Pawlenty Tacks Hard to the Middle on Health Care

Yesterday, Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that he wanted to extend health care coverage to more than 70,000 uninsured children across Minnesota.

This is interesting for multiple reasons.  Pawlenty once called Minnesota care “welfare health care” and tried to reduce its role in the lives of the working poor.  From Alliance for a Better Minnesota back in September:

Pawlenty Cut Thousands Off Health Care: In his FY2004-05 proposed budget, Pawlenty recommended reducing the number of people receiving health insurance by 68,000. The final budget cut 38,000 by the year 2007, including 20,000 children. (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 6/9/03; Children’s Defense Fund of Minnesota, The Child Defender, August 2005)Number of Minnesota Kids Uninsured Grows: According to a study released by Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota, between 2001 and 2004 the number of uninsured Minnesota children under age six grew by 11,000.  The report found that children and working families were unable to access employer-based programs because of reduced coverage or the increased costs associated with those programs.  “Meanwhile, the state government reduced eligibility and erected additional barriers to prevent families from accessing public coverage.  Today, more than 3 out of 4 uninsured Minnesota children are believed to be eligible for a public health care coverage program, but are unable to access it for one reason or another.” (Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota Report, 04/2006, pg. 1-2)

Flip-flop much?  Yes, ABM was somewhat partisan, but that doesn’t change Pawlenty’s reality: a  DFL-dominated state government.  Pawlenty is going to have the same problem with Republicans across the country in 2008 that Hillary Clinton may with Democrats – moving to the middle too early without demonstrating party-line credentials first.  It may turn into a choice for Pawlenty – work with Democrats for Minnesota’s sake, or give up on Minnesota and focus on building a national constituency for 2008.

This move appears to be a step toward the former.