The Fiscal Shell Game of Tim Pawlenty

John Avlon The Daily Beast May 25, 2011

by John Avlon Info

John Avlon's most recent book Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America is available now by Beast Books both on the Web and in paperback. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics and a CNN contributor. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.

The 2012 candidate brags about economic discipline, but he loaded Minnesota with debt, says his GOP predecessor, and presided over a massive tax increase. John Avlon on T-Paw’s dishonest talking points.

Tim Pawlenty unveiled his presidential campaign Monday with a message centered on fiscal discipline and being the self-styled truth-teller in the 2012 race.

It was only a matter of hours before his state's previous Republican governor, Arne Carlson, unveiled a barrage of fiscal data arguing that Pawlenty wasn't telling the truth about his fiscal conservative credentials. Instead, Carlson alleged that Pawlenty had presided over a $2.5 billion increase in property taxes, used one-time payments to balance the budget, and handed his successor an unprecedented $5 billion deficit.

Perhaps most infuriating to Carlson was that Pawlenty had essentially undone his efforts to return Minnesota to a triple-A bond rating in the 1990s, presiding over a decline in the bond rating and a shift to a negative credit rating by Moody's in the last year of his administration because of what was called "ongoing fiscal weakness and heavy reliance on one-shots to balance its books."

In Pawlenty's defense, however, he did receive an "A" ranking from the Cato Institute on its 2010 fiscal policy report card of governors, rooted in his repeated veto of proposed tax increases.

So who's telling the truth when it comes to T-Paw's core claims of fiscal discipline? To get some local perspective on his record in office, I called some Minnesota policy and political experts.

When I asked Mark Haveman of the Minnesota Taxpayers Association whether Pawlenty handed his successor, Democratic Governor Mark Dayton, a $5 billion deficit his answer was simple. "Yes."

"There's no question that Governor Pawlenty held the line on taxes," Haveman continued. "But if you are going to cut or hold the line on taxes, you also better be ready to introduce bold, fresh thinking with new ideas on how to reform government to deliver more value from taxpayer dollars. And I don't think there was much in the way of substantive reform—or for that matter, evidence of risking political capital—to push new ideas through… Unless you address the underlying cost structures of all these programs and the implications that they have on the budget, you're going to continue to have persistent structural budget deficits as far as the eye can see." Of course, the same thing is true on the federal level today.

"There is no doubt that Tim Pawlenty slowed down the growth of state government," attests Chad Hartman, a leading local talk-radio host on WCCO. "But there's equally no doubt if you're a taxpayer, you didn't pay it at the state level but you paid it at the property tax level. Because property taxes went up anywhere between $2.5 billion and $3 billion—and that data has been proven repeatedly."

“He wanted to say that he didn’t increase any taxes. So he called it a fee.”

Tim Pawlenty. Credit: Alex Brandon / AP Photo

"Another area where he looks hypocritical is when he said 'I didn't increase any taxes,'" continued Hartman. "Well, he OK'd what he called 'a health impact fee'—which was a 75-cent increase on a pack of cigarettes. That's a cigarette tax increase. We all know that. But he wanted to say that he didn't increase any taxes. So he called it a fee. I have callers who support him today call into my show and say 'Listen, I'm a Republican, I voted for him twice, but he should have just been honest about it. It was a tax increase. It wasn't a fee.' It became kind of a running joke."

"He never honestly balanced a budget when he was governor," recounted John Gunyou, the city manager of Minnetonka who also served as Governor Carlson's finance commissioner. "What I mean by that is ongoing revenues never equaled ongoing costs… And he would paint this picture that was not truthful because it was saying 'I can make these cuts and have no impact on services,' which is not true."

12 May 24, 2011 | 10:38pm Twitter Email Share var OutbrainPermaLink=document.location.href.replace(document.location.search, '').replace(/\/\d+\/$/,'/').replace(document.location.host, 'thedailybeast.com'); if(OutbrainPermaLink.search(/blogs-and-stories/)>=0){ OutbrainPermaLink += "full/"; } var OB_Template = "The Daily Beast"; var OB_demoMode = false; var OBITm = "1255455386150"; var OB_langJS ='http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js'; if ( typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined' ) OutbrainStart(); else { var OB_Script = true; var str = ''; document.write(str); } » Mitch Daniels Rejects Candidates' Insane Path to the Presidency » Wives With White House Veto Power » Rick Perry's 2012 Window of Opportunity » 2012 Flip-Flopping Olympics » Iowa Losing Its Electoral Edge: Republicans Skipping the Caucuses 2012 , Minnesota , Presidential Campaign , Pawlenty , Arne Carlson (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies Sort Up Sort Down sort by date: samgyupsal

Good article, but as Mr. Avalon should know, to most "wingnuts" actual facts don't matter. This article seemed to have many good facts and sound reasoning, but that doesn't matter to most wingnuts.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 3:12 am, May 25, 2011 Paid Troll

It's definitely time for everybody to face one fact- Republicans have no idea of how to govern. HOW MANY times must we make them prove it? Of course, this is about Tim Pawlenty. Nobody is going to come in and comment on this snooze fest.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 7:29 am, May 25, 2011 jesselee

haha

Flag It | Permalink 8:07 am, May 25, 2011 estcruzer

So who ended up paying for the faux budget balancing ... the voters and who didn't get touched - again - the rich. This is exactly what will happen if the Republicans take over our government - the rich will get richer and Americans will take the hit.

Flag It | Permalink 9:12 am, May 25, 2011 cryptoad

Is his mouth moving,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!?!

Flag It | Permalink 10:27 am, May 25, 2011 RevPettibone

to the Troll and estcruzer.... Why aren't you liberal clowns hammering on the Bamster for running his mouth the way he just did in London town? The guy says he's "all for living within our means" and yet continues put us deeper in debt when he borrows and spends more money then any president in history. It's the spendthrift Democrats who are the problem in this country.. You people would yank and sell off your granny's gold grill if you thought it would get you a vote. .

Flag It | Permalink 10:43 am, May 25, 2011 cryptoad

Ohhhh,,,,, please Mr Tim,,,, tell how good that Ryan Budget Proposal and Medicare reform is !?!

Flag It | Permalink 1:17 pm, May 25, 2011 cryptoad

Rev please try to stay on topic,,,,,,,,,

Flag It | Permalink 1:18 pm, May 25, 2011 lumnights

That's right Rev, if you can't defend, deflect.

Flag It | Permalink 1:35 pm, May 25, 2011 Andy Olson

Avlon quotes a bunch of Liberal losers (Carlson included) and you call it fact? This is why Liberals are such losers, they prop up each others arguments and there isn't a smart one in the bunch.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 11:20 am, May 25, 2011 jetucker

Andy, Lets take a look at the facts...I live in MN and while my property value has declined nearly 60% my property taxes have remained level. All because TPaw has lowered Local Government Aide to help balance the budget. And the addition of the cigarette "FEE" is accurate. Lets also not forget his eagerness to sign the new Twins ballpark to add a "feather" to his political hat, but doesn't talk about the taxes that were raised to pay for it. I don't disagree with the political "facts" coming from both sides are a bit shady, but I agree with this article fully because Pawlenty has put our state in a huge hole financially.

Flag It | Permalink 12:35 pm, May 25, 2011 periscope

Is Pawlenty lying? Is he a Republican? Ergo: Lying is his modus operandi. Republicans repeat Big Lies over and over. It's one of their many ways of cheating to win elections.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 9:25 am, May 25, 2011 Chuckv

You are giving the Republicans too much credit. Some are liars, but many are so unhinged from reality that they believe what they are saying. They have drunk the Kool-Aid and believe that the President was born in Kenya and raised by Mau Maus, that lowering taxes raises government revenue, that there are death panels in the healthcare reform act, that too much government regulation caused the fiscal crisis, evolution is false, global warming is a left wing plot, and I am getting tired of writing this.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 10:23 am, May 25, 2011 Paid Troll

I love the Mau Mau thing. Republicans gone wild.

Flag It | Permalink 11:37 am, May 25, 2011 acrosebud

THANK YOU John Avlon for digging into Tim Pawlenty's own "time for truth." Those of us who live in MN know what he's been up too and can't believe the moxie he has calling his campaign theme "A Time For Truth." Not only did he leave the state almost a year early - with billions of dollars in debt, he also: Only produced 150 new jobs in his 8 yrs, giving him a zero percent job growth rate per year. Underfunded the MN Highway Dept., despite protests, to the point that a major state highway bridge collapsed killing 13 and injuring 145. He drove up property and other taxes calling them "fees," made huge cuts to education, forcing some schools into a 4-day school week. He flip-flopped on cap-and-trade and DADT, which he now wants to repeal. He put a lot of money into a teen abstinence program that failed and his approval rating upon leaving MN was close to 38%. He has taken a lot of heat in MN that has been kept quiet, for his PARDONING a SEX OFFENDER who has since been charged with MOLESTING HIS own DAUGHTER over 250 times. Yes, he may appear to be very "nice" but his record is another story.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 9:27 am, May 25, 2011 StellaRay

Agreed, acrosebud. His record is far from pretty. And although he likes to style himself in a folksy, moderate way, he's anything but. When he was elected we thought we had a moderate republican. By the time he left, he was a tea party fan---like most of the rest of the GOP. No ideas, no innovations, no jobs, no guiding principles except not raising taxes, while he really was raising taxes, and running for president. Which we here all know has been his priority for the last 2 years---ever since McCain dumped on him as a vice president choice.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply 11:38 am, May 25, 2011 SCfromNY

Would that be the same Arne Carlson who supported Obama in 2008, endorsed the Independence Party candidate for governor of Minnesota in 2010, and was expelled from the Minnesota GOP in 2010? Right. There's a guy with no axe to grind against Republicans.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 9:39 am, May 25, 2011 acrosebud

Arne Carlson was deemed "too liberal" for the 1994 MN state Republican Party, however, he remained popular with the public, beating (D) John Marty in the general election 63% to 34%. He is still very popular and well regarded in MN today.

Flag It | Permalink | Reply | (–) Show Replies Collapse Replies 10:45 am, May 25, 2011 StellaRay

And for good reason. He was a strong fiscal governor and did a great job with the state budget. He stayed out of social issues and refused to be black mailed into taking them on by his party. Arne is the kind of republican that doesn't exist any more---one you could have some respect for, even if you didn't vote for him.

Flag It | Permalink 11:06 am, May 25, 2011 JDC12765

Arne was the reason I became active in the GOP. Pawlenty was the reason I voted for the independent in last year's race. All for the reasons Stella mentions. You may not have always agreed with Arne but he was always consistent thus popular with the majority of the public. Pawlenty was a knee jerk response to Ventura. If anyone remembers, Pawlenty originally wanted to run for Senator but Mr. Rove and company felt that Norm was more of a Senator and TPaw should be guv. TPaw deferred to Mr. Rove.

Flag It | Permalink 1:49 pm, May 25, 2011 periscope

If the American people have the sense to vote their best interests in 2012, as they occasionally do, the Republican Party will lose control of the House, more Dems will be added to the Senate and Obama will win re-election by a landslide. The Republican Party is so demonstrably corrupt and evil, and as if they haven't proved their depraved indifference to the welfare of the American people already with their "Ryan plan," Eric Cantor yesterday wanted to charge Joplin, MO and other tornado struck areas for any federal aid they get to recover!!! The Republican agenda: Tax the rich? No! But bleed the working people and the elderly so you can give more tax cuts to the rich? Yes! And heaven help you or your town or state if a natural disaster occurs, because the Republicans won't vote a nickel to help you out. And yet people still vote for the GOP. Incredible!!!

haha

Is his mouth moving,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!?!

Ohhhh,,,,, please Mr Tim,,,, tell how good that Ryan Budget Proposal and Medicare reform is !?!

Rev please try to stay on topic,,,,,,,,,

That's right Rev, if you can't defend, deflect.

Avlon quotes a bunch of Liberal losers (Carlson included) and you call it fact? This is why Liberals are such losers, they prop up each others arguments and there isn't a smart one in the bunch.

Is Pawlenty lying? Is he a Republican? Ergo: Lying is his modus operandi. Republicans repeat Big Lies over and over. It's one of their many ways of cheating to win elections.

I love the Mau Mau thing. Republicans gone wild.

"presiding over a decline in the bond rating and a shift to a negative credit rating by Moody's in the last year of his administration because of what was called "ongoing fiscal weakness" Pawlenty's strategy is the same one and producing the same result as Obama's without Obama's excessive wasteful spending. The trouble with this approach is you can escape Pawlenty's reach by moving to another state while Obama's fiscal recklessness is inescapable.

To say that Pawlenty raised taxes when it was local governments who did so is disingenuous. The local governments had the choice of cutting spending and THEY chose to raise taxes instead. I don't see how Pawlenty is to blame for that. They guy did not control every level of government in the state. Your article is inoperable due to this distortion of the record.

Yes they "chose to raise taxes" because it was necessary. Due to the republican great recession, revenues were down drastically, foreclosures up, jobs down. And like most of the GOP, instead of facing facts, Pawlenty tried to slide by with semantic cheats, and dumped the chore of raising taxes on local governments so he'd look better running for president---which everyone here has known he was doing for the last two years. He was not a leader to this state, he was a presidential candidate. He is very unpopular here, wouldn't carry his own state in a presidential election.

I'm beginning to think that John Avlon is auditioning for David Brock's job at moveOn ... hey ... maybe they'll call it WingnutsOn

I TOLD YOU........! PHONYS,FAKES AND FRAUDS ITS DISGUSTING HOW THEY GO TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY AND "LIE" ON MONDAY............................!WHATS EVEN MORE DISGUSTING IS THE EVANGELIC'S LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT ,INSTEAD OF "EXPOSING" THE LIE LIKE JESUS DID..................................................................! Whats happen to the church and the Evangelic base which is supposed stand up against "DISHONESTY" even though they are part of your party.That should'nt matter Jesus "EXPOSED" the pharisee's and there "DISHONESTY" .Thats what his job was to confront "LIARS,PHONYS,FAKES and FRAUDS" because they were misleading his people. Just like PAWLENTY is misleading you. John once again "GREAT" piece . Tim Pawlenty would let his "LIES" continue unconfronted ....................................................................! These Republican secret society "THUGS" have built a wall around there base and put scales over there eye's to blind them of the "TRUTH".......................................................! STOP THE REPUBLICANS MADNESS DO NOT VOTE FOR THEM SAVE YOUR RIGHTS TO BE AMERICAN ............! AND STOP THERE RIGHT-WING SOCIAL ENGINEERING OF YOUR MEDI-CARE &MEDI-CAID...............................!

I wouldn't say he was lying but his mouth is moving and he just won't STFU...

Of course he is lying: This campaign-----"I will tell the truth to the American people" ----is the most dishonest and distorted campaign in recent history. Pawlenty will never again be elected to state wide office in MN, and was effectively AWOL for most of his last term. If Mr. Pawlenty actually runs on his record, he will be asked to leave the country to pay for his sins.

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The Fiscal Shell Game of Tim Pawlenty

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