Tim Pawlenty's cup of tea
Washington (CNN) - Expect Tim Pawlenty this weekend to praise the tea party movement and call for holding the line on government spending and taxes as he headlines an inaugural policy summit being put on by one of the nation's largest national tea party groups.
The former Minnesota governor and probable Republican presidential candidate is keynote speaker Saturday at the event, titled "American Policy Summit-Pathways to Liberty."
The three day summit is being put together by the Tea Party Patriots, a national grassroots coalition which says it has more than 3,000 locally organized chapters and more than 15 million supporters nationwide.
"Governor Pawlenty will thank the Tea Party movement for their energy and passion, and give them well deserved credit for this fall's victories. The Tea Party's efforts resulted in Nancy Pelosi losing the speaker's gavel, and electing Republican leaders like Governors Walker, Kasich and Haley," a Pawlenty adviser tells CNN.
"The Tea Party is concerned with holding a line on taxes and spending, and restoring limited government - all priorities for Governor Pawlenty. The Governor will reiterate his call to hold the line on the debt ceiling, repeal Obamacare and stand up to public employees' unions. He'll talk about his record of conservative success in a liberal state like Minnesota, and share stories about cutting spending and taxes, and standing up to public employees unions," adds the adviser.
Pawlenty's Saturday in the spotlight will come just two days after he strongly threw his support behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Pawlenty's political action committee launched a website praising what he called Walker's "tough choices" in trying to strip the collective bargaining rights of some public service union workers. It appears Pawlenty, as well as some other possible contenders for the GOP presidential nomination, are using the standoff in Wisconsin to highlight their own conservative credentials.
Tea Party Patriots announced one week ago that Pawlenty would keynote their event. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and businessman and radio talk-show host Herman Cain - who are also considering bids for the White House - are also speaking at the event, which organizers say will bring tea party supporters and public policy analysts together for briefings, discussions and policy debates. The summit is being held as tea party activists mark the second anniversary of their movement's birth.
"This summit will be an important opportunity for Tea Party Patriots to come together to celebrate and recommit to the ideals and values that are responsible for the dramatic victories in the November election," said Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, in an e-mail release last week.
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Definitely yes, since we now know that government employees are getting high wages, pensions and benefits paid from tax dollars. They make more than the private sector. Of course these people and Unions are pro higher, raise taxes to the private sector, businesses and the "rich" so that they can continue to receive all these goodies and Unions get their fees paid by our tax dollars. While everyone else has to pay for what they get and as it turns out it is less than government employees get.
Pawlenty is just a shameless panderer. Thank God he did not run for re-election in MN.
How can the Koch Bros. support all these pretenders to the throne. Man, they must really have lots of money and don't have to pay any takes as a small business. Kind of a Nation wide Boss Tweed and Tamany Hall setup. Thanks SCOTUS !
This candidate is too influenced by religion to be a good candidate for President. I truly hope that we do not jump from the frying pan, into the fire.
Wow! Stupid IS! This is sad that our system is beset by Republicans that think the best way out of a recession is to eliminate more jobs and take away workers protections so they can further the system that caused the economic collapse in the first place. We didn't have a deficit problem before Reagan.
Pawlenty is just another republican loser with no ideas, no solutions, no nothing. Who cares what he has to say?
CNN pushed Sarah Palin till she SEEMED to be accepted, now they are focusing on a P.O.S that is worst than her. I should know I live in Minnesota. I see first hand the mess this creep made of our state.
"The former Minnesota governor and probable Republican presidential candidate is keynote speaker Saturday at the event, titled "American Policy Summit-Pathways to Liberty."
Not sure what "pathways to liberty" Pawlenty is embracing ... he never did know one end from the other when he was Governor, so little has changed in that aspect. Taking away liberties might be more appropriate, but never underestimate a GOPers ability to lie and distort the truth. Watching him transform himself from Moderate to Conservative to TeaPer has been interesting. Not much common sense in continuing to push your voting base under the bus, but Tim seems to have that down to a T now. Wonder who will be left to vote for him, as busy as he is in running away from one voting block after another so he can begin sucking up to the next. But, that's Tim for you; never able to quite figure out what he stands for. And folks think Obama is an appeaser.
It's easy to say = stop spending = What needs to be done is the budget reworked. Start with using the money collected for Social Security is used for Social Security and the same with Medicare. Cut every department by modest amounts and then start the deeper cuts. Those cuts will then come from defense, waste and other porgrams not listed as entitlements.
I want my tax dollars to go towards feeding free meals to children in schools; community medical clinics; free meals to the hungry; improving low income neighborhoods instead of my tax dollars paying Union fees and going to government workers making more money, benefits for the same job in the private sector.
Tim Pawlenty's Liberty: believe what I tell you is right.
He's foolish to asociate himself witht the Tea Party.
Little Timmy has sold his soul to become a tea party fascist.
Pawlenty is from a "a liberal state like Minnesota?" You mean the state with the folks who keep re-electing Michele Bachmann? The state that elected Jesse "The Body" Ventura as one of Pawlenty's predecessors? Has Pawlenty ever told the truth about anything?
All he really HAS to do is explain how he, the Tea Party and the Republican Party are going to create more jobs without bating the trickle down drum anymore. You know, THE issue they raised constantly during the last election to scare people and get themselves elected. Unfortunately for this new batch of lying Republicans, everyone will be watching and listening very carefully this time around. So, if you can't walk the walk...
If pawlenty would just be himself, he'd be viewed as unaccomplised as a governor, and might have appeal to the independents – but he hopped on the crazy train to pander to the teahadists.
The backbone of the TEA party are RV driving retirees with nothing but time and money on their hands. Did you ever notice the large number large, expensive RV`s in the background. They soon became aware of it and carefully chose their backgrounds. They also were parking their RV`s some distance from the rally.
Oh please.....Tim Pawlenty left MN in a mess as govenor-with a 6 billion dollar deficit. Our schools have reached hard times because of his lack of funding. Americans need to be aware that the rich that the redumblicans support would be lost without the middle class. The middle class are the ones that made them rich. Voters beware......
Funny but I seem to remember Minnesotans weren't too happy with this guy. Guess pretending to be a centerist while trying to push through far-right economic policies didn't work so well for him. Lucky he can go hide in the Tea Party echo chamber so real people have a chance to fix real problems in a real way without the distraction of his never-never-land pro-corporate anti-people right-wing liberatarian ideological nonsense.
Hey - I wonder if there's room for *our* Governor, Scott Walker, at that conference? God knows he's not solving any problems here; far from it.