Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
An editorial freshly up on the website of the Wall Street Journal:
One of the immutable laws of modern American politics is that no candidate who wants to win the Iowa Presidential caucuses can afford to oppose subsidies for ethanol. So
it's notable—make that downright amazing—that former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty launched his campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination Monday by including a challenge to King Corn.
"The truth about federal energy subsidies, including federal subsidies for ethanol, is that they have to be phased out," Mr. Pawlenty told a crowd in Des Moines. "We simply can't afford them anymore."…
"Conventional wisdom says you can't talk about ethanol in Iowa or Social Security in Florida or financial reform on Wall Street," he said. "But someone has to say it."
I'm not quite ready to join PJ in falling in love. For one thing, Pawlenty should have opposed ethanol subsidies in principle. And for another, I'm still only up to about stage two or three of the five stages of grief. Mitch, Mitch--oh, Mitch.
But now we know: Tim Pawlenty is more than a nice guy. He's bold, and he's shrewd, and he's willing to fight.
P.S. I owe all my friends here on Ricochet something of an apology. What with two sets of graduation events (one boy graduating from middle school and another from high school), a couple of writing deadlines, and baseball games, track meets, and tennis matches that I'd have been a bad father to miss--well, for several days now, I've fallen more or less silent. Sorry about that. You know it pains me to let Rob have his run of the place.
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Aug '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Too bad Tim didn't feel that way when he was governor.
A change of convenience perhaps?
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
As far as I can tell, there are exactly two Republicans with gubernatorial records that pass nearly every conservative test. One is Jeb Bush. The other is Mitch Daniels. (Yes, he raised taxes before cutting them. But so did Ronald Reagan when he was governor of California, and for the same reason: he faced a constitutional requirement to balance the budget.) Neither Bush nor Daniels is, alas, available. (I'm leaving out Christie. He's still too new to have much of a record.)
Pawlenty's far from perfect, and we'll all have to feel our way along here, deciding the extent to which the compromises he made as governor fall within an acceptable range--politics as the art of the possible--and the extent to which they suggest instead that he lacks principles, or backbone, or smarts. But standing in front of the Iowa capitol and calling for an end to ethanol subsidies--that takes a certain something, don't you think?
Oct '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
it's more difficult to govern as a conservative in Minnesota, but Pawlenty still got an A from Cato in 2006 and 2010 on fiscal policy.
May '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
He needs to build some name recognition. Right now, most people I know have no clue who he is.
I agree, though. It's a bold start. What this country needs is bold action.
P.S. Peter, your recent interview with Thomas Sowell easily makes up for any transgressions. What will it take to get that man on Ricochet?
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Believe me, I've asked. What the heck. I'll print your request and ask again. He is a great man, though, isn't he?
Aug '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Peter Robinson:
Pawlenty's far from perfect, and we'll all have to feel our way along here, deciding the extent to which the compromises he made as governor fall within an acceptable range--politics as the art of the possible--and the extent to which they suggest instead that he lacks principles, or backbone, or smarts. But standing in front of the Iowa capitol and calling for an end to ethanol subsidies--that takes a certain something, don't you think? · May 23 at 10:11pm
Don't get me wrong, Peter, I like Tim Pawlenty. He was a fine governor and held the gates against the Democrat hoards here in Minnesota.
I'm just reminding everyone that Tim is a politician, which tends to be the type of people you get running for president. Although name recognition may be a problem for him, I would have no problem enthusiastically supporting him if he gets the nomination.
Edited on May 23, 2011 at 10:36pmNov '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Aaron Miller:
P.S. Peter, your recent interview with Thomas Sowell easily makes up for any transgressions. What will it take to get that man on Ricochet?
Peter, may I make a (second) request for another Hoover colleague, Shelby Steele, to contribute a post to Ricochet? I know he is scheduled to appear on UnC, but sure do have an appreciation for his written word.
Edited on May 23, 2011 at 10:44pmOct '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Milton Friedman's line on politicians comes to mind. Electing good candidates will get you nowhere--what you need is to change the political environment, so bad candidates will do the right thing.
I don't think the GOP has any choice; we have to nominate a moderate to win a majority. We need a conservative-principled moderate (e.g. Danials, Christy, Ryan). Someone who knows how to govern, but won't create new prescript drug entitlements or massive education bureaucracies or blow up the federal debt. A Reagan, not a Romney.
May '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
I first got interested in Tim Pawlenty when--on the "member profile" thingy that EJ did, Duane (I think it was) recommended him highly. It made me think, "Hmm. I guess I really haven't given him enough consideration." Since then I've been warming up to him. Stanley Kurtz's passionate appeal in the Corner a week or two back pushed me further into his camp.
Here's hoping he stays true!!
Oct '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Indeed. A strongly principled candidate who acts with the best motives might be nice, but I'd settle for a feckless weathervane who spends their four years in office pandering to the Tea Party crowd.
Jan '11
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
In early 2008 presidential candidate John McCain, speaking early in the primary process, told a Michigan audience that some of their automobile manufacturing jobs were not coming back. For me, as an ardent free trader who sees this issue as vital to fiscal conservative credentials, I was left very pleased. It was a bold thing for a politician to say given the location and it stuck with me during Georgia's primary after my first two candidate choices had fallen from the race. So, Pawlenty's comment also impresses me because it is bold and unpopular yet, in my opinion, correct. I just fear [because of what I've read] that there could be too many squishy stances from Pawlenty to 'make up the difference'. I'm willing to give him a chance if he's still there when I go vote in the primaries but I'd like to see many more bold and correct things said by Pawlenty...or anyone else for that matter.
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Let's hope that he shows fire. This is a good start.
Oct '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Brit Hume: How formidable is Barack Obama in 2012?
http://video.foxnews.com/v/956512622001/brit-humes-commentary-how-formidable-is-obama-in-2012/?playlist_id=86927
Jun '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Let us hope that Mr. Pawlenty shows proper respect and deference for the values of the Tea Party. We delivered to the Republican party sixty-three House seats in the last election, and what did we get for it? There's a tsunami out there if only our candidate had the political acumen to ride it.
Apr '11
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
I've been a member of the Pawlenty fan club for a while now, maybe because I'm a regular visitor to the Powerline blog, which originates in Minnesota, and John Hinderaker of Powerline is a Pawlenty supporter. Also see this commentary from Erick Erickson at Redstate. If Pawlenty has the ability to unite a legal/economic conservative (Hinderaker) and a social issues kind of guy (Erickson), I think he'll go far.
Oct '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
I'm still trying to get over the fact that YOU have a boater. I can't get past it. It does explain something though...
Nov '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
A while ago someone (Rob?) mentioned that it would be really nice, for a change, to have a candidate who wasn't apt to put his foot in his mouth during a debate--so that for once we wouldn't have to sit on the edge of our seats, praying that our guy wouldn't say something really stupid. Does Pawlenty have that quality? Anyone?
Jun '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
"But now we know: Tim Pawlenty is more than a nice guy. He's bold, and he's shrewd, and he's willing to fight."
Very encouraging. I agree that he should have stated his opposition to the ethanol subsidies on principle, not just their cost. But it's still the most gutsy move any candidate has made to date.
Oct '10
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
I'm encouraged. He lacks the charisma of Chris Christie, but appears to be more conservative than the NJ governor.
Mar '11
Re: Our Man Tim? Could Be. Could Very Well Be.
Peter - What did Bobby Jindal or Bob Riley do that I am not aware of? I thought they passed all the major test.
At first when I read the headlines on Pawlenty against ethanol subsides I was like great. However, when I read his actual statement, I thought it was next to worthless, he is a squish. His argument for being against them is only because we can't afford them due to the high debt. Nothing about the prevision or corruption of it or how bad Ethanol is compared to oil. Secondly, he says it should be done slowly so as not to cause undue harm. That position is no different than Obamas position that we can't afford to stop the debt increases because it would harm the economy.
Basically a hedged bet to win Tea Party votes but not worry the Farm lobby to much because any major decreases let alone total stoppages would be far into the future.