Subject: [big campaign] ICYMI: Pawlenty stimulus hypocrisy
From: "Adam Jentleson (CAPAF)" <[email-masked]>
To: "[email-masked]'" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:37:42 -0400
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

T-paw trying to have it both ways over the weekend -- while the governor bashes the stimulus, his top econ advisor has this to say: "Communities and job-seekers throughout Minnesota are seeing tangible results from this funding."

Does Gov. Pawlenty agree with his top economic advisor that MN residents are seeing "tangible results" from the stimulus?

Pawlenty Smears Stimulus While His Top Economic Adviser Tours Minnesota Touting Its Success <http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/29/stimulus-pawlenty-recovery/>

In an interview yesterday with Bloomberg<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a8ofmsdY2HKs>, Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) gave a blistering speech attacking President Obama, slamming the stimulus and efforts to reform health care. Pawlenty declared it would be "ludicrous" to think that the Recovery Act is "what pivoted" the economy back to stability. He also said any "fair critique" of Democratic health care legislation includes the argument that "death panels" would make life-or-death treatment decisions.

But as Bloomberg later reported<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a8ofmsdY2HKs>, Pawlenty's criticisms of the stimulus are at odds with both economists and the statements of Pawlenty's own economic development director, Dan McElroy. McElroy, Pawlenty's "point man<http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/52393072.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUoaEaD_ec7PaP3iUiacyKUnciaec8O7EyUr> on jobs and economic development," leads the Department of Employment and Economic Development<http://www.deed.state.mn.us/agency/>. He recently went on a 10 city road show titled "Advancing Economic Prosperity" touting the benefits of the stimulus. Speaking about the positive effects of the stimulus, McElroy said<http://www.startribune.com/business/52920382.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ>:

"Our goal was to put this money to work as quickly as possible. Communities and job-seekers throughout Minnesota are seeing tangible results from this funding."

A longtime adviser to the governor, Pawlenty has praised McElroy as, "one of the smartest<http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200211/15_pugmiret_mcelroy/>, most hard-working change-oriented leaders that has come to state government in modern history." And McElroy isn't the only Pawlenty official heaping praise upon the stimulus. Pawlenty's top financial advisor, Tom Hanson, told Minnesota legislators that stimulus funds used to plug the state's massive budget shortfall would make "all of our lives<http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/02/16/stimulushelp/> just a little bit easier." He added, "The federal money will give us the opportunity to accept federal assistance and push it out into our state, to help as many people<http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/02/12/stimulus_jobs_in_minnesota/> as possible."

Not only is Pawlenty hitching his wagon to the outrageous "death panel" lie<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/ap-fact-check-no-death-pa_n_256486.html> being propagated by Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin<http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/13/palin-deathpanel-flipflop/>, but he's also joining the long line<http://pr.thinkprogress.org/2009/08/pr20090828/index.html> of hypocritical Republicans who try to score political points by knocking the stimulus while claiming credit for its success at home.

Update: Watch the Pawlenty interview: http://tinyurl.com/kwksda

-----
Adam Jentleson
Communications Director, Progressive Media
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>
ajentleson (AIM)
202-247-8614 (cell)

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group.

To post to this group, send to [email-masked]

To unsubscribe, send email to [email-masked]

E-mail [email-masked] with questions or concerns
 
This is a list of individuals. It is not affiliated with any group or organization.
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---