“It’s really hard to have a quality of life if you don’t have a life … So we need to stand as a conservative movement in respect for life; it’s foundational to our country.”
7 June 2011, speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C
Pawlenty on CNN, 13 June 2011
Embryonic stem cell research “As to stem cell research it holds great promise and I support stem cell research. I think it should be adult derived … most of the therapies and breakthroughs that we are seeing in terms of treatment are coming from adult derived stem cell research. I strongly support that. As to embryonic stem cell research, I don’t think we should pursue it.”
5 May 2011, GOP Presidential Candidates Debate in South Carolina
Pawlenty disagrees with President Obama’s recent announcement of our troop’s draw down from Afghanistan.
“When you have the president of the United States take the recommendation of perhaps the most informed, forward-leaning, effective and impactful military leader in the modern history of the country in Afghanistan, when General Petraeus calls for the complement of surge troops to be around at their maximum level a little while longer, not for 10 years' or 20 years' worth of nation building but for at least the logical intermediate next-step goal of making sure the Afghan security forces are trained in volume and quality, so that it can at least reasonably take up more of the charge and the challenge of security in Afghanistan, and the president draws down those troops -- notwithstanding that recommendation -- and coincidentally, very well-timed, compared to the political calendar -- that strikes me as something that is a sense of withdrawal, retrenchment and decline.”
Excerpts of Pawlenty’s comment at the Council of Foreign Relations Campaign 2012 Series
Cost
In an interview with the Minnesota Public Radio in October 2009, Pawlenty rejects the notion that the military is primarily responsible for the national debt and budget deficit, when questioned over his calls to increase presence in Afghanistan and at the same time, reducing the country’s deficit.
"The expenditures for the military are of primary importance … It's the domestic policies and spending including the federal bailouts, the stimulus package, cash for clunkers, the federalization of health care. These are the things that are dramatically growing the budget … The military is less of a factor in that that regard and it's also a higher priority in my view."
Listen to the interview:
Pakistan
"Well there are good reasons why we've tried to maintain a positive relationship with Pakistan and that has its ups and it has it downs. I think the first thing we need to do in terms of what happened in the wake of Osama Bin Laden's killing is to make sure we have the facts, Neil. But if the facts turn out they've been double dealing us, then we do need to revisit our relationship with them and hold them to account as to how they might have been protecting, harbouring, enabling and supporting the world's most renowned and murderous terrorist."
5 May 2011, Interview on Your World with Neil Cavuto on FOX
Budget
Pawlenty, not unlike a growing number of Republican legislators, is advocating the concept of a balanced budget amendment. However, he intends to exclude several ‘sacred cows’ from the proposed amendment.
“How would you propose to balance the federal budget?
Rather than looking to raise taxes, we should pass an amendment to require a balanced budget with exceptions for war, natural disasters, and other emergencies. Congress should reduce discretionary spending, with exceptions for key programs such as the military, veterans, and public safety.
How do we pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?
We have to push for more fiscal responsibility elsewhere. Congress should cut current domestic spending and reject costly new proposals like a government takeover of health care.”
Dec 20, 2009, Interview with Newsweek
Deficit
Once again, Pawlenty pushes the idea of a legislated balanced budget to tackle the chronic federal deficits.
"At the federal level I propose a balanced budget requirement for all the earlier reasons you guessed or suggested. The federal government is running a ponzi scheme. It's a ponzi on the Potomac. It cannot continue on this current course… If you look at all the unfunded liabilities of the United States federal government, it's 65 trillion. They take in only 2.2 trillion dollar a year or so in revenues. That maths just doesn't work… We can't just trust that we're gonna send more politicians to Washington and they're gonna change this. We need a mechanism to enforce it
because regardless of which party has been in power, they have not done a good job over time of getting these budgets to balance"
December 29, 2009, FOX News
Ponzi On The Potomac
Debts
Pawlenty highlights his personal resolve in meeting the federal debt crisis head on.
“I’m running for president to tackle the nation’s crushing debt and deficit load. It is out of control, it’s irresponsible, and we gotta tackle that big challenge with real solutions and real leadership, and we gotta get this economy growing again and growing jobs.
We gotta get back to the point where markets and people’s good idea and good work determines success and failure. We need to make sure we have a president who will step forward and have the courage to tell the truth and lead on these issues that are gonna make or break the future of our country. President Obama won’t, I will.”
May 30, 2011, Pawlenty’s Campaign Ad, The Debt Clock.
The Truth Tour: The Debt Clock
Policy
Pawlenty explains that the key to controlling the runaway federal spending is by regulating and redefining the funding level for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid recipients.
“… if you look at a pie chart of the federal outlays, a big part is of course entitlements. So we have to look the American people in the eye and tell them the truth. So I've been openly talking about the need to change Social Security in this manner.
For people who are new to the workforce, we're gonna have to gradually raise the retirement age over time. For the poeple who are high wealth individuals, who are wealthy, we're gonna means test the cost of living adjustment in that program. We won't change the cost of living adjustment for the middle income or lower income folks, but for wealthy people, they're not gonna get as big as cost of living adjustment. There's similar answers for Medicaid and Medicare.
But we gotta clear horsing around and we gotta look the country in the eye and tell them the truth, they can handle it and give specific, constructive solutions like those ones I've just mentioned, not freak everybody out and scare them. But we gotta solve this, the hour is late and the country is going to go over the cliff very soon if we don't.”
• Pawlenty thinks that Guantanamo detainees should be treated as dangerous and active enemies
• He thinks that detainees should not be prosecuted in civil courts. Civil courts are not allowed to consider all the evidence, some of which is sensitive and classified.
• Pawlenty thinks military tribunals in Guantanamo’s secure facility should be used.
• In November 2010, Pawlenty stated that, if he were to run, repealing health care reform would be on his agenda.
• Tim Pawlenty joined in a lawsuit on behalf of his state to declare “Obamacare” unconstitutional.
• He supports market-driven reform and programs that will subsidize health ins for the working poor.
• He would increase competition and hold down costs by encouraging individuals and small business to form purchasing pools.
• He supports reducing state regulations on health insurance to encourage competition.
• Pawlenty would give people the chance to select low priced, high quality health care—when they have to pay from their own pocket they will police themselves and drive down costs.
• He supports the repeal of Obama’s “health care” reforms, which he says is little more than the eventual destruction and government takeover of insurance providers.
• Tim Pawlenty is a staunch advocate of border control.
• He thinks that federal verification of citizenship or legal immigration status should be required for state employment.
• He thinks that state and local law enforcement should be allowed to work with ICE and other federal law enforcement officials regarding illegal immigration.
• Pawlenty said economic benefits of illegal immigrants do not justify ignoring illegal behavior.
• He thinks illegal immigrants should be deported whether or not they have committed a crime other than unlawfully entering the country.
• Pawlenty thinks that our borders should be closed, guarded and open only to immigrants or visitors who are entering the country legally.
• Starting in 2008, Pawlenty vetoed legislation to increase the minimum wage twice in 14 months.
• He said that a minimum wage that is too high hurts small business.
• He signed a $1 per hour wage increase in 2005.
• He believes in fair wages but if the minimum wage is too high, inflation will creep up and small businesses will lay off workers or close their doors.
• Pawlenty believes that weak national security encourages our enemies.
• He would stand close to and support our allies.
• He thinks that Obama made a mistake in limiting the conditions in which we would use nuclear weapons.
• He said that backing out of the missile defense systems with the Czech Republic and Poland was a dangerous mistake that the United States may bitterly regret
• Tim Pawlenty endorsed importing less expensive drugs from Canada before the Feds pressured Canada to stop selling them to U.S. citizens and banned importation of them in 2006.
