Tim Pawlenty is taking a leading and unflinching public position supporting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in the battle with public sector unions.
As pointed out a The Hill, Pawlenty has been more aggressive and consistent at defending Walker:
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) sought Thursday to take the lead among possible GOP presidential candidates in bolstering Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) in his state’s labor dispute.
Pawlenty released a video on Thursday boosting Walker and directing viewers to a petition in support of Walker, who’s locked in a major battle with state Democrats over a labor reform bill eliminating most collective bargaining rights for public employees.
“The gig is up [sic] for public employee groups who demand better benefits than the taxpayers who are paying the bill,” the petition says. “I’m confident Governor Walker’s reforms will succeed in Wisconsin. Stand strong, Scott — average taxpayers everywhere are rooting for you.”
For Pawlenty, the gambit is simple: As a former union member who’s been more willing to speak out on labor matters in the past, he could own the issue and score points with Republican primary voters, who might be inclined to support Walker.
Mitch Daniels waffled on the issue, which may be more of a public relations issue than substance, as he has been strong on the issue in the past.
Is this the move for which Pawlenty has been waiting to propel himself out of the pack?
I’m beginning to think I could be convinced about Pawlenty.
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Comments
People on the left alway claim to detest elitism. Well, here is their man. Nobody more non-elitist than Pawlenty. There's a guy with whom you can see yourself going fishing.
I am curious if public sector pensions are subject to federal income tax? I assume they are exempt from state tax.
does anyone know ?
Aw, the brave Tim Pawlenty siding with the brave Scott Walker bravely taking on the evil, thuggish school teachers. Or could it be brave Timmy is beating the shortest path to countless Koch dollars?
Potential GOP presidential candidates are a dime a dozen. A few encouraging words for a Koch Industries front man for power plant acquisition (brave Walker) sure couldn't hurt, and only help him (brave Pawlenty) stand out. So very, very brave.
"Koch"- just the latest four-letter word for the Left.
What a refreshing change from the expletive "Bush" and their second most invoked f-word, "Fox."
"thug"- just the latest four-letter word for the Right. What a refreshing change from the expletive "Soros".
"Go Fox yourself"- Dick Cheney(paraphrased for your convenience)
This is fun Mr. Rhyme, but there is not much challenge gathering the low hanging fruit. If you want to trade sophomoric insults with lefties you might try YouTube comments section.
Did you catch the blog post at the top of the page?
Tony,
I think the issue of FICA taxes would be valid as well, given that income in retirement is subject to FICA, and money put into 401ks etc. is subject to FICA prior to contribution. And then there is the issue of distributions from 401ks and IRAs being subject to IRS penalties if taken before age 59 1/2, where it would only seem fair if those taxes also applied to pensions paid before 59 1/2. Then there are limits on contributions into 401ks, which might also be applied to the actuarial value of theoretical pension contributions made on the behalf of union members each year. Where's the fairness and equality?
ord avg guy,
If one reads sequentially from top to bottom, it sure looks as if your comment first brought up the sophomoric insults, low-hanging fruit, the word "thuggish," Koch industries, and just general nastiness.
Was Koch mentioned in the vid? I haven't watched it, yet, but, when I "[caught] the blog post at the top of the page" (because I can read most words under three syllables), I thought it was about Pawlenty supporting Walker over the public sector unions issue.
My bad if the post was really about Koch (and his big fat dollars buying "brave Walker" and helping "brave Pawlenty" in his bid for POWER over us all!!)
Oh, everything is about Koch runic, haven't you noticed? Fact is, most leftys can't win any argument on it's merits, so their only tactic is to demonize individuals. What connection is there between the Koch brothers and Walker? None, as the prank call demonstrated. Still, if all you've got is a one trick pony, you flog it into atoms. It's getting old.
Oh, and to get back on the subject, Palin wrote a pretty strong letter to union members t'other day dealing with this issue too. Haven't seen anything from other possible 2012 candidates yet.
Pawlenty has been a critic of public employee unions for some time. His position on this showdown is completely consistent for him.
I live in MN, and Pawlenty used to be on the local MPR call-in show every week or two (when he was Governor). I never heard him fumble a question. If he makes it as far as the debates, I think everyone will be impressed. Eloquent, well-informed, and conservative … the left's worst fears.
I see we have a little troll named ord avg guy. Don't feed the trolls.
Stop the Koch Brothers!
"Koch Family Foundations supporting causes like ballet"
Reason
Maybe they're the ones responsible for Black Swan.
hmm…
"What connection is there between the Koch brothers and Walker?"
Walker's campaign – $43,000 from KOCHPAC
(2nd only to $43,125 in contributions from housing and realtor groups in WI)
Last Saturday's Tea Party rally in Madison was organized, in part, by Koch funded Americans for Prosperity.
…or just type "standwithwalker dot com" into the ole browser and see where that gets you.
Walker + Koch = "None"? ummm….not so much.
The Walker-Koch connection is certainly real. Nothing you guys need to be defensive about, it is what it is.
So instead of "standwithwalker dot com" try "standingwithscott dot com" – {spoiler} you end up at Pawlenty's PAC.
So, Pawlenty is running in what will be a pretty crowded field (he strikes me as the "Duncan Hunter of '08" for '12 – Not a rock star and not fringe).
To survive the primaries he needs Tea Party attention and money (as they all do) and Koch/AFP is a potential for A LOT of money. What better way to put himself on the radar than co-opting the Koch/AFP URL idea? It certainly helped him with this site.
"The trendy new epithet among Big Labor organizers who've been camping out at the Madison, Wis., Capitol building for more than a week to block GOP Gov. Scott Walker's budget reform bill: "Koch whore." Classy, huh? It's a reference to the reviled Koch brothers, David and Charles, who have used their energy-industry wealth to support limited-government activism. A left-wing agitator based in Buffalo who impersonated Koch in a prank phone call this week used the slur to headline his "gonzo journalism" report. (If a right-leaning activist had perpetrated such a stunt, he'd be labeled a radical, stalking fraudster. But that's par for the media's double-standards course.)
The 20-minute phone call undermined the grand Koch conspiracy by exposing that Walker didn't know Koch at all. No matter. "Koch whore" is the new "Halliburton whore."
Townhall
“With the Left trying to intimidate the Koch brothers to back off of their support for freedom and signaling to others that this is what happens if you oppose the administration and its allies, we have no choice but to continue to fight,” says Richard Fink, the executive vice president of Koch Industries. “We will not step back at all. We firmly believe that economic freedom has benefited the overwhelming majority of society, including workers, who earn higher wages when you have open and free markets. When government grows as it has with the Bush and Obama administrations, that is what destroys prosperity.”
"Fink tells us that he does not see the Walker prank as an isolated act. “This is not just left-wing bloggers,” he says. “This is part of an orchestrated campaign that has been going on for many months. It involves the Obama administration, the Center for American Progress, aligned left-wing groups, and their friends in the media. This is just the latest salvo in their attacks on the Koch brothers and Koch Industries. But it is an escalation — they’re now bringing in some labor groups, which they have not done before. We expect this to be part of an ongoing effort against [Koch Industries] as the 2012 presidential campaign approaches.”
National Review
Remember Alinsky's Rules for Radicals:
"Rule 11: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual. Ignore attempts to shift or spread the blame."