Pawlenty-O'-Nuttin

Nothing in Tim Pawlenty's political record suggests he's Presidential timber.

As 39th Governor of Minnesota, 2012 Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty left office with Minnesota down in every measurable category except one: Vetoes.

Pawlenty Vetoes*

Veto Date	Bill Title
2010-05-27	HF 2227 Relating to Government Innovation	Veto
2010-05-27	HF 3729 Relating to the Financing and Operation of State and Local Government	Item Veto
2010-05-27	SF 560 Relating to Public Safety	Veto
2010-05-25	SF 2900 Relating to Game and Fish, Natural Resource Policy, and State Lands	Veto
2010-05-25	SF 2469 Relating to Transportation	Veto
2010-05-25	SF 251 Relating to Commerce	Veto
2010-05-18	SF 3145 Relating to Public Safety	Veto
2010-05-17	SF 3275 Environmental and Natural Resources Omnibus Bill	Item Veto
2010-05-15	HF 2624 Relating to State Government	Item Veto
2010-05-15	SF 341	Veto
2010-05-15	SF 3019 Relating to Human Services	Veto
2010-05-15	SF 2510 Relating to Economic Development	Item Veto
2010-05-15	SF 271 Relating to State Government	Veto
2010-05-13	HF 2614 Omnibus Health and Human Services Bill	Veto
2010-05-13	HF 2634 Relating to Natural Resources	Veto
2010-05-13	SF 2790 Relating to Public Safety	Veto
2010-05-11	HF 2037 Appropriations and Taxation Bill	Veto
2010-05-11	HF 3327 Relating to City and County Employees	Veto
2010-05-10	SF 2226 Relating to Elections	Veto
2010-05-10	SF 915 Relating to Insurance	Veto
2010-04-30	HF 3164 Relating to the Minnesota State College and University System	Veto
2010-03-14	HF 2700 Omnibus Bonding and Budget Amendments	Item Veto
2010-02-18	SF 2168 General Assistance Medical Care Program Modifications	Veto
2009-05-23	SF 971 School Anti-Bullying Policy Requirements	Veto
2009-05-22	SF 1331 Changing Early Vetooting and Special Election Requirements	Veto
2009-05-22	HF 925 Requiring "U6" Employment Measure	Veto
2009-05-22	SF 1012 Environment and Natural Resources Appropriations	Item Veto
2009-05-22	HF 928 Omnibus Transportation Policy Bill	Veto
2009-05-22	HF 354 Pre-Foreclosure Mediation	Veto
2009-05-22	SF 97 Legalizing Medical Marijuana	Veto
2009-05-22	HF 1231 Omnibus Outdoor Resources Appropriations	Item Veto
2009-05-21	SF 477 Paint Fee	Veto
2009-05-21	SF 489 Relating to Reverse Mortgage Loans	Veto
2009-05-21	HF 1053 Election Law Amendments	Veto
2009-05-21	HF 362 Homeowner Warranty Claim Notification Amendments	Veto
2009-05-21	HF 211 Legal Fee Liability in Homeowner Lawsuits Against Contractors	Veto
2009-05-21	HF 2323 Tax Law Amendments	Veto
2009-05-20	HF 330 Extended Construction Defect Notification Deadlines	Veto
2009-05-20	SF 763 Civil Rights Restoration Notice Requirements	Veto
2009-05-19	HF 239 Faulty Construction Damages	Veto
2009-05-19	HF 412 Home Owner Warranty Claims Statute of Repose Adjusted Bill	Veto
2009-05-16	HF 855 Omnibus Bonding Bill	Item Veto
2009-05-16	HF 1122 Omnibus Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Bill	Item Veto
2009-05-16	SF 2083	Item Veto
2009-05-16	SF 284 First Class Cities Major Political Party Caucuses Privileges Application Bill	Veto
2009-05-16	SF 2141 Continuing Appropriations for State Agencies	Veto
2009-05-15	SF 1033 Amendments Relating to Private Property and Public Assistance	Veto
2009-05-14	HF 2088 Omnibus Economic Development Bill	Item Veto
2009-05-14	HF 1362 Health Budget	Item Veto
2009-05-09	HF 885	Veto
2009-05-08	SF 122 Warning on Effects of Certain Cocoas on Pets	Veto
2009-05-07	SF 2081 Employment and Economic Development Amendments	Veto
2009-05-07	HF 2123 Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy Appropriations	Item Veto
2008-05-29	HF 1812 Omnibus Supplemental Budget	Item Veto
2008-05-29	HF 995 Peak Oil Preparation	Veto
2008-05-27	SF 3363 State Budget Disclosure	Veto
2008-05-23	SF 100 Public Funding for Stem Cell Research	Veto
2008-05-23	SF 2368 Enterprise Activity Relocation or Closure	Veto
2008-05-23	HF 2748 Rural Health Cooperative and County-Based Health Care Purchasing	Veto
2008-05-19	SF 3138 Genetic Screening	Veto
2008-05-19	SF 3396 Subprime Borrower Relief Act of 2008	Veto
2008-05-18	SF 2605 Metropolitan Council Member Staggered Terms	Veto
2008-05-18	SF 960 Modification of Dependents Definition for State Benefits	Veto
2008-05-18	HF 1875 School Employees Insurance Pool	Veto
2008-05-16	SF 2965 Surrogate Mother Regulations	Veto
2008-05-16	SF 3193 Access to Adoption Records and Original Birth Certificates	Veto
2008-05-16	HF 6 K-12 Education Funding Bill	Veto
2008-05-16	HF 3807 Real ID Prohibition	Veto
2008-05-15	SF 3775 Paint Stewardship Pilot Program	Veto
2008-05-15	SF 875 Minimum Wage Increase	Veto
2008-05-15	SF 3166 Child Welfare and Licensing Provisions	Veto
2008-05-15	SF 1128 Personal Sick Leave Benefits	Veto
2008-05-13	SF 3001 Education Mandatory Attendance and Report Card Modification	Veto
2008-05-13	HF 3391 Health Care Reform Bill	Veto
2008-05-12	SF 651 Public Health Provisions	Veto
2008-05-08	SF 3132 Medical Debt Information Regulation	Veto
2008-05-08	SF 543 Supporting the Employee Free Choice Act	Veto
2008-05-05	SF 3564 Natural Gas Tax Rate	Veto
2008-05-01	SF 2919 Time Requirements of Civil Commitments Hearings	Veto
2008-04-25	SF 599 A resolution urging the President and Congress to end trade, financial, and travel restrictions to Cuba	Veto
2008-04-25	HF 1351 Transportation Omnibus	Veto
2008-04-25	HF 3220 Nonprofit Organization Grants	Veto
2008-04-17	HF 3114 Park Districts and Acquisition of Property	Veto
2008-04-07	HF 380	Item Veto
2008-04-04	SF 2688 Trucking industry employers unemployment compensation audits; independent contractor status general rule exception elimination	Veto
2008-03-27	SF 457 Independent school district #271, Bloomington; single member election districts	Veto
2008-02-22	HF 2800 2009-2010 Transportation Budget	Veto
2007-05-30	HF 562 Transportation, Metropolitan Council, and public safety funding bill.	Item Veto
2007-05-30	HF 1063 Omnibus higher education finance bill.	Item Veto
2007-05-30	HF 2245 Omnibus E-12 education finance bill.	Item Veto
2007-05-30	HF 2268 Omnibus tax bill.	Veto
2007-05-25	SF 463 Notaries public maximum fees modification.	Veto
2007-05-25	HF 122 Omnibus jobs, economic development, and housing finance bill establishing and modifying programs; and appropriating money.	Item Veto
2007-05-25	HF 1078 Omnibus health and human services finance bill.	Item Veto
2007-05-25	HF 548 Omnibus state government finance bill appropriating money for general legislative and administrative expenses of state government, regulating state and local government, and abolishing the Department of Employee Relations.	Item Veto
2007-05-25	HF 464 School District Health Insurance Pool	Veto
2007-05-15	HF 2294 Omnibus tax bill modifying property tax provisions, providing a homestead credit state refund, increasing property tax refunds, providing a school bond agricultural credit, and adding an income tax bracket and rate.	Veto
2007-05-15	HF 946 Transportation Funding and Gas Tax	Veto
2007-05-08	SF 2096 Omnibus environment, natural resources, and energy appropriations.	Item Veto
2007-05-08	SF 2171 Omnibus Health and Human Services Bill	Veto
2007-05-07	SF 2089 Omnibus jobs and economic development appropriations.	Veto
2007-05-07	SF 1997 General Legislative and Administrative Budget	Veto
2007-05-04	HF 2227 Omnibus agricultural and veterans affairs.	Item Veto
2007-05-03	HF 881 Metropolitan Land Planning act and related statutes modified, and erroneous and obsolete references corrected.	Veto
2007-05-01	HF 886 Capital Improvement Appropriations	Veto
2007-04-30	SF 1017 Charter commission expense limitations increased for specified cities.	Veto

*Pawlenty had more vetoes than any of the 38 previous Minnesota governors.

Governor from 2003 to 2011, Pawlenty dragged his no-tax pledge around with him like a ball and chain for two terms.

His inability to reach outside the ideological corner he painted himself into, is largely to blame for a 2010 Budget Deficit Among Top 10 Largest In Nation.

Buy Ya Some Snake Oil?

Pawlenty, who is from South St. Paul, morphs into a good ol' boy when it suits him. Can you say politically expedient? Get an 'earwaggin of Pawlenty's South St. Paul drawl in this March campaign speech:

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Dude is phonier than a ground-rule double in the Metrodome.  There might be exciting things about Tim Pawlenty, but scratching my head, none come to mind.

Incapable of Problem-Solving

Not a broad or a deep thinker, Pawlenty's record suggests a vindictive, politically ambitious man, whose stubbornly ideological approach rendered him incapable of problem-solving.

You needn't bother looking up the the word intransigent... simply Google the phrase "Tim Pawlenty Vetoes".

Travel Michigan?

By all accounts, Michigan is a wonderful place to visit. But given the horrific state of Michigan's economy, and given that Michigan's dire unemployment levels are born from regressive public policy (NAFTA, union busting, jobs outsourcing), should the State of Michigan be doling out their travel promotion budget to Fox News?

Here's one indignant email sent to Travel Michigan.

Dear Travel Michigan: This morning I happened by a TV in a public space tuned to “Fox & Friends”. I was shocked and disappointed to learn that Travel Michigan advertises on the Fox "News" cable channel. My family of four visits Michigan's UP every August. We also travel to Michigan for downhill skiing. Because your organization has decided to run travel ads on such a blatantly manipulative and divisive media mouthpiece for fringe politics, we are reconsidering our Michigan travel plans. There are scads of advertising alternatives. Please reconsider your advertising strategy. Thank You, Bob MacNeal St. Paul, MN

Okay, I Lied

I lied. My family does not take August vacations to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP). We did however take one ski trip to Michigan. It was a disaster -- temperatures below zero and wind-chill so severe they closed all but one ski lift. We took two runs, then retreated to our over-priced cabin.

Here's a response to my email from Travel Michigan:

Bob, Thanks for your email. As a non-partisan tourism promotion agency, we advertise on all of the morning cable news shows - CNN, MSNBC, Fox. Frankly, we welcome visitors of all political persuasions and those not involved in or interested in politics as well. Thanks again for your input. George Zimmermann Vice President, Travel Michigan Michigan Economic Development Corporation 517-335-1862 zimmermanng@michigan.org 300 N. Washington Square Lansing, MI 48913

Implied Equivalency

Lumping CNN and MSNBC with Fox as news agencies doesn't work. It's like comparing apples and fish.

Here's my response to George:

George: Thanks for your thoughtful response. Please consider that by most objective measures, CNN and MSNBC meet some minimal bar of journalist standards (e.g., news & civil political discourse versus propaganda). I think you will agree that Fox does not meet even the most minimal bar of journalistic standards vis-a-vis factual integrity or delineation between editorial content and news events. As such, your statement of implied equivalency of these media outlets doesn't hold water. If you were to say that Travel Michigan advertizes on two cable news networks (CNN & MSNBC) and one infomercial (Fox), perhaps that would more intellectually honest. Our family loves visiting Michigan for family vacations. Please reconsider your advertising strategy. Regards, Bob MacNeal St. Paul, MN PS. I used your email response in a blog post called Travel Michigan? My blog only gets about 120 unique reads per month, but if you're uncomfortable having your response publicly posted, let me know.

Does Michael Moore know what his Michigan home boy George Zimmermann is up to?

Dude, Where's My Office?

Since taking my first gig out of grad school as an environmental engineer, the career landscape has changed -- for the worse.

To wit, few people talk of careers any more for fear of being snickered at by some cynical, beaten-down, itinerant knowledge worker.

Looking back, I realize I have wasted my entire professional life warming increasingly less comfortable chairs in increasingly smaller spaces for proportionally less compensation.

Today I ask you to mourn the hard-working middle class with me. I know, this ain't Rwanda. In comparison, our problems are small and surmountable

Yet you and I have observed 20-plus years of squeezing the middle class in the US into near extinction. I can't say "the squeeze" has been premeditated because I won't let myself degrade into a delusional conspiracy-theorist. More likely, the cause has been benign neglect. Benign neglect via anti-people government policy. NAFTA for example, and the systematic emasculation of regulatory institutions like the USEPA, have added nothing to the job pool.

Corporatist, conservative, anti-union & anti-people policies have eroded society's topsoil - the middle class. We should reverse this assault. What will we leave for our children and our grandchildren?

How do we reverse this trend so your kids and mine might be ever-so-incrementally more hopeful about the future?