(I was wondering how many others found it curious that Tim Pawlenty has been using his campaign email list to promote policy issues with three years to go before he's up for reelection... - promoted by Joe Bodell)
Cross-posted at 651 and Beyond
When I got an e-mail Monday evening from Gov. Pawlenty I figured he wanted to share some ideas on dealing with the challenges facing our state.
We have a $373 million budget shortfall.
We have 82,000 children without health insurance.
We have a transportation infrastructure that's crumbling.
And we have schools that are struggling to keep their heads above water.
We're watching the Minnesota Miracle slip further and further into the past and we need serious leadership.
But what did we get from the governor? Not much. Aside from a head-fake toward compromise on foreign operating corporations, he simply trotted out more of the same tired rhetoric that didn't solve the problems of previous legislative sessions.
Recipients of this lame campaign message were urged to visit the governor's action center, which asks Minnesotans to write letters to their local papers supporting Pawlenty's agenda. Understandably, however, the action center is thin on concrete talking points, but here are a few to keep in mind:
Our transportation system has become a national disgrace;
We used fuzzy math to project big budget surpluses last year, but an economic downturn that didn't completely blindside us on top of very predictable (but intentionally ignored) inflation wiped that out;
School operating levies - higher property taxes - are now used to fund must-haves, not nice-to-haves; and
Our economic growth rate and job creation numbers are just plain terrible.
Not much to brag about just a few months before the vice presidential sweepstakes start, so let's try this: no more campaigning; no more gimmicks; no more cheap sloganeering; and no more bragging about a sub-par legacy when clearly there's still work to do.
When asked about the vice presidency, the governor has said time-and-time again that he wants to finish his job here. Let's do that. Let's get started. Gov. Pawlenty, it's time to lead.
But please forgive me for not holding my breath this time. |
