Don't Bench Pawlenty

Governor Pawlenty is right where he should be – both running the state in his final year of office and getting out to the hustings, raising money for Republican candidates ahead of this year's elections.

Has my friend Jeb Golinkin forgotten that there are mid-term elections this year, for Congress and for 36 governorships?  Governor Pawlenty is right where he should be – both running the state in his final year of office and getting out to the hustings, raising money for Republican candidates all over the country, not for 2012, but for this year’s elections – for candidates like Senator Scott Brown.

Anyway, Pawlenty’s approval rating in that poll sure looks a lot better when placed in context  -- it turns out that only 25 percent of Minnesotans approve of the Legislature’s performance, of which 66 percent disapprove.  Not surprising when KSTP TV (which commissioned the poll) reports that “The first month of the legislative session has been a rocky one for the legislature and the governor. They have been at odds over health care, the bonding bill and the budget.”  Sounds like more Minnesotans blame the Legislature than the Governor for the budget troubles.   (And only 40 percent, which is a reasonable proxy for partisan affiliation, feel his political travel distracts him from his role as Governor, while 41 percent say it has no impact.  Democrats (locally known as the DFL) control both houses of the Minnesota Legislature.  It’s unsurprising that they would propose bills that a fiscally conservative Republican Governor doesn’t want to sign.  It’s also unsurprising that the DFL might want to try to rough up Pawlenty a bit in his final year in office – they are looking at 2012 as well as the Minnesota Governor’s race this year.

But it’s about 2010 right now – and all the GOP’s national leaders, including successful incumbents like Pawlenty, have a vital role to play in raising money and support for our candidates.  Let’s not take anyone off the field.