Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced today that he will not run for re-election in 2010.
Why should you care? For one thing, Pawlenty has long been considered a top contender for the Republican nomination for President in 2012, and deciding against re-election means he’ll likely be focusing his efforts on that, er, effort.
And as as “The Fix” reports, Pawlenty may now be more likely to hold up the seating of Al Franken in the U.S. Senate:
Pawlenty is under far less pressure to certify Democrat Al Franken as the winner in the Minnesota Senate race if the state Supreme Court rejects the election appeal of former Sen. Norm Coleman…
…Pawlenty can refuse to sign the election certificate for Franken — if Coleman wants to take the legal fight federal — and continue to raise his national profile by arguing (in his low key, inoffensive way) on a variety of televisions outlets that he is simply trying to ensure no legitimate votes are left uncounted, a GREAT issue for him in the eyes of GOP base voters.
That remains just as true today. So, if Coleman decides he wants to take the case to the federal level if he were to lose at the state court level, there’s now a significantly higher likelihood that Pawlenty would be receptive to such a move.
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when I first heard he wasn’t running.
He no longer has to worry about pissing off Minnesota voters. As a matter of fact, foot-dragging on the Franken seat might help him raise funds elsewhere.
By the way, I watched the Minnesota Supreme Court oral arguments yeterday, and I felt that it was far from a “gimmee” for Franken. While Coleman has the burden of proof and the Justices seemed to be fishing for some concrete legal basis to decide against him, I didn’t feel that Franken’s attorney did a good job of giving it to them.
Pawlenty will milk this for all it’s worth and the citizens of Minnesota can go screw themselves for all he cares. I’d be very surprised if the State Supremes do did not rule for Franken but that’s not the point for Pawlenty and the GOP. GOP now champions of counting every vote? You mean like in Florida in 2000?
how did you miss the tie-in to a Tancredo-Sotomayor conspiracy?
is my most loyal fan, responding to every comment I make albeit mainly with nonsequitors. Thanks for the devotion Libeturd (oops…tad!). I’m touched. Or maybe you are.
all the attention you’re lavishing on me, ‘turd. Quite the little devoted puppy, hanging on my every word. Being the center of your universe was cute for a while, but now I’m getting bored. Sorry. Hope you aren’t too crushed. Try to get over me.
I’m surprised you didn’t claim that Pawlenty and Tancredo are in a vast hate-filled racist conspiracy to block the Sotomayor appointment.
ps …Did you notice that Colman got 50% +-.00001% of the vote? Pissing off the voters will come easy to Stewart Smalley after he kicks his own ass a few times.
Your people try to screw average voters out of representation by filing frivolous lawsuits, then anybody who is outraged by that is guilty of “groupthink.”
Makes sense to me.
Tomorrow, try to get back on your meds. Then we won’t have to pretend to agree with you just for the sake of society.
your groupthink crowd has ranted about Bush-Gore.
Ah, not to worry this one will die soon, Stewart Smally will go to DC, and once there he’ll begin to kick his own ass in front of the citizens of MN and the nation.
Franken will be a good, mainstream responsible Senator – once the will of the majority is finally recognized and Minnesotans get their second Senator.
Indeed, Mittens demonstrated how a GOP former governor of a blue state can try to get mileage out of trashing that blue state in appealing to the GOP base nationwide.
My prediciton: T-Paw refuses to certify Sen. Franken, although the U.S. Senate eventually (i.e., this summer) votes to seat Franken after he prevails in the state Supreme Court.
certifying Franken.
1. If he wants to run in 2012 for President, he needs to win his own state. That’s paramount. And a fairly hefty majority in the latest poll are calling for him to certify Franken and bring this bullshit to an end so MN can finally have two senators representing them. If he continues to let this string out, it directly affects him in a negative way. It may be a great issue for GOP voters but Minnesota has always touted its independence from either party and if he loses independent minded moderate Republicans, he loses his state in a 2012 primary.
2. The RNC has pumped 3/4 of a million dollars into Coleman’s appeal. It’s a tight economy, there’s an upcoming costly race for governor in VA and the Republican Party doesn’t have the dollars to continue to blow on Coleman’s ego.
It’s about denying the Democrats the 60th seat in the Senate as long as possible.
but not placing any bets. Have given up looking for rationality in the GOP.
Douse my hopes with a healthy dose of reality, why don’t ya. 🙂
If I was a registered MN voter – I’d be po’d that the governor is taking so long.
If I was an Iowa precinct captain or caucus goer- I’d be worried about how committed to the voting process this guy is.
Sure, Fox and others can scream about counting every vote. but they were the same ones saying Franken should shut up and concede already in the hours after the election concluded. Their credibility is questionable at best.
If he certifies now- he looks like a leader.
If he continues to delay- he looks more and more like a party hack and a weak leader at best.
By the way, I saw in a Huffington Post article that he’s now saying that he will definitely sign, one the court rules. I think it’s mostly because Coleman is now saying he will step down (which is probably because he’s getting huge pressure from the Republican Party) but I still thought it was interesting that Pawlenty made a point of confirming that he’ll sign off on Franken.
Middle, I have no argument with either of your points, espescially about the impact not certifying Franken would have on Minnesota’s electoral votes, but….
I simply don’t know if Pawlenty’s handlers value Minnesota’s electorals more than the cred he gets with the lunatic fringe and the obstructionists by holding up the certification.
It’s possible that should he certify Franken, even if the Supremes call it for Al, he’ll be viewed as weak by the extreme right. And the extreme right usually drives red primaries.
But after seeing his announcement, I have no doubt he’s running. Couldn’t help but notice there was no mention of the I-35 bridge collapse, or that he vetoed the infrastructure bill that would have provided funds to avoid it.
isn’t going to win any national elections. So what sense does it make? A good fund raising tool to get more bucks out of the shrinking base even though the tool itself makes it impossible to win a national or even most statewide elections anymore? But Rocco has a point. In the fun house mirror world of today’s GOP it’s safer to dismiss what would make sense in the reality based world. Pawlenty more likely to continue to block Franken.
Unless you get the GOP nomination first. But you can’t get the GOP nomination unless you appeal to the right-wingers. But then you might not be able to beat Obama because of what you had to do to appeal to the right-wingers.
It’s a hell of a Catch-22 that affects candidates nationally and here in Colorado.
after the murderer killed that abortionist in KS the backlash on the anti abortion crowd will be strong.
The Goverment Taking policies of Obama and his effort to tax all Americans via a healthcare tax do contrast nicely with the will of Americans. Next he’ll want to tax the lawyers.
ps did ya hear Cheney’s for freedom and gay marriage?
Yep, that’s the point. The GOP has created this catch-22 for itself and won’t be able to escape it and get back in the national game without the kind of individual self-sacrifice for the party’s long term good that no pol is likely to make.
And how about the recent attempt to make an “I’m shocked…shocked” little scandal out of Obama keeping a promise to his wife and taking her to a Broadway show? How many of us did they expect to share their manufactured indignation over THAT? After Bush, the most vacationing President in history, flying all the way to Crawford Texas every 15 minutes?
The harder they pander to the hard core fringe, the sillier and more petty they
look to everybody else. Instead of Rove’s promised permanent majority, they’re stuck with the ultimate dead enders; grumpy, aging, get-off-my-lawn, white guys. Maybe they can found a kingdom in Texas after the secession. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gingrich, Rove DeLay (what ever happened to that indictment anyway?) can all live happily in their own non-reality based wack job Camelot. Until Mexico takes it back.
They were shocked that a President was actually enjoying a little culture after 8 years in the wilderness with a guy who thought “My Pet Goat” was fine literature.
Obama is elitist!!! ELITIST!!!!!!!!!!!
One day I’m going to write a diary about every hypocritical thing the GOP does. I mean, I can’t think of a single GOP talking point from the past 15 or 20 years that wasn’t some kind of hypocritical criticism of something the GOP was guilty of committing. I really believe that since Nixon it’s all about the ends justifying the means so it’s okay if they do it. Impeaching Clinton was nothing more than payback for Nixon. Deficits are great when we’re pounding Arabs but not if we’re trying to prevent a second Great Depression. And accomplished Democrats are elitist even while the ‘pubs keep sending bluebloods to the White House. All he has to do is act like an cowpoke who’s never been to college instead of the scion of a powerful family who went to both Yale and Harvard.
Sorry, I’m posting much longer comments today than I usually do…
That will be a novel the size of “War and Peace.” 🙂
And don’t apologize, Ari. I love reading your stuff.
that being average, no smarter, no more knowledgeable or intellectually curious about the world than Joe Six Pack on the next barstool (or, in GW’s case, Joe Dry Drunk) qualifies a person to be the leader of the free world. Then I wonder how on earth that wacky idea got so successfully sold to the public.
People who would never dream of asking the pizza delivery guy to pilot their next commercial flight or perform their next surgery suddenly thought being above average (you think you’re better than me?) was a disqualifier for most powerful position on earth?
One thing we have to thank GW for. It’ll be a long time before a majority of voters buys THAT one again. I’m guessing there will never be a President Palin.
It really is anybody’s guess. I always think that most politicians, no matter what party they belong to, put their self interest above everything, including what’s right, common sense and the good of the people or their own party. I don’t see any evidence that Pawlenty is any different.
Great final point, by the way. Amazing how soon they forget, no?
You know what ? The hell with this Minnesota-needs-two-Senators thing. I’m tired of looking at Norm Colemans teeth. There. I really am. Christ, you need sunglasses to look at those fucking things.
And I adore superficial. After reading your comment, I think I love you. 🙂
Great minds think alike Middle. Those teeth just aren’t natural. Freakish really.
which disturbs me greatly since I really like wolves.
Colorado should be the ONLY state to have 2 senators. All the other states should only have one.
I love that idea.
Well, I live it as long as Mike and Mark don’t smile too much.
Great job bluecat!!!!!!!!!!!!1
He’s way too sane and rational to win the GOP presidential primary.