Pawlenty: "Like Eminem" At MTV Awards, GOP Must "Regroup"

Addressing a convention of nat'l college GOPers gathered in Washington three days after announcing he will not run for a third term, MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said that to succeed, GOPers must hold fast to their principles, but "we need to do a better job of communicating" them to other people so they can join us.

And over the course of a 40-minute speech and Q&A, Pawlenty said he intends to lead by example.

Opening his remarks with a reference to NBC's "Inside the Obama White House" special, Pawlenty told the gathering of about 200 students, "I haven't seen something that staged since that half-naked Austrian fell onto the face of Eminem at the MTV music awards."

"Eminem was mad," he continued, to laughter and applause. "And so, just like Eminem getting dumped on, we've got to kind of regroup. We've got to continue to fight. And we've got some things worth fighting for."

Casting himself as the blue-collar gov. of a "deep blue state," Pawlenty sounded his familiar "Sam's Club Republican" theme of fiscal responsibility, albeit tailored for a younger "Target" crowd.

"'Republicans. They're not for the working person.' Ever hear that?" Pawlenty asked the crowd. "Well, you will."

But in a preview of a nascent pitch to voters on the nat'l level, Pawlenty laid out a vision of a new GOP.

"Think purposely about elevating and promoting people who are running for office who don't fit the stereotype of Republicans," he said. "The value of that is the messenger sort of matters. It does matter."

"And if we have a message which we agree on," Pawlenty added, the party must "be able to convey it in a modern way" that is appealing to those to whom it is trying to reach out.

Sounding like a WH '12 hopeful even while insisting his political future is unclear, Pawlenty also took aim both at nat'l Dems and the nat'l media. He called the budget "unsustainable," "reckless" and "irresponsible" and said, "The only thing growing faster than the federal deficit is Chris Matthews' man-crush on Barack Obama."

In a Q&A session after Pawlenty's prepared remarks, students peppered the gov. with sharp questions on the MN SEN race ("I hope desperately that [Norm] wins," Pawlenty said), SC Gov. Mark Sanford's (R) likely acceptance of stimulus funds ("It seems kind of odd to me that a court would step in and tell a [gov.] that he must accept some money" from the gov't) and the future of the GOP ("Do not confuse the need to reform the party with the need to behave like Democrats").

One student asked if Pawlenty has any "future vacation plans" in IA, NH, OH or FL. Pawlenty grinned and replied, "No."

Pawlenty's pitch seemed to resonate with several of the College GOPers in attendance. "We don't need to necessarily change our message," said Andrew Curley, a 20-year-old student from Sioux Falls, SD who attends college in MN. "We just need to do a better job of putting it out there."

On a potential Pawlenty bid, Curley said, "As a Minnesotan, I would love it," but added that Pawlenty will "definitely in the next few years have to step up his national profile."

Jeff Quesnelle, a 21-year-old engineering student from Macomb Co., MI, said he supported ex-AR Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) in '08 but would "absolutely" back Pawlenty in '12.

"I feel like Pawlenty comes from the same [mold] of people who's going to come to lower-, middle-income people and say, 'I fought your fight. And I've become successful in my life and want to bring you up, not take you down,'" Quesnelle said. "I think he's got Iowa and New Hampshire definitely in his future."

(FELICIA SONMEZ)