Those Who Forget Their History Are Condemned To Write For Minnesota Progressive Project

Eric “Big E” Pusey over at The Minnesota Short Bus Collection Of “Progressive” Whackdoodles So Big It Must Be A Stimulus-Funded Project hops up and down and notes the blazingly obvious; Tim Pawlenty has turned on his previous – as in, over 12-year-old – support of term limits:

Dusty Trice brought it up and I couldn’t help taking a look for myself.  And wouldn’t you be surprised what I found.  Gov. Tim Pawlenty was for term limits before he was against them.

But he wasn’t just for term limits, he actually went so far as to introduce a bill.  This means he really meant it.  Back when he was a turd-flinging back-bencher.

This was a year before he became a serious politician.  A year before he was elected Minority Leader in the House.  A year before he understood how much he liked power.

One wonders where Pusey got this narrative; Pawlenty has always “liked power” (i.e. been highly motivated in his political career, often seen as a good thing when it’s not Republicans).

No person may file to be a candidate for election to a term in the house of representatives or senate that, if served, would cause the person to serve more than ten consecutive years in the legislature.
(From HF30 as introduced Jan. 10, 1997)

That’s all well and good, Timmeh, but your bill also included term limits for Governor as well.  Where do you stand on term limits now?

[What’s that buzzing sound?  Do you hear a buzzing sound?]

Oh, relax.  When a Tic – like, say, Paul Wellstone – does it, it’s called “growing in office”.

Actually, in this case the Wellstone and Pawlenty stories are closer than you might think (especially if you’re completely ignorant of both); Wellstone, if we take him at his word, opted to break his two-term promise because he worried the seat could go to a Republican if he left; the GOP controlled the Senate by a decent margin at the time, and he felt, not-completely-unjustifiably, like he needed to keep the seat in his own caucus.

Governor Pawlenty – who, unlike Wellstone, is an effective politician – can genuinely say the same thing; ceding the state’s last executive office to DFL hegemony, in the absence of an effective state GOP capable of contesting control of the State House, would be a disaster of biblical proportions for Minnesota.

So, y’see, Libs? We Republicans have actual, not-always-base motivations for the things we do, too!
But…but…that buzzing sound?

We all know you like the sound of Three Term Timmeh

Timmeh?  The handicapped kid from South Park?

We have to share a state with these toddlers?

3 thoughts on “Those Who Forget Their History Are Condemned To Write For Minnesota Progressive Project

  1. Mitch wrote…”Timmeh? The handicapped kid from South Park?”

    Ever since The One made a joke about his supposed Special Olympic like bowling ability, it’s now a game on the left to see who can make the most clever “tard” reference or joke. As Tom Shales made us all aware, it is innocuous when a Democrat, Liberal or (self-proclaimed) Progressive does it.

  2. Pingback: Blast from the Past: T-Paw Slammed Wellstone For Seeking Third Term | MNpublius.com

  3. While I know the comment above, from Zack @ MNPublius – which is, unlike MPP, at least a credible blog whose authors (if not commenters) don’t usually have their head swathed in tinfoil – is a trackback, I can’t help but respond:

    Mitch’s argument basically was that if it was ok for Wellstone to do it, it must be ok for Pawlenty to do it too.

    Well, no. My “argument” is actually an observation; people change their views on issues over time; sometimes due to contingency; sometimes due to principle. Calling someone a hypocrite for supporting something once, that for a variety of reasons he no longer does, makes no more sense than saying the US is a “hypocritical nation” for supporting minority voting rights today when we didn’t fifty years ago. It’s a bit of a non-sequitur.

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