May 12 Who Will Be Molnau’s Lieutenant Governor?

The WaPo has made it unofficial, and the Strib has picked up on it, Carol Molnau will be the first woman Governor of Minnesota....... or will she?

I'm talking of course about Gov. Tim Pawlenty being John McCain's presumptive pick for Vice President.

"The Minnesota governor remains the single possibility in the Republican vice presidential field who best fits what McCain wants and needs in a VP. Pawlenty has been elected twice in a Democratic-leaning state that is almost certain to be a battleground in the fall. He is liked and respected by both conservatives and moderates, and he gets rave reviews for his political instincts. He has also known McCain for nearly three decades and, at 47, could allay some concerns about McCain's age."

I think this is far more about McCain having a VP that will not be a challenge to his policies than "shoring up his base". What McCain needs is to balance himself with his pick, but a Pawlenty choice is more supplemental than it is complimentary. Pawlenty is cut from the McCain mold of Republicans. He is not a 'strict' conservative who values Reagan principles first. They both share some conservative aspects, but they are both far from strict limited government conservatives.

McCain has been one of the most dangerous Republican Senators in Washington with all his Big Government bills, acts, and laws. Campaign finance is a great example. So are his attempts to make the Kyoto Protocol look vague. He also had his name on the Amnesty bill. Even his war on pork would only amount to saving a hundred billion or so out of our of a budget out of well over $3 trillion.

Now while Pawlenty does have some differences with McCain on policy (Illegal Immigration), in the #2 spot, Pawlenty will not be able to exercise those differences. Well, he could I suppose, but the chances of there being a 50-50 tie in the Senate on an Amnesty bill is not something we can bank on. The Vice President serves at the pleasure of the President.

Pawlenty has been a good Governor, but not a perfect conservative. Minnesota state spending has been going up at percentages that would make even DC politicians blush during his 6 years in office. Just last session we had a $2.2 billion surplus, but now we have a $1 billion deficit. Now sure the DFL has been a steady drag on any real fiscal responsibility or government spending reform, but Pawlenty has gone along with and proposed some of his very own expansions in spending and committed taxpayers to generations of publicly subsidized programs. He's great on taxes, just not so good on the spending and scope of state government.

Now that doesn't tell the whole story on how similar he is to McCain. Another major similarity is energy and environmental policy. It is a black and white issue. Both McCain and Pawlenty are left of center on the issue. I don't think I need to renew my concerns for both of their leftward drift on global warming and turning food into fuel in this post. Let me just remind people that Pawlenty used to love using the line of how he wanted to make Minnesota the Saudi Arabia of renewable fuels.

So what will Pawlenty bring to the McCain ticket?

I guess we have to look no further than Austin Powers' Mini-Me. Pawlenty is a younger more attractive version of McCain that strategists and pundits think the rest of the Nation's conservatives will appreciate. Pawlenty is running for Vice President. Don't let his dismissive statements and tactical answers from the past fool you.

He's been doing fund raisers all across the country of late. I've been asking around and I still haven't heard of any fund raisers he has held in Minnesota for State House candidates. (Please let me know if he has held any) He was a regular on the McCain Primary tour. He's made the Sunday morning talk show circuits.

Speaking as someone who has felt uncomfortable at Republican events and meetings when Pawlenty has been lecturing us (conservatives) about how we need to change our stances for the times, I have to say he will simply be a Mini-McCain. Now he doesn't lecture us in the same way as McCain does, but he is trying to reshape the Party to fit his image, not represent the party. Sounds a lot like McCain, minus the thumb in the eye & 'out of touch' comments for conservatives who stand on principles not polls.

McCain loathes the battle with conservatives and the absolute last thing he will want to do if he does win the Presidency is have to face one every single day. Pawlenty and McCain are friends and have a mutual respect and admiration for each other.

McPlenty will be the ticket, I told you so.

So who will Carol Molnau pick to be her #2?