The DFL sent out a press
release saying Governor Tim Pawlenty, by threatening to "unallot" $3
billion in state spending, is in effect acting as "King Tim." Apparently
the "unallotment" provision in state law has been used three times in
30 years. (That's according to the non-partisan Minnesota House research
office: twice by Pawlenty, in 2003 and 2008, and once by Governor Perpich back
in 1986). Now the governor plans to use this sweeping power to craft a budget that
he feels is fiscally responsible. It's a smack-down, stare-down at the Capitol
with thousands of peoples' lives at stake.
Looming over Interstate 94
and Snelling is a billboard that questions where Tim Pawlenty's constituency
lies, with the people of Minnesota
or with his national ambitions. The question is sponsored by those who want the
governor to sign an election certificate for Al Franken to send him to the
Senate. But the issue could just as well be framed in terms of the budget
showdown. Pawlenty appears to be positioning himself as a future leader of the
national Republican party, a party that is in desperate need of a new approach
to reach a new constituency. And as he walks the tightrope of current political
minefields, he may want to look to the governor of South Carolina. Governor Mark Sanford
announced he would take no federal stimulus money, only to be forced to back
down after being criticized by members of both parties in his state. Governor
Sanford like Governor Pawlenty is widely seen as positioning himself for a run
for national office. But the fallout from Sanford's
tussle over the stimulus has cost him politically at home. And it remains to be
seen what the fallout here will be if Pawlenty uses the sweeping power of
unallotments to almost single-handedly shape the budget for the entire state.
