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Jul 3 2009, 10:02 am by Bob Cohn

The GOP's "Rebuilding Year"

If Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty runs for president in 2012 -- and early signs suggest he is beginning to lay that groundwork -- he'll have two clear things to offer: He's an affable Republican who's shown he can win a key state, and he's a fiscal conservative who's ready to exploit any backlash to Barack Obama's big government. In an interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival Thursday, Pawlenty presented himself as a bulwark against federal spending. "The country cannot sustain the level of financial commitments that we have now, particularly in the entitlement programs. If we don't change it, we're going to have the government equivalent of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, and it's going to come relatively soon." (Video of interview to be posted on TheAtlantic.com early next week, along with video of other interviews from the Festival.)

Pawlenty, who was on John McCain's short list for vice president, is on every great mention list for 2012 GOP candidates. "I don't know what I'm going to do be doing three years from now," demurs Pawlenty, who announced last month he will not run for a third term next year. He says he wants to travel the country and speak out on issues, but beyond that, "I don't know what my future holds."

Pawlenty acknowledged that the GOP is struggling. The president is popular, the Democrats control the government, and the GOP is the victim of several self-inflicted wounds, namely Ensign and Sanford. "If the Republican party were a sports team and the coach and general manager were sitting here, he or she would say, 'It's a rebuilding year. We gotta get some new draft picks, we gotta make some trades, we gotta do things differently.' "

One question is whether Pawlenty, a married father of two who's a convert to evangelical Christianianty, would be able to claim that his is the party of family values. Pawlenty insists it can, but concedes that Sanford makes this positioning more complex, at least for now. "For Republicans and others, if you say you're about one thing and you do something else, people don't like that. It's a basic fact of life...We're going to have to earn back the support of the American voter, that's for sure."

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Comments (7)

Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle

If Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty runs for president in 2012 -- and early signs suggest he is beginning to lay that groundwork -- he'll have two clear things to offer: He's an affable Republican who's shown he can win a key state, and he's a fiscal conservative who's ready to exploit any backlash to Barack Obama's big government.

Win a big state, huh? Do you know that Pawlenty never got more than 46.7% of the vote in either election? Or that he was the Governor when the I-35 Bridge collapsed? Do you think he wants people reminded of his conduct after the bridge collapse?

tcrosse

Wow. That's 4 percent more than Al Franken got.

Snowman

As a resident of Minnesota since the days or Arne Carlson (a real Minnesota Republican) I can say that what Tim Pawlenty has done here is less than impressive.

His power grab - the unallotment for the new biennial budget - is unprecedented in our state. He has surgically sliced out the legislature in the fiscal process of our state.

And he has a record of appointing inept friends in senior administration positions. Carol Molnau at MN Dot (I-35 bridge indeed, Calvin!), two Pollution Control Agency heads have resigned under pressure for their ties to industry, etc.

He is far more skilled at messaging than Bush, but I see strong shades of Bushie-ness in how Pawlenty runs govt. Very stubborn, doesn't work well at all with legislators, is interested in accumulating and concentrating power, and appoints insiders who are not necessarily good at their jobs.

I hope some journos start visiting here and really start digging into his record of how he governs. It's not pretty. He just tarts it up well by doing TV and radio well.

We don't need to have a younger, hockey-playing, ready-for-media version of W as the next Republican presidential candidate.

rixt

The GOP has shown no more leadership or fiscal responsibility than the fascist liberal Democrats. The whole two-party-only system is the problem in this country, not the solution. The very same moneyed, plutocratic Oligarchists own all the politicians, regardless of which side of the Aisle they're from. The system is rigged and you can't play if you don't accept their pay. Career politicians are so far removed from what real life in American Society is about that they will never begin to do anything to improve your lives. The only trick they know is to stick their hands deeper into your pockets, and when they finally come up empty, you're no longer of any use (or of any interest) to them. Term limits might be a good start. One term, period, for ANY public office. If we don't get these career parasites of our backs, we are headed for the second coming of slavery in America.

Thomas Vu

Sounds like another George Bush Jr. Republican in the making. Yawn. Sure he might've been able to win Minnesota, but that was also before the Democratic sweep in 2008. No guarantees he can do it now if he decides to run for a third term.

And yes rixt, the Republicans are as bad as the far left Democrats on federal spending, so any Republican running on that platform has no advantage over Democrats. This is the perfect opportunity to start a third party.

zoltankemeny

Unless the Republicans plan to run a Gary Johnson or a Ron Paul (someone who would limit government and expand civil liberties) then they'll just be rebuilding a "Bridge to Nowhere" like their own Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin.

Mark Stevenson

As a life long Republican from Oklahoma, I have seen first hand, having been involved with state and national campaigns, it is an absolute grind to submit yourself to the scrutiny of the American public and run for office. Why men of such high caliber do the age old "I chased after some gal" is beyond me, (Sanborn). I dont know Pawlenty, and I have followed Palin with People Magazine interest, whoever steps in front of freight train that is The Press and the American people in 2012, better have a clean pair of underwear and M1 Abrahms Tank armor