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FULL COVERAGE OF PAWLENTY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
By Luke Hellier | December 17, 2009
Yesterday, Governor Tim Pawlenty made his first trip as a non-surrogate for Sen. John McCain to the first primary state New Hampshire. Check out the full coverage of his trip below:
Pawlenty told a high-powered group of Republican activists that he’s concerned about the national debt and federal spending.
“The federal government is running a Ponzi scheme, the Ponzi scheme on the Potomac. And it needs to come to an end,” Pawlenty said.
He ridiculed the health care bill being debated in Congress, and said President Obama isn’t delivering on the promise of bipartisan cooperation he made on the day before the 2008 New Hampshire primary.
“President Obama is a gifted speaker, but he has taken the country in a very dangerous and misguided direction,” he told Fox News on Wednesday during a trip to New Hampshire. “The country is figuring that out, and so the pendulum is swinging back away from Democrats. So now it’s an opportunity for conservatives to make their case as to why we deserve another chance.”
On paper, Pawlenty has the makings of a top-tier presidential candidate: past chairman of the National Governor’s Association, co-chairman of John McCain’s presidential bid, short-listed for vice president.
And in Minnesota, he pushed for inexpensive drug importation from Canada and elsewhere — a popular ideal nationally that the Senate rejected this week, preserving the Obama administration’s deal with drug companies to support health care reform.
Of his many travels in an increasingly likely bid for the White House, the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire could offer some of the most favorable ground yet for the Republican governor of a northern swing state.
“We share something besides hockey,” Pawlenty told about 200 New Hampshire Republican Party members. “We share conservative values.”
Independent, flinty and civically engaged, New Hampshire Republicans say they are open to a rising national leader and prospective presidential contender debuting a national message.
His appearance at the Grappone Center for the Republican Senate Majority Committee PAC fundraiser played well with the movers and shakers in the state party. The affable Minnesota governor was the keynote speaker and, while he has not yet formally announced his candidacy, people in attendance were certainly viewing this appearance as an audition.
“We like it when candidates recognize that New Hampshire is important and will come here on a cold winter night to speak to dedicated Republicans,”said Donna Sytek, former speaker of the house.
Pawlenty is no stranger to New Hampshire, having come here previously to campaign for the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket. And New Hampshire activists seemed happy to welcome him back.
“He’s very exciting, a fresh face with good ideas who can bring people together,” said state Sen. Jeb Bradley, a Wolfeboro Republican.
Talking hockey, Sam’s Club and his blue-collar roots, Pawlenty noted the political pendulum is swinging back toward Republicans and that they must be ready to govern.
“We were fired for cause, and now we need to rebuild,” he said. “We need to offer not just the criticism; we also need to offer what we can do to make a positive difference in the lives of people in New Hampshire and in Minnesota and across the country.”
Pawlenty already has visited Iowa, site of the first presidential caucuses in 2012. And now he’s been to New Hampshire, site of the first presidential
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