Even Editorial Boards Laud Pawlenty's Spending Restraint

If the editorial boards around the state are singing Governor Pawlenty's praises for being fiscally responsible, and pulling back the reigns on government spending, he must have really done something remarkable when he line-item vetoed a bunch of pork out of the legislature's bonding bill earlier this week.

We’re probably starting to sound like a broken record, but thank goodness for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Someone in state government has to be an adult and that responsibility has been taken up by the second-term Republican. This week, the governor vetoed about $200 million in borrowing projects lawmakers had approved. This still left more than $700 million in the state bonding bill, but the weeping and wailing among legislators began before the veto ink had even dried. (emphasis mine)

. . .

The most important fact in all of this is that it isn’t just political gamesmanship. There are real consequences to the state overextending itself, especially in times of economic difficulty. Prolonging that difficulty is one reality. Creating a state that is a burden to taxpayers, instead of their ally, is even worse. (excerpts from editorial, click here to read entire piece) (Fairmont Sentinel: "Pawlenty puts limits on spending")

Thank goodness for Governor Pawlenty! There are real consequences to the state overextending itself. Creating a state that is a burden to taxpayers instead of their ally, is even worse.

Well written.

That's why we can't help but agree with the spirit, if not the manner, of Pawlenty's action. Among many legislators, there seems to be an attitude that the bonding bill doesn't involve real money, that even in a time when belt-tightening is happening everywhere, this statewide "jobs program" should be as big as possible. "Share the wealth!" and "We want our fair share!" seem to be the rallying cries, as city and state officials keep score of who received how much and fight to be first in line for the next round of handouts.

Does the bonding bill fund important projects? Absolutely. Would we favor nixing the whole concept? Absolutely not.

But we're more convinced than ever that when things get tight, Minnesota shouldn't keep charging things on its credit card as if unemployment were low, the stock market was soaring and homes were selling in six days, not six months. (excerpted from editorial, click here to read entire piece). (Rochester Post-Bulletin: "Pawlenty's message 'Show restraint, or I'll do it for you'")

Saying 'enough is enough,' drawing a line in the sand, blocking and tackling, or whatever visual one wants to put forward to describe the kind of restraint and fiscal discipline we have seen from Governor Pawlenty, he is THE leader (not just in MN, but around the country) in pushing a fiscally conservative agenda that respects the taxpayer.

How novel.

Thanks Gov!

Great Job Governor Pawlenty

Thank heavens for Governor Pawlenty. Once again, he has provided fiscal discipline when the DFL legislature was totally out of control. His actions to trim the bill from $925 million to $717 million show once again that he has his hand firmly on the reins of government. Great job Governor Pawlenty!

Click here to send an email to Governor Tim Pawlenty to thank him for his line-item vetoes.

Fiscal Sanity in St. Paul

We've witnessed, in Minnesota, some of the most dramatic and remarkable legislative overreach in a generation this 2008 legislative session.

Today, Minnesotans are paying over $3.00/gal. for gas, and part because of the largest tax increase in Minnesota History.

Yesterday, Governor Pawlenty once again stepped up to the plate, wielding his veto pen, and brought a little fiscal restraint and financial responsibility to St. Paul by line-item vetoing $208 million from a bonding bill that exceeded what the governor said was acceptable in this economic climate.

ST. PAUL -- A sizable chunk of the Legislature's borrow-to-build plan fell victim to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's line-item veto Monday, including high-profile mass transit, zoo and museum projects.

Pawlenty shaved $208 million from a bill authorizing $925 million in general debt for construction projects around the state. He had warned lawmakers not to give him a bill that big, but he cut individual projects rather than blocking the whole bill.

"Somebody has to be fiscally responsible. That job falls to me," Pawlenty said. (excerpt from article)

I suppose the argument will be made that Minnesota will be a lesser state without the funding that was vetoed for the brass sheet music lending library in Chatfield, or gorilla cages at the Como Zoo, but I think we'll survive.

At least the rhetoric after the line-item vetoes has remained respectful, professional and rational. (sarcasm)

"I want to know why the governor hates the people of St. Paul," said Senator Ellen Anderson.

Of course, it was this sort of rhetoric that lead to a pork-laden bonding bill far exceeding what the governor told legislators (such as Senator Anderson) before they put the bill on his desk in the first place.

Rep. Paul Kohls put it as succinctly and respectfully as it has been stated when he said, "The governor makes a compelling case that we can't bust the credit-card limit."


(NOTE: Significant difference between this statement and saying the governor HATES all the citizens of an entire city)

The truth is, we are entering a time of economic uncertainty. The time for exercising fiscal restraint and keeping a lid on taxes is now. (It is always actually)

There is a strong argument to be made that the Government should always forgo the convenient because it has no role in anything but the essential (and often times not even there).

Certainly it is responsible to forgo the convenient in a time of economic uncertainty.

Can we wait a year or so before we add a music lending library to the State's credit card?

Will the state survive if we don't wait until 2009 or later to put put gorilla cage on Minnesota's credit card?

The taxpayers are lucky that Governor Pawlenty has taken such a bold leadership role this session.

His opponents in the legislature seem to believe money grows on trees (possibly the trees growing in the gorilla cages they want to fund).

But Governor Pawlenty has stood steadfast and strong for the taxpayer. (a sentence I could cut and paste into everything we write about him).

With Gov. Pawlenty, MN Could Go GOP in Nov?

Chris Cillizza, author of the Washington Post's Blog "The Fix" has begun a series on states that may flip this November in the presidential race from the way they voted in 2004.

Of the current top ten, as Cillizza sees it, only two fall into the category of states that may go Republican even though they went Democrat in 2004. Minnesota is one of them, should Senator McCain have the foresight and wisdom to choose Governor Pawlenty as his running mate this fall.

The Fix’s Chris Cillizza announced on Friday that he’s going to begin dedicating his Friday Line to rating which states are most likely to flip from red to blue (or vice versa) in the presidential election. In last week’s Line, Cillizza offered his base-Line and predicted that eight of the 10 states most likely to flip were carried by George W. Bush.

9. Minnesota (Kerry 51%) – “If [Republican Gov. Tim] Pawlenty is picked [as McCain’s running mate], Minnesota is in play and could certainly move up the Line.” It’s no surprise the Republicans picked the Twin Cities for their Convention. (excerpted from Cillizza post. Click here to head post in its entirety)

John McCain has a lot of factors to consider when selecting his Vice Presidential running mate. He needs to consider geography (electoral college), loyalty, ideology and demographics. Cillizza is absolutely correct that choosing Pawlenty will help deliver Minnesota (he forgets in this post Iowa and Wisconsin).

We will continue to follow Cillizza and other analysts we Senator McCain moves through his decision making process.

Another Judicial Home Run

As we've discussed before, Governor Pawlenty has worked diligently to right the ship of state here in Minnesota, seeking to fundamentally shift the public policy paradigm on issue after issue after issue.

He has moved, albeit slowly by necessity, some of the institutional red-tape within the bureaucracy. And despite the make up of the legislature, has tried to demand any legislation that crosses his desk have measurable benchmarks and legislative sunsets.

But nowhere will Governor Pawlenty have left a more positive mark on the state than in the way he has reshaped the judiciary.

Today, Governor Pawlenty appointed Eric Magnuson to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (replacing a very fine and honorable Chief Justice Russell Anderson who will be retiring in June).

Magnuson is a well respected attorney, always a student of the law and will be a Supreme Court Justice who respects the rule of law and the intent of the constitution. I have the highest level of confidence that we will not see Justice Magnuson attempting to legislate from the bench.

In appointing Magnuson, Governor Pawlenty said, "Eric is nationally recognized for his appellate advocacy and writing, and is consistently ranked among the top appellate attorneys by his peers. He has argued hundreds of cases to the state and federal appellate courts covering a wide range of issues over the course of his 30-year career. Eric has also taken on leadership positions in his law firms and in legal professional associations, which will serve him well as he assumes the leadership of state’s judicial system. He will be an outstanding Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court."

On the seven member Minnesota Supreme Court, a majority of four are Governor Pawlenty appointees. And of the four Governor Pawlenty appointees, 100% are rock-solid, with a tremendous amount of respect for their role as judges (as opposed to some sort of super-legislator in a black robe).

These appointments will have a lasting and real effect on the state of Minnesota for decades to come, and we all owe Governor Pawlenty a debt of gratitude for his backbone and tenacity on judicial appointments.

Love to See These News Reports

The sun was shining today and it is looking more and more like Spring.

Today, the AP is reporting that Governor Pawlenty will announce tomorrow his choice to fill the outgoing Chief Justice Russel Anderson's spot on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Governor Pawlenty has been the most successful Governor in the history of Minnesota appointing rock-solid jurists with a penchant for actually respecting the rule of law and a strict construction of the state's constitution. This next appointment will mean that 4 of the 7 members of the current Supreme Court will have been chosen by Pawlenty.

Please check back to Party of Pawlenty with a full analysis of his announcement tomorrow.

Governor Pawlenty and the Supreme Court

One of the unsung items of serious heroics during the Pawlenty tenure has been his tremendous success in appointing Judges and Justices with true respect for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

In June, Chief Justice Russell Anderson will step down from the court giving Governor Pawlenty a majority of members on the court appointed by him during his time as Governor.

A quick side note on Chief Justice Anderson.

I've had the honor of knowing Chief Justice Anderson since I was very young. I attended grade school, high school and even college with his daughter. Chief Justice Anderson was gracious enough to swear me in to the state bar in his chamber after I was admitted. He is a class act, a cautious jurist, and wonderful person.

Now, Governor Pawlenty will have a chance to continue to make long-term, positive, institutional change in Minnesota by appointing yet another honest Justice who will not use the black robe as a tool to be a super-legislator. Governor Pawlenty has consistently appointed well respected jurists who are committed to respecting the law, and respecting his or her role as an umpire calling balls and strikes rather than a batter stepping up to the plate.

The departure means Pawlenty will have named a majority of justices over his five years in office.

Pawlenty previously named G. Barry Anderson, Lorie Gildea and Christopher Dietzen to the Supreme Court.

Dietzen was selected in November for the most recent high court vacancy. Pawlenty has used a more insular selection process for the Supreme Court than he has for lower court appointments.

"We've been through several Appeals Court and Supreme Court appointments recently, so we're familiar with the talent pool," Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said. "The governor will make his decision based on that and other information." (Excerpted from Article. Click here to read article in its entirety).

I wish Chief Justice Anderson well in his retirement. He has been the consummate public servant, an honorable Chief Justice and a wonderful guy.

Governor Pawlenty will undoubtedly choose yet another strong voice for judicial respect and restraint.

I know this to be true because he has been in office since 2003 and has never missed on this issue. Not once.