Via The NY Times:
Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, told supporters on a conference call Sunday morning that he is ending his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination after a disappointing third-place finish at the Iowa straw poll.
Mr. Pawlenty thanked his supporters in an early-morning call, two participants said, but acknowledged that he had decided overnight that his candidacy could not proceed.
As I have made clear before, I liked Tim Pawlenty, and it is unfortunate he was unable to get traction.
Not sure who this helps the most. My guess is that the Pawlenty money-supporters will split between Perry and Romney.
What do you think?
Update: via C4P:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Waste of time, effort and money. The guy is a lightweight. This time around we had better get a fighter not Mr. Nice Guy or this country will go down the tubes.
Oh, my. I mean, who saw that coming?
Perry looks very strong right now on his honeymoon albeit a little disrupted by shots from Huckabee and Tancredo. Many in the conservative establishment are euphoric. Any dropout strengthens the leaders proportionally. I think Pawlenty supporters might favor Romney more than Perry, we will see what Pawlenty says. Both will gain. Palin waits in the wings. Unless Palin bows to Perry, which I doubt, it will boil down to Romney, Perry and Palin. Perry is a very good traditional politician with broad establishment support and is closer than Romney to the GOP base. Depending on how he holds up he will be tough to defeat.
Shouldn’t Santorum, Gingrich, Cain [who I like] and anyone with less than 10% of the straw poll vote drop out?
I’d have to disagree that one state’s unofficial vote should decide the field of candidates.
Interesting thoughts from Dan Riehl…
“But what happened in Iowa yesterday was electric, not just for any Palin faithful, but for many Conservatives and especially the media. For better, or worse, Sarah Palin has star power – whatever that is. But she does have it; that’s for sure.”
“Palin has two critical qualities, unique in that they combine in her. Beholden to no one, without fear, or restraint, Palin articulates today’s conservatism in a prudent, positive and cogent manner. More than that, the media, while much of it both loves and hates her, conveys her message to an audience far more broadly than they do for any other contemporary politician. I suspect, no matter who ultimately secures the 2012 Republican nomination, that will always be the case.”
“If you believe in conservatism and that it can win national elections in America, as I do, Sarah Palin’s abilities to both speak out fearlessly and plainly for conservatism, while generating increased media interest in, not just herself, but the other candidates and the primary as a whole, would be of significant benefit for all on the Right. As we prepare to campaign and politically fight for the future of America in November of 2012, as things stand today, because of that, we should all encourage her to run and welcome her into the race if she does … for that reason alone, if no other right now.”
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2011/08/why-sarah-palin-needs-to-run-for-president-in-2012.html
I think that you’re exactly right, professor. One of the things that I look for in a presidential candidate is elective executive-branch experience. As far as I’m concerned, the only positions that qualify are governor of a state or mayor of a big city. With Pawlenty out and Perry in, those who qualify are Perry and Romney.
Wouldn’t that have excluded Lincoln?
He was my first choice. I think he was goaded into making his candadacy pass/fail on this Straw Poll. He wasted a lot of time, money, and resources for a race he could not win. Between Bachmann and the Paulbots, he was fighting a losing battle.
There is a lot of emotion supporting Bachmann and Paul. The politically smart thing for Pawlenty to do would have been to gear up for the Caucuses and let Bachmann and Paul have their 15 minutes of fame. When the emotion/euphoria fades away, the wreckage becomes apparent. One only need to look at present day buyer’s remorse for Obama.
Pawlenty was beginning to lose some of his money people to Perry before this result. My guess, many others will follow suit. Don’t be too surprised if Pawlenty is named to the VP slot.
With the recent changes in the Presidential field, I don’t think that Pawlenty has enough horsepower now to fill the VP shoes. There are too many other “star power” people to put into that role, such as:
Marco Rubio: By the time the election rolls around, he’ll have had just as much Senate experience as Obama (doesn’t mean anything to us who said Obama didn’t have enough experience, but defends against the “inexperienced” meme from the media, which in full hypocrisy you KNOW they will trot out.
Chris Christie: Won’t run for President himself until at least 2016, but might take the VP slot if offered, which would generate huge turnout and money donations. It would also set him up well, especially if he’s a highly visible VP.
Sarah Palin: I don’t think she’s going to run herself at this point. She probably has until Labor Day to actually get into the race, but being coy past this point will cost her ground-game quite a bit. Even enthusiasm must give way to political inertia. It simply takes too much time to develop the national political structure, rent campaign space, get printers up-to-speed for campaign materials, etc…. That being said, she would bring a HUGE amount of support to any candidate, but also a HUGE amount of detraction. with the media trotting out the “inexperienced” line, as well as the “quitter” line from her resignation as Governor, even though it made sense from the “ethics investigation” angle, because the Proglodytes can no longer use the “free” ethics process against her.
Linked: ‘Tim Pawlenty Ends Presidential Campaign’.
[…] –Legal Insurrection: As I have made clear before, I liked Tim Pawlenty, and it is unfortunate he was unable to get traction. […]
2012 will require a candidate on fire! Pawlenty showed himself to be lackluster. Attacking other Repubs so early on was a big mistake.
That is one hell of a glass jaw. There has not been one delegate selected yet in the whole process and he throws in the towel.
If he is that easy of a push-over, why did he get in the first place?
It might simply be a case of the money being about to dry up and saving face. He’s struggled to gain traction, and its not hard to imagine key donors/supporters telling him that after all the money and effort he sank into Iowa, the state next door, anything less than strong showing would see their donations go elsewhere. Especially in light of Perry getting in. Big money people didn’t get that way by throwing good money after bad.
Heaven help us if Romney wins the nomination. I know it’s been asked numerous times, but how can we hope to defeat Obama with a candidate that created Obamacare-lite? The biggest wedge issue is thus removed.
I didn’t know enough about Pawlenty to form a firm opinion of him, though he did seem a bit light himself. Caricatures of him as a RINO didn’t do him any favors with me. Perry, also much an an unknown quantity for me, at least seems to have the gravitas Pawlenty lacked.
For all that I find myself moving slowly in favor of Sarah Palin. I’ve realized I allowed my prior impressions of her to be largely formed by the MSM and she certainly has a grasp of the issues. My one concern is can she beat Obama? I know the media would be targeting her more so than it does now, and if as a fairly conservative person that tries to keep abreast of issues can be swayed by media portrayals, can she overcome an ignorant populace all too willing to be led by the nose to a conclusion?
As much as I love Ron Paul — he is my real favorite in the race, based on the issues — I’m worried as much about him being able to attract a mainstream audience. I know the value of a gold standard, the horrors of the Fed’s policies, and entangling alliances. I imagine the rest of the voting public will simply develop a glaze over their eyes.
Saw with T-Paw out of the race, I’m guessing we’ll see a lot of these lesser-rans also dropping by the wayside too.
Rich
Ron Paul is, and always will be, a 12 percenter… not strong enough to be a serious player. Rand Paul, on the other hand, could be a serious candidate in the future.
We are essentially down to Romney, Perry and, if she enters, Palin. Sorry, Bachmann fans; while I like her, she doesn’t have the serious executive experience we need right now. I think she’d be better served staying in the House and anchoring the conservative movement, just as I think Paul Ryan is in the right place.
Cain should have a Cabinet portfolio where he can bring his experience to downsize one segment of government. His campaign is fundamentally quixotic, as are those of Santorum, Gingrich, McCotter, etc.
That leaves us with Romney, the Beltway Establishment candidate; Perry, the man in the middle, GOP-wise; and Palin, whose absence from the race so far is either extremely wise or extremely foolish, as the “insurgent”.
Foolishcop, I’m with you as moving toward Palin as the preferred candidate, with Perry a viable alternative. Romney removes Obamacare — which needs to be a centerpiece of the GOP platform — from play.
I can still be convinced otherwise by a solid body of evidence, but that’s the direction in which I’m now heading.
As I said above, I don’t think Palin is going to run. I think she’s positioned herself well to be a national force, and might run in the future, though. She’s young enough to be on the national stage for at least 4 more presidential elections.
Ron Paul is acceptable on economics, but he’s a loony-tune on foreign policy (including international trade). He has his core support group, most (not all) of which are college age libertarians who feel the government over-extended its Constitutional boundaries, but don’t have enough life experience to understand that if you don’t confront some evils, those evils will eventually come for you regardless of how “nice” you were to them. I think that with the proper reigning-in he could be a decent Sec. of the Treasury though.
Bachmann, I think, also knows she’s done, but she’s staying in to keep her name recognition up and to maintain her fundraising levels. And there is a reason to that sort of madness: It positions her VERY well to be Speaker of the House should the TEA Partiers make strong gains again in the House of Representative either by turning out RINOs or by defeating Democrats. With only a -little- more support (about 50 TEA Party supporters) she could win a vote for Speaker, and have 1/6 of the Government under her own control anyway.
Being able to point to a strong, national support base for her policies, Bachmann can say to her fellow Conservatives “Boehner isn’t strong enough to be Speaker and do what the country needs at this time. He’s too wishy-washy; too ready to ‘compromise.’ Follow me and I will lead us to greatness by marching across the budget like Gen. Sherman marched across the South, burning everything in our path that is hostile to our goals of limited federal governance and balanced finances.”
Libertarians have a good argument to make (though its not one I always agree with). Its to their considerable misfortune that they’ve gathered around the worst messenger possible to make it. It doesn’t help that Ron Paul’s more zealous supporters have an unparalleled knack for pissing off and alienating anyone and everyone who might otherwise be sympathetic to some of what he says. They’re a political case study in how not to win friends and influence people.
I agree that the support will mainly split between Romney and Perry. I think that this is where Romney will begin to fade. Both have credibility issues regarding how sincere their conservative roots are, but Romney’s are more recent and Romneycare will be used as a sledgehammer against his campaign. Perry is the lesser known of the two for obvious reasons, which he can use to his advantage.
EdMorrissey MN GOP chair: I’ll ask @TimPawlenty to run for Senate seat, after a couple of weeks http://t.co/cLpZ91n #tcot (update)
about 1 hour ago
Bachmann WINS, and she’s going nowhere? What sort of race is this? Yes, I know the straw poll is just a political “beauty contest,” but still, you can’t win if you don’t run. And if you DO win, then that says something positive about you as a candidate, your campaign, and your positions.
Then we get the argument (here expressed by Towson Lawyer) that those who got less than 10% ought to drop out. Again, a process that winnows out the losers but does nothing for the winner, is an odd process? To use a football analogy, it’s only the first 2 minutes of the first quarter. Let’s at least make it to half-time before anticipating the final score.
For the record, I could go with Bachmann, Palin, Gingrich, and Perry, more or less in the that order. For now, Bachmann gets my nod over Palin because *she’s in the race*.
When Palin gets into the race, what will be the new “spin” from the naysayers??? It’s getting to be a comical game from them.
I think that there are entirely too many people calling this horse race as if it’s in the final stretch, when the candidates are nowhere near the starting gates. (See: http://pollinsider.com/2011/08/13/palin-and-romney-know-the-same-thing-few-are-paying-attention-perry-should-enjoy-it-now/ )
@RealClearScott Scott Conroy
@kasie asks if the race comes down to Perry & Romney, who would she support? Palin: “I don’t see that happening.”
Hmm.
Re The Straw Poll…
Bachmann bought & presumably gave out 6,000 $35 voting tickets.
She got 4,800 votes.
1200 votes went elsewhere or they mistook them for crackers & ate them.
I watched some footage of Iowa State Fair appearance closely – she is herded around by that fat guy. Her debate saw her off at every break – summoned for advice?
I am not seeing a Masters of Tax Law (William & Mary )independent & knowledgeable woman . I see a pawn.
When I see a Tax Plan outlined -I will dismss the submiss.