By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: April 15, 2009
ST. PAUL — Ask Tim Pawlenty, the Republican governor of Minnesota, to describe the road that will bring his party back to power, and he offers a quick response.
“Some of it will be the inevitable pendulum swinging back,” he said. “The Democrats, being in full control of the White House and Congress, will inevitably overplay their hands. It is the predictable thing that happens when you have total power. They will go too far, and there will be an inevitable reaction to that.”
With that, Mr. Pawlenty settled back in a chair in his office here the other afternoon, realizing the problem with a strategy that is ultimately only reactive: In order for the Republicans to succeed, the Democrats will have to fail. “Feeding off what they do wrong is not a strategy,” he said. “We may get some tailwind from that, but it can’t be the central tenet of our strategy.”
At a time when Republicans are struggling to find new leaders — and to lay out a case against a popular president with big ambitions — Mr. Pawlenty’s ruminations reflect the dimensions of his party’s challenge.
At 48, Mr. Pawlenty, who has never served in Washington, is a potential new face for the national Republican Party. He is at the center of what the party’s leaders see as a critical debate: how to recover when the party is viewed so unfavorably by much of the public. Mr. Pawlenty is the two-term Republican governor of a swing state; he was on the short list of possible running mates for Senator John McCain of Arizona last year; he is frequently mentioned as a potential presidential candidate in 2012.
Mr. Pawlenty said that he is far from making a decision about whether to run for president, or for that matter, re-election next year as governor. But it was clear in the course of the conversation that he is thinking about ways to take on the Democratic Party in general and Mr. Obama in particular.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Associated Press: Republican governor blasts Obama budget
WASHINGTON (AP) — A possible White House contender in 2012 said in the GOP's Saturday address that President Barack Obama and the Democrats who run Congress should lower taxes and hold down spending.
"Let hardworking American families keep more of what they earn by cutting taxes and reining in spending," said Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn. "It's just common sense."
He said Democratic president's budget will require higher taxes and unfairly loads debt onto future generations. Pawlenty also said Obama has talked about tax relief, but his budget suggests he'll be raising taxes.
"I thought President Obama's proposal to eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses was a pretty good idea. And his pledge to lower taxes for middle-class Americans was something Republicans wholeheartedly supported," Pawlenty said. "But the budget that Congress is considering doesn't provide that tax relief."
Click here to read the entire article and to watch the video.
"Let hardworking American families keep more of what they earn by cutting taxes and reining in spending," said Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn. "It's just common sense."
He said Democratic president's budget will require higher taxes and unfairly loads debt onto future generations. Pawlenty also said Obama has talked about tax relief, but his budget suggests he'll be raising taxes.
"I thought President Obama's proposal to eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses was a pretty good idea. And his pledge to lower taxes for middle-class Americans was something Republicans wholeheartedly supported," Pawlenty said. "But the budget that Congress is considering doesn't provide that tax relief."
Click here to read the entire article and to watch the video.
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