Political Ruminations

Quote of the Day

The utter disgrace that is the Republican Party was exemplified by the one-time failed Minnesota governor, Tim Pawlenty, in his remarks to a small crowd in Iowa:

“The president of the United States addressed the country yesterday afternoon, and we saw in his remarks - both in content and tone - that his call to the nation that he used in 2008 of hope and change became hope and blame. And he began to act like a manure spreader in a wind storm, throwing things in every direction without any real focus.”

Oh, I think not, you miserable hack.  President Obama threw the blame exactly where it belonged; although, in my opinion, he should have thrown it much more forcefully.

Morning Quote

Blogger, RadioFreeBabylon, in his commentary on the Republican debate on Monday night:

“If Rick Santorum had a boring twin brother, he would be Tim Pawlenty. ”

2012 Campaign Updates in Brief

What you may have missed over the weekend ---

Jon Huntsman (R-UT) flip-flopped, and then lied regarding his stance on universal health care.

 Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) announced his candidacy for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination in a web video on Sunday.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who was set to officially announce his presidential campaign Monday in Iowa after a two-month exploratory committee phase, has now made it official one day early -- in another dramatic YouTube video.

Well, not so dramatic......I'm still yawning.

 Pizza guy, Herman Cain, (R-GA) announced his bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination at a rally in Atlanta on Sunday.

By some estimates, as many 10,000 people showed up for his announcement speech, which is pretty good for a strange right-wing activist with practically no support in national polls.

As implausible as his campaign appears to be, it’s probably a mistake to completely dismiss Cain as a joke. He’s a favorite of the Tea Party crowd, and apparently has the ability to impress Republican voters in debates. National Journal ran a piece recently highlighting five reasons folks shouldn’t underestimate Cain’s chances, and while he’s obviously still the longest of long-shots, the argument wasn’t absurd on its face.

Adding.....During his rally in Atlanta, Cain confused the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence. guffaws…….

Republicans Caught: They DO Want a Government Shutdown

Although Republicans keep on saying that they don’t want a government shutdown, and although Republicans will try to blame it on Democrats when they do actually shut down the federal government (rest assured, they will shut it down in April), but yet….here they are, recently caught on tape spewing in favor of a federal government shutdown.

Transcript of remarks made by Republican lawmakers in favor of a federal government shutdown below the video.

Watch:

Tim Pawlenty Pretends to be Ronald Reagan?

Former governor of Minnesota, Republican Tim Pawlenty has officially announced his newly formed “Tim Pawlenty for President Exploratory Committee”. Consider this his first campaign ad.

Yawn.

Bob Cesca:

Wow. He's trying really, really hard to not be Tim Pawlenty. But regardless of how much shaky-cam he uses and how many rockets-red-glare he surrounds himself with, he's still Tim Pawlenty -- a rather boring moderate pretending to be Ronald Reagan when we all know he's just Tim Pawlenty.

Adding….of course, there had to be a dog in that ad.

[via Bob Cesca]

Morning Quote: Tim Pawlenty

If you haven’t been following Tim Pawlenty for a few years, you might be surprised to note that his stance re government shutdowns has changed quite drastically, which is not exactly surprising on the face of it considering he is a member of the GOP, that party which holds the trophy for flip-flopping on major issues. 

Pawlenty, on the evening prior to Minnesota’s first and only government shutdown in 2005:

We are at the doorstep of a partial government shutdown. It would be very unsettling and unfortunate and inconvenient and problematic to thousands and thousands of Minnesotans and their families. Minnesotans need to hear about and understand the real human impacts if state government shuts down. State parks will close, rest areas will be boarded up, and new drivers licenses won’t be issued. More than 15,000 state employees — hardworking, dedicated people — will essentially be locked out of their jobs. Anyone who considers the negative impacts of a shutdown should see it as a reason to seriously get back to the negotiating table.

Tim Pawlenty, February 27, 2011, in support of a government shutdown by Republicans if their agenda is not met:

We’ve got to get back to certain principles and responsibilities and starting with getting the budget balanced and if it takes a dramatic moment or a dramatic week or a dramatic month, those kinds of line-in-the-sand moments are what we need to get politicians back up against the wall and have them make the tough decisions.

If it came down to it and it was between that [government shutdown] and not getting the budget headed in the right direction, that’s an option I think Republicans have to consider.