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16 Aug 2011 20:32

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U.S.: Ron Paul cops a move from T-Paw’s playbook

  • Tim Pawlenty may no longer be running for president, but his influence on the race continues to be felt. If you don’t believe us, check out this new Ron Paul commercial, which mimics Pawlenty’s wonderful Michael Bay-style campaign ads. Paul’s take is admittedly a bit more toned-down, but the general approach is the same–trick young (or disengaged) voters into thinking they’re watching a movie trailer, then flip it on ’em and start pitching the candidate. This ad appeals to electability, making the spurious claim that only Ron Paul can defeat President Obama in the general election. It’s an attempt to widen his appeal, which is devoted (to say the least), but still rather narrow. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 09:43

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Politics: Mitt Romney, fundraising machine; Newt Gingrich debt-saddled

  • $18.25 million the amount in donations that Mitt Romney received in the second quarter; the leading GOP candidate is pretty far ahead of the other guys
  • $1.2 million the amount in invoices that Newt Gingrich has; he’s paid them down by ten percent, but still has significant debt issues source
  • » Everyone else is kind of in the middle: With Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul hovering around the $4 million mark, and Herman Cain around $2.5 million, all pale in comparison to the Mittster, who is unemployed. Newt, who raised $2 million, was saddled with massive debt as a result of much of his senior campaign staff leaving; he has just $225,000 in the bank, which is extremely low. Newt, this presidential thing isn’t gonna work out.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 13:23

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Politics: Who’s to blame for the Minnesota government shutdown?

  • T-Paw Multiple liberal groups, including the Democratic National Committee, took shots at Tim Pawlenty’s record as Minnesota governor after the shutdown happened. “Tim Pawlenty failed Minnesota as Governor and now his failures are coming home to roost with a shutdown his policies are responsible for,” the DNC’s note said this morning.
  • not T-Paw However, if you asked Pawlenty himself, the 2012 presidential candidate has a completely different description of events. He blamed Democrats, particularly Gov. Mark Dayton, but noted his fiscal policies will help the state in the long run. “There’s going to be a variety of near-term impacts,” he said, “but the longer-term goal is what is most important here.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jun 2011 23:49

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Politics: Republican voters apathetic about presidential field

  • What’s more surprising: The fact that they actually included John McCain in the poll? Or the fact that McCain did twice as well as Tim Pawlenty?  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jun 2011 22:15

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Politics: Pawlenty’s extreme tax proposal

  • 73% Pawlenty’s tax cut for the 400 richest Americans source
  • » During his time as Minnesota’s governor, Tim Pawlenty staked out a few moderate stances. This is understandable, as Minnesota is a moderate state. But moderation doesn’t fly in the current incantation of the Republican party (just ask Mike Castle or Bob Bennett). It especially doesn’t fly for Republicans who want to be President, and perhaps no position is as sacrosanct to the modern Republican party as that of low taxes. Still, Pawlenty’s proposed tax plan is really extreme, even by supply-sider standards; for example, he proposes that millionaires alone receive a 41% tax cut. So, while it’s understandable that T-Paw wants quell the concerts of Republican primary voters by tacking to the right, we wonder if he really needed to adopt a tax plan that, in the words of Ezra Klein, “makes George W. Bush look like Robin Hood.”
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 23:31

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Politics: T-Paw backs off “ObamneyCare” line

  • [Pawlenty] choked at a critical moment when he wouldn’t repeat the criticisms he’s made of Romney to his face…if you criticize someone when they’re not around, be ready to say it to their face. If you’re not, you’re just not for real.
  • Josh Marshall at TPM • On Pawlenty’s refusal to repeat the phrase “ObamneyCare,” which he coined last Sunday, during tonight’s debate. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 16:09

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Politics: 2012 Election: Will T-Paw finally put his name in the hat?

  • YES Tim Pawlenty is officially running for President source
  • » The least surprising item of the day: It’s not as if anybody really doubted that Tim Pawlenty would be running for President, as he’s made that rather abundantly obvious the last year or so (the title of his recent book, Courage To Stand, basically says all you need to know about his ambitions). However, the timing of this official announcement works to Pawlenty’s favor — it comes quickly after the GOP was set reeling by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’ decision not to run. Suddenly facing down a field with virtually no electable candidates, save the primary-vulnerable Mitt Romney, Pawlenty is in a prime place to gain ground, if he can get a little buzz going. A tip from us to T-Paw, though — you don’t have a southern accent, and it’s weird to try to pretend otherwise.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

20 May 2011 13:50

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U.S.: Pawlenty set to announce 2012 presidential bid

  • Tim “Michael Bay” Pawlenty reportedly plans to announce his presidential bid Monday. We hope he wins the nomination, because it would be an epic election season with T-Paw’s overproduced ads like this. It seems like he’s taking his own advice, and getting off the sideline. He’s going to need a lot of money to keep making ads like that, though — we can’t wait to see his 2012 election trailer that will undoubtedly go with the announcement. Robots? Explosions? Dramatic music? T-Paw has it in spades. In fact, we’d argue he’s a Republobot. (pic via Gage Skidmore‘s Flickr page) source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2011 10:33

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Politics: Tim Pawlenty: Get off the sideline, GOP! BEAT THIS OBAMA GUY!

  • I think it’s time to say, ‘It’s time to get off the sideline.’ We’ve got less than a year and a half to beat him … and it’s going to take all of us going full tilt to beat him.
  • Tim Pawlenty • Coming up with a line which could perhaps be a rallying cry for the GOP over the next year and a half. “It’s time to get off the sideline” would also work as a rallying cry during the third quarter of a football game. T-Paw could totally be the new Michael Irvin! But in all seriousness, this is a good line. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Apr 2011 15:52

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Politics: 2012: Are Pawlenty’s over-the-top campaign ads working?

  • The same day President Obama announced his reelection campaign, GOP hopeful Tim Pawlenty put out another Bruckheimer-esque ad for his own 2012 run at the White House. This has all the charming affectations we’ve come to expect from Pawlenty’s ad shop, which is attempting (transparently, though not unwisely) to paint T-Paw as a more exciting candidate than he’s generally thought to be. We actually think Pawlenty is running a pretty smart campaign, despite the superficially goofy feel of these ads. Whereas nobody took his campaign seriously at its outset, some beltway types are now coalescing around the notion of Pawlenty as the wisest, or at least most plausible, choice for the GOP in 2012. Of course, winning over voters in New Hampshire is a different story entirely. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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