Over the past couple of weeks there has been increased postulating about who McCain will pick for VP. On the short list and getting more press as of late, is Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota.
If you’re not from Minnesota you’re probably asking “who the heck is Tim Pawlenty” and “Should I be happy or scared?” I feel a little bit like Yenta when I say “You could do worse!”
You can see a bit more of Pawlenty’s history here. Of particluar note is that Pawlenty has come out of the southern ‘burbs. This area of Minnesota is known for being conservative’s conservative territory. We’ve elected John Kline (kicking out a longterm, embedded Democrat) for the past 2 terms and likely again this, and supported Bush 55%/45% in ’04 (don’t snicker, remember, this is Minnesota!).
Pawlenty’s political claim to fame includes:
- Being the House Majority Leader that led tax cuts while surviving Jesse Ventura’s hubris.
- Being a solid party person as he has twice stepped out of campaigns that he would have been a significant contender, if not winner in, because the Republican party preferred someone else. The most recent of these gave us Norm Coleman as Senator.
So where’s the downside? First, Pawlenty has been completely sucked in by Gorebal Warming. He established the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group. These folks have come up with all kinds of good ideas like: basing insurance on the number of miles you drive and adopting the California emmission standards (yeah, the standards that even California can’t adopt). Fortunately, Pawlenty has tossed most of this to the side but the fact that he is even dabbling here tells me that he just can’t avoid looking at the polls.
Second, taxes. Pawlenty has been OK on taxes. As I mentioned, he led the charge to reduce income taxes back when he was Speaker of the House. However, while he has thus far held the line on “no new taxes,” every time an issue of taxes comes up he appears to waffle. Following the collapse of the 1-35W bridge last fall, all people politic were scrambling to figure out how they were going to pay not only for this one but for replacing all a ridiculous number of bridges in the state as “don’t cha know, they’re all falling down.” As the Democrats looked to use the event as an opportunity to raise every tax they could get their hands on i.e. gas tax, sales tax, motor vehicle fees, Pawlenty “reached across the aisle” and intimated that he would be open to an increase in the gas tax. Fast forward to the current session and yes, the Democrats have it all on the board. Because the Democrats control both houses, the increases will pass. The question will be whether a: Pawlenty will veto them and b: whether he will actually rally the Republicans to sustain the veto. My thinking is that “A” will definitely happen and if he really wants to be McCain’s VP “B” had better happen. I don’t think McCain is going to pick someone who is questionable in an area where he is already considered mushy.
Summary, like I said, you could do worse. I view Pawlenty as very McCainesque; he’s a conservative but gee, I wish he was an unquestionable conservative.
Update: Yet another article about Tim Pawlenty.
You’ve summed up my sentiments exactly. I live in the southern suburbs as well (Bloomington, moving to Burnsville in a week and a half) and have liked most of what I’ve seen out of Pawlenty. I keep reminding myself that he’s the governor of a pretty liberal state and that probably influences him, and to a certain extent, a governor does have to reach across the aisle when the Democrats have a majority in both houses.
I think he’ll stay strong on the gas tax increase. However, you bring up a good point about whether or not he’ll rally the conservatives. Whether he will or not, the conservatives will rally against this bill.