Tim Pawlenty Resigns as Romney National Campaign Co-Chair

[Don Vito Corleone]

From http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/pawlenty-quits-romney-campaign-co-chair-132022573--election.html -

Pawlenty quits as Romney campaign co-chair

Tim Pawlenty quit as co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign on Thursday to become one of Wall Street's top lobbyists in Washington. Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota, will lead the Financial Services Roundtable.

The move came with Romney's campaign struggling to find its stride with just seven weeks left before Election Day. Polls show the former Massachusetts governor running neck and neck with President Barack Obama in a contest both sides predict will be very close. But Romney's campaign has been grappling with a video showing him seemingly writing off Obama supporters as having a "victim" mindset and being reliant on government handouts. And Republicans outside the campaign have been grumbling that the campaign needs a shot in the arm.

* * *

According to what I've read, Pawlenty's predecessor in this job was earning $1.8M/year, so I can definitely see the appeal of the position, but to me this is powerful proof that Pawlenty simply doesn't believe Romney has a chance. It seems all but certain that Pawlenty would, had he stuck around and Romney been elected, have been appointed to a cabinet position or desirable ambassadorship.

Even if Pawlenty wanted to take the lobbyist position for financial reasons (which would surprise me - my partner is his good friend and Pawlenty is not a person who appears to care much about wealth), surely he could have waited until after election day to announce it and continue to serve in the Romney campaign until that time. Leaving in the midst of the shitstorm that the Romney campaign has endured over the last week and a half just makes the campaign look even less viable.

This is also interesting in that it there had been rumors of Pawlenty's running against Al Franken in 2014 - now he has taken that off the table as well.

Veddy interesting . . .

 

[blankslate]

It's just people distancing themselves from him over his comments....

other politicians have done so already.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/republicans-distance-romneys-47-percent-remark/story?id=17273355

Senate candidate Linda McMahon from CT

I disagree with Governor Romney's insinuation that 47% of Americans believe they are victims who must depend on the government for their care. I know that the vast majority of those who rely on government are not in that situation because they want to be. People today are struggling because the government has failed to keep America competitive, failed to support job creators, and failed to get our economy back on track.

Senator Scott Brown from Mass.

Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown wrote in an email to The Hill, "That's not the way I view the world. As someone who grew up in tough circumstances, I know that being on public assistance is not a spot that anyone wants to be in. Too many people today who want to work are being forced into public assistance for lack of jobs."

Additionally people who have worked on President Reagan's and President G.W. Bush's administrations have had unflattering things to say about it.

http://blogs.wsj.com/peggynoonan/2012/09/18/time-for-an-intervention/

The central problem revealed by the tape is Romney’s theory of the 2012 election. It is that a high percentage of the electorate receives government checks and therefore won’t vote for him, another high percentage is supplying the tax revenues and will vote for him, and almost half the people don’t pay taxes and presumably won’t vote for him.


My goodness, that’s a lot of people who won’t vote for you. You wonder how he gets up in the morning.


This is not how big leaders talk, it’s how shallow campaign operatives talk: They slice and dice the electorate like that, they see everything as determined by this interest or that. They’re usually young enough and dumb enough that nobody holds it against them, but they don’t know anything. They don’t know much about America.

It’s time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one. It’s not big, it’s not brave, it’s not thoughtfully tackling great issues. It’s always been too small for the moment. All the activists, party supporters and big donors should be pushing for change. People want to focus on who at the top is least constructive and most responsible. Fine, but Mitt Romney is no puppet: He chooses who to listen to. An intervention is in order. “Mitt, this isn’t working.”

Mark McKinney an aid for President G.W. Bush had this to say.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...-why-time-is-running-out-for-mitt-romney.html

Well, the release of the Romney tape was a moment that certainly revealed something about him. But not what I was hoping for. Just the opposite. It reveals a deeply cynical man, who sees the country as completely divided, as two completely different sets of people, and who would likely govern in a way that would only further divide us.

What about seniors on limited incomes who do not pay taxes? What about veterans? What about even middle-income families with young children and the deductions that go with them? They are not victims, although they might now view themselves that way under a Romney administration.

How can anyone support a candidate with this kind of a vision of the country? Isn’t a divided America under Obama what folks on the right rail against?

Of course some people hate President Obama so much that they'll forgive such divisive statements from Governor Romney. That just strikes me as just sad.

 

[DrPizza]

Are the polls really showing that they're that close?

I think your analysis is pretty good. The only thing that it might also reveal is that perhaps being a lobbyist pays a hell of a lot better & has more long term perks than having a cabinet position or nice ambassadorship.

 

[bfdd]

He wants to get into lobbying. It's more politically effective and more financially lucrative. Not to mention the captain just jumped ship, what the fuck does that tell you about the GOP? IMO fear mongering from the media is the only reason to their relevance at this point.

 

[blankslate]

The only thing that it might also reveal is that perhaps being a lobbyist pays a hell of a lot better & has more long term perks than having a cabinet position or nice ambassadorship.

If you work it right you can turn a former position in the White House into a financial plus for you.

Granted it's easier to go the route Governor Tim Pawlenty is going since he has already been Governor and can get the position with more certainty than waiting for Governor Romney to get elected.

Remember President Obama has the 8% plus unemployment figures to contend with.
Which, to me, is why it looks like President Obama's campaign has been relatively silent in the wake of Governor Romney's latest videotaped gaff...

Governor Romney surely would rather be talking about that unemployment rate. However, he has to contend with this videotape and republicans saying man we don't agree with what you said.

Are the polls really showing that they're that close?

Remember the polls that really matter are the ones in the swing states.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/cbs-n...c83eda-025a-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_video.html

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box...mong-democratic-voters-spikes-in-swing-states

Gallup polled the 12 battleground states – Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire - that President Bush won in 2004 but President Obama won in 2008.

The survey found that 73 percent of Democratic voters in those states are extremely enthusiastic about the election, up from 53 in late June. Among Republicans, 64 percent now say they are very enthusiastic, compared to 55 in late June.

In addition, Gallup found that trend wasn’t specific to the swing states – enthusiasm among all U.S. voters jumped from 43 to 55 percent, with Democrats outpacing Republicans by 9 percentage points nationwide. Democrats gained 19 points in enthusiasm, from 49 to 68, compared to a 10 point gain for Republicans, from 52 to 62.

But while the national polls remain tight, Obama seems to be sustaining his slight lead in the 12 swing states that will be critical in determining the outcome of the 2012 election.

we'll have to see how things shake out in the swing states in the next several weeks.

It's also important to remember that this gallup poll summarized in the article was taken before the Romney video was made public so that isn't reflected in this polling.

The Gallup national poll of 954 registered voters was conducted Sept. 16-17, and the swing states poll of 1,096 registered voters was conducted between Sept. 11-17.

for some reason I don't think it'll help his case.

 

[Moonbeam]

Pawlenty was a democratic plant working inside the campaign to destroy it. He was given the option of leaving or being fired. I know it in my gut and God damn it am I proud of myself.

 

[tweaker2]

Interesting indeed. Thanks for the news.

Warning: Trainwreck now in progress. Possible multiple pachyderm carcasses may litter the tracks.

 

[Moonbeam]

Interesting indeed. Thanks for the news.

Warning: Trainwreck now in progress. Possible multiple pachyderm carcasses may litter the tracks.

Carcasses are no problem. It's that shrill trumpeting that killing my ears. Looks like the Romney Big White Tent is the fabled home of the Elephant Burial Ground.

 

[Fern]

Are the polls really showing that they're that close?

I think your analysis is pretty good. The only thing that it might also reveal is that perhaps being a lobbyist pays a hell of a lot better & has more long term perks than having a cabinet position or nice ambassadorship.

There's no "perhaps" to it.

Cabinet positions pay $197K
http://dcjobsource.com/presidentialsalaries.html

Ambassador pay is pretty low:

As per the United States Foreign Service Pay Schedule the lowest ambassadorial salary is $47,024 as of 2010 and the middle starting salary was $52,601 and a high of $64,917

http://www.therichest.org/salary/ambassador/

Not sure where Pawlenty could be an ambassador. Does he even have any foreign experience or language skills?

Fern

 

[Fern]

-snip- but to me this is powerful proof that Pawlenty simply doesn't believe Romney has a chance.

Possibly.

But there are other equally as reasonable interpretations. Might be that Pawlenty wasn't being listened to. I.e., little to no influence. Or might be that he was and is the subject of criticism regarding Romney's campaign. I don't claim to know much about him, but Pawlenty doesn't strike me as the aggressive type. Aside from the gaffes, I see a lot of criticism about the lack of aggressiveness in Romney's campaign.

Given the criticism I don't think it's unexpected that we see campaign officials leave. IMO, it is therefore far less than certain that any departure can be attributed to 'hopelessness'.

Fern

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Possibly.

But there are other equally as reasonable interpretations. Might be that Pawlenty wasn't being listened to. I.e., little to no influence. Or might be that he was and is the subject of criticism regarding Romney's campaign. I don't claim to know much about him, but Pawlenty doesn't strike me as the aggressive type. Aside from the gaffes, I see a lot of criticism about the lack of aggressiveness in Romney's campaign.

Given the criticism I don't think it's unexpected that we see campaign officials leave. IMO, it is therefore far less than certain that any departure can be attributed to 'hopelessness'.

Fern

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that since Pawlenty had this lucrative job lined up simultaneously with his departure, it's likelier that he decided to leave than that he was fired. All the heat I have seen applied to the Romney campaign of late from Republicans was focused on Stuart Stevens, not Pawlenty - see, e.g., http://www.examiner.com/article/romney-strategist-stevens-has-campaign-chaos. It's hard to know as an outsider but it's not my understanding Pawlenty was serving much in an advisory role anyway - more in a managerial and fundraising capacity. Regardless it never seems to bode well for a campaign when senior leadership leaves in times of crisis.

I will say that, in aggregate, Romney's has been one of the most incompetently run campaigns I have ever seen. I don't know whose feet that is properly laid at, but when in doubt I think it makes sense to blame the man in charge (i.e., Romney himself).

 

[Phokus]

Possibly.

But there are other equally as reasonable interpretations. Might be that Pawlenty wasn't being listened to. I.e., little to no influence. Or might be that he was and is the subject of criticism regarding Romney's campaign. I don't claim to know much about him, but Pawlenty doesn't strike me as the aggressive type. Aside from the gaffes, I see a lot of criticism about the lack of aggressiveness in Romney's campaign.

Given the criticism I don't think it's unexpected that we see campaign officials leave. IMO, it is therefore far less than certain that any departure can be attributed to 'hopelessness'.

Fern

LOL, are you serious? Does the Romney campaign have to start using the N word to describe Obama? Because that's really the only way i could see them being any more aggressive, after their disgraceful display using the dead ambassador as political fodder.

 

[HomerJS]

While the band slowly plays in the background

 

[kage69]

Not sure where Pawlenty could be an ambassador. Does he even have any foreign experience or language skills?

lol like that matters.

If a Romney admin would be anything like a Bush admin, then Pawlenty would be sent someplace unimportant. You know, like France, or Germany.

 

[Jhhnn]

While the band slowly plays in the background

This song, perhaps?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Z5zebyVrI

Timing is everything in politics, and I'm quite sure that Pawlenty's new employer would have been happy to wait until after the election...

Dunno if Pawlenty jumped ship or if Romney threw him overboard, but it doesn't really matter when the ship, the campaign, has taken direct hits to the engine room & is sinking fast...

 

[Farang]

I don't think leaving for money is a plausible explanation. If Pawlenty believed either a) Romney had a chance at winning or b) he had a chance at a cabinet position, he would have pushed out his start date.

 

[Lemon law]

All his life, ex Governor Pawlenty has sought to have a national political voice and cred. After all he ran for POTUS on the GOP ticket and wimped out when a 23.5 carot phony named Michelle Backmann won more straw in Iowa.

Up to a few days ago, Gov Pawlenty gained a new voice and new cred as the loyal deputy of Mitt Romney as Romney is the victorius GOP nominee in 2012 instead Pawlenty. And if Romney somehow wins in 11/2012, surely Pawlenty would have gotten a political plum appointment in the Romney administration if Tim Pawlenty went the distance.

But Pawlenty is made of strerner stuff and a true Repubican, when the offer comes to become the chief lobbyist for Wall Street, Pawlenty answered the call. Because short of POTUS itself, chief lobbyist for Wall Street is the second highest office to aspire to in GOP circles.

Dare we hope, Pawlenty will end up making more money than Romney?As Michelle Backmann grubs along for chump change. Proving once again, America is truly the land of opportunity and opportunists of low character.