The Sam's Club Republican

Now if only Tim Pawlenty were running for President . . .

Comments

He's too smart to run this year. In 2012, he'll be able to mount a baggage-free campaign against a Democratic president.

Posted by AP | April 29, 2007 7:24 PM

Ross,

congratulations on your new gig.

I must say it's a measure of how desperate thinking conservatives must be that Pawlenty's incoherent and inertial incrementalism is greeted with cheers by you and Matt Continetti. So what's the bold new program of the Governor of Minnesota? Drug importation from Canada--a hardy staple in the Democratic program for years, and the most trivial, stop gap idea for dealing with health care issues. Or, ok--a new health care policy, writ large. But, wait--even though Pawlenty notes that health care now is "breaking the backs" of everyone--labor, workers, companies--it can't be government sponsored program--even though half the health care in the country is already government sponsored (medicare, medicaid, VA), and every successful health care system in the advanced world is also government sponsored (And why can't it be a government sponsored health care plan? Well...you know, it just can't. There's no need to construct an argument when a hoary assertion of dogma will do). Note, too, that Pawlenty gets the polls exactly wrong--with no correction from Continetti--when he claims that most Americans are NOT in favor of government national health insurance. Uh...but they are. You know, they're also in favor of a government sponsored military--markets are great wealth creators, but there are some things they don't do very well.

Oh, and Pawlenty is absolutely against any new taxes--now there's a radical new thought from a Republican. But he's also for "using government, in Continetti's words, "to cater to the needs of downscale voters." hmm--ok, but there really won't be any money for that, though, will there, if he doesn't raise any revenues to apply to that project beyond the Eisenhower levels government % of GDP we've now descended to?

So maybe instead he'll do everything with his favorite policy , the tax credit--another banal idea that would also not do anything to keep the deficit stabilized as we run into the medicare crunch. Thus in the classic conundrum between social spending and restraining the budget deficit, Pawlenty somehow manages to choose neither and thus improve neither. A dream candidate, no question about it.

But, don't worry about the government assistance to the downscale stuff anyway--because Pawlenty tells Continetti that he's a "strong" believer in the "Milton Friedman playbook." If so, that would pretty much eliminate even his most miniscule social transfer programs. Oh, ok--it all makes sense now. But Pawlenty is beginning to make George Bush sound like A.J. Ayer.

Hoping--and assuming--that the book you're writing with Reihan will put a bit more meat on the Sam's Club bones than this....

One hint: No taxes, no help for the working class. But if you do want to propose a non-governmental program that wouldn't include any progressivity, try unions--when it comes to raising people's incomes, they've always worked. I look forward to reading your book.

Posted by yeselson | April 29, 2007 11:27 PM