pawlenty-careeningGov. Tim Pawlenty’s letter cutting off (nonexistent) state funding to ACORN is “pretty clearly political opportunism on the governor’s part,” ACORN state political director Chris Stinson tells the Minnesota Independent. “Gov. Pawlenty is piling on.”

The governor’s office did not contact ACORN to inquire about state funding, Stinson says: “The first we heard of it was when reporters started calling.”

Reporters may have been the intended audience. Stinson reads Pawlenty’s letter in the context of rightwing media attacks on ACORN that have intensified since “some indefensible actions by ACORN [staffers] in other states.”

How will ACORN respond? “It’s possible that the next step is to apply for some state funding to get a letter from Tim Pawlenty explaining why [we can't get the funding],” Stinson said.

Pawlenty, who’s pondering a presidential run in 2012, wasn’t always opposed to ACORN. In 2007, he signed legislation that makes predatory lending illegal. Stinson calls it “our bill” because ACORN’s financial-justice experts worked closely with legislators to craft the language that Pawlenty signed into law. The irony, considering Pawlenty’s statement today, is that he bragged about the bill in his administration’s “2007 Accomplishments” list (pdf). Under “other accomplishments”:

"Other Accomplishments"