Tim Pawlenty

[[File:Tim Pawlenty official photo.jpg|thumb|165px|Official photo.]]{{uspolitics|1}}
'''Timothy James "T. Paw" Pawlenty''' is 
the longest running Vice Presidential candidate in history
 the 
slash-and-burn
 former [[Republican party|Republican]] Governor of the unfortunate people of [[Minnesota]], who succeeded [[Jesse Ventura|Jesse "The Body" Ventura]] in 2003 and stepped down in 2011, being succeeded by [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Mark Dayton.

==Policies, ambitions and beliefs==
He is most well known for his...well, the magnetic dullness and lack of excitement around him.

The guy is very boring, but on a secondary note his venomous support of [[Reaganomics]] and support of cutting all government spending that 
helps the poor
 is "wasteful." In aid of this, he foolishly stuck to a pledge he made when campaigning that there would be "no new [[tax]]es"; however, his adherence turned out to be to the letter rather than the spirit as he subsequently introduced new ''fees'' on [[Smoking|cigarettes]], etc. [[Hypocrisy|Big difference]].  Also, during his tenure, property taxes across the state have skyrocketed as cities must now fill the void left by the lack of state funding.

He also has [[delusions of grandeur]]; specifically, he hopes that he will at some point be elected to some important federal office, such as [[POTUS|President]] or [[Vice President|Vice President]]. He was awfully disappointed in 2008 when [[John McCain]] passed him over in favor of [[Sarah Palin|Caribou Barbie]]. One of the first contenders to declare his candidacy, he was gunning for the top spot on the [[2012 US Presidential Election|2012 ticket]] but became the first to drop out on August 14, 2011 after coming in third in the [[Iowa]] straw poll, losing to [[Michele Bachmann]]. No word yet on whether T. Paw plans to reinvent himself as a rapper and go on tour with P. Diddy.

One [[Stopped clock|good thing]] about Pawlenty that should be noted, however, is that he is more [[environment]]ally friendly than your run-of-the-mill Republican, and has even acknowledged that [[global warming]] does, indeed, exist and is a real threat in the near future. He then abandoned this position, lest that brief flirt with sanity ruin his chances in the 2012 primaries.<ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/21/pawlenty-cap-trade/ Pawlenty completes global warming flip-flop], ThinkProgress</ref> He also makes Minnesotans realize just how much of a "gem" [[Jesse Ventura]] was. 

After withdrawing from the Republican presidential primaries, Pawlenty endorsed [[Mittens]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/pawlenty-endorses-romney-for-president/ Pawlenty Endorses Romney for President, Cites 'Unmatched' Business Experience], Fox 
Noise
 News</ref> He was in the running, so-to-speak, to be Romney's vice presidential candidate, but was left out for the second straight election when [[Paul Ryan]] was picked instead.<ref>[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/08/tim-pawlenty-romney-vice-president-/1#.UCyDZd1mQpA USA Today: Pawlenty 'not disappointed' Romney didn't choose him], ''USA Today''</ref> Poor Tim just can't make the cut, even though Ryan was a poor VP pick.  Pawlenty has since resigned from Romney's campaign to take up a post in [[lobbying]].<ref>[http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/romney-congratulates-pawlenty-on-joining-financial-services-roundtable Romney Congratulates Pawlenty On Joining Financial Services Roundtable], TPM</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:2012 US Presidential candidates]]
[[Category:Anti-abortion activists]]
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[[Category:Living people]]
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[[Category:United States politicians]]

Categories: 2012 US Presidential candidates, Anti-abortion activists, Authors, Baptists, Business, Former United States Governors, Gun nuts, Homophobes, Lawyers, Living people, Right-wing activists, United States politicians