pawlenty being the guy who gets up on a stage in fall of 2012 and rhetorically wins an argument against Barack Obama? No matter how hard I try, I just can?t see it.?

    Asked about a presidential run, Pawlenty responded, ?Both legally and practically, that?s not what the PAC is geared towards? Nobody, including me, should be focused on 2012. We should be focused on the elections in 2010 and 2009, and we have two important governor?s races this year. I?m working my tail off to help both, I?ve campaigned in both of those states for both of those candidates.? Freedom First PAC will hold its first fundraiser in Minneapolis in November.

    It was the appropriate answer, but you don?t launch a PAC to help other Republicans and hire Bush and McCain folks if you have no interest in running for president. Perhaps, come 2012 (really 2011), after four years of soaring speeches that never led to any serious improvements, there will be a real appetite for a modest, soft-spoken Midwesterner in the Oval Office. But as effective as the ?celebrity? charge was against Obama, that endlessly-praised rhetoric, those grandiose promises, and the atmosphere of ?celestial choirs? that Hillary mocked still won the election.

  • http://xmmlbchat.blogspot.com katesmith

    The issue of greatest urgency is to stop cap and trade which is ripe for organized crime. Pawlenty not only wouldn’t stop it, he’s a salesman for it. His state mandated biofuels caused school bus engines to break down, kids left freezing on the corner, and school canceled the next day. If anything, he should be impeached and forced to reimburse the state for all biofuel damages. No doubt Goldman Sachs would hire him. “Biodiesel fuel woes close Bloomington Schools,” 1/16/09, Star Tribune.

  • aesthete

    I don’t really care if someone believes in anthropogenic global warming, but rather, in what their policy is concerning said problem. For example, I think that the poverty and corruption in latin american countries are absolutely horrifying, and to that extent, “believe” in third-world poverty. I don’t, however, think that the US govt. should get involved there. Is Pawlenty’s stance on global warming similar, or at least Newt-like?

  • aesthete

    Another candidate throwing his hat into the ring in an oversaturated race for an election that won’t be held for three more years. Outstanding. /sarc

    Though, to give Pawlenty credit, at least he isn’t announcing his candidacy right out of the gate, as Romney and Huckabee did.

  • Common_Cents

    As a MN resident I’m pretty skeptical of TPaw having what it takes to go all the way at this point. I am open minded and will support nearly anyone against Zero of course.

    The biggest factor that may help him is how much damage Obama does and the “anyone but Obama” factor by election time. I agree there could be blowback to the “slick, rockstar, TOTUS” route, just so we don’t settle for another good ol boy like Carter.

    As for MN, not sure what we have in the water here but I’ll continue to drink bottled water to be safe. DFL – Dumb F**** Liberals LOL. Minnesota Nice……