The Benefits Of Holding Office
In 2010, incumbents have become targets. But that doesn't mean the trappings of incumbency have all gone out the window. In fact, for MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), being in office is affording him the luxury of making a splash on the national GOP scene.
Pawlenty last week issued an executive order that directs state agencies to avoid discretionary participation in health care reform legislation, labeling it an attempt by the federal government to assert control over the country's health care system -- at a detriment to the states.
The order will have an impact on MN, which will forego millions in early funding. But it's also going to have an impact on Pawlenty's future plans. The order has already caught notice of conservative activists who Pawlenty will need if he goes ahead with what is increasingly looking like a WH'12 bid.
Pawlenty plays down the connection to any future plans he might have, but the potential benefits such an order has are plain to see.
"It's really straight forward in this sense: I don't like Obama-care, I think it's misguided policy at a level that's deeply concerning to me and certainly to others, so I want to do what I can to stop its implementation," Pawlenty told The Hotline in an interview.
"The Democrats here in Minnesota are saying, 'It's political,' and, 'He might run for president in 2012' or whatever," Pawlenty added. "It's not some new concoction that we just whipped up for these six months for some political motives."
While other GOPers considering a WH bid have railed against health care legislation, Pawlenty is the only one who has done anything about it. MS Gov. Haley Barbour (R), IN Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) and LA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) are all said to harbor national ambitions, but none have taken the same steps Pawlenty has.
Others who don't hold executive office anymore, like former Govs. Mitt Romney (R), Sarah Palin (R) and Mike Huckabee (R), or those who hold legislative jobs, like Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), cannot exercise the same power. Romney, Palin and Huckabee have spoken out against the bill, while Thune and Pence have offered little more than hollow promises to repeal and replace the bill, though they won't likely have the votes to do so while Obama is president.
Pawlenty's motives may be called into question, too, for deciding to accept $260M in federal funds for medical assistance aid. On Tuesday, Pawlenty sent a letter to HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius requesting funding for Medicaid expansion. That money comes from jobs legislation, rather than from health care legislation, and Pawlenty has insisted there is no inconsistency to his dual positions.
"Most of the [health care overhaul's] grant opportunities would represent new spending. It would not represent supplanting current state spending in a way that would help our budget," Pawlenty said in the interview as Dems criticized him for allegedly going back on a budget pledge.
Even so, taking action against health care hasn't proven an effective way to harness primary voters. SC AG Henry McMaster (R), FL AG Bill McCollum (R) and MI AG Mike Cox (R) all lead the charge to file lawsuits against the bill. All 3 lost their GOP primaries this year; only PA AG Tom Corbett (R), who joined the lawsuit, won his primary.
But Pawlenty is laying other groundwork as well. He's traveling the country on behalf of GOP candidates; last week, he stumped in IL for state Sen. Bill Brady (R), and in OR for ex-NBA star Chris Dudley (R), on behalf of the RGA, of which Pawlenty is the vice chair. And he's given just over $200K to state and local candidates, according to a spokesman.
"We're out in the context of helping candidates for 2010," he said. "We're trying to amplify their message and their abilities."
Pawlenty is also taking advantage of his office to build foreign policy credentials. He's headed to Japan and China this week on a trade mission, likely the last during his 2-term tenure as governor.
His executive order may not last long; the competitive race to replace him could see ex-Sen. Mark Dayton (D) take over the GOV mansion, a scenario under which it's almost certain Pawlenty's order would be overturned. But while others may get more headlines for their opposition to health care, Pawlenty's order will win him something more -- credit for actually doing something.
Even in an anti-establishment climate, being an incumbent is worth something: In this case, it affords Pawlenty the ability to stand out from the crowd in a way he might not otherwise do.