Tim Pawlenty

“As one of my good friends and supporters, I want you to know that today we filed the paperwork to create the R.T. Rybak for Governor Committee.” And so Minneapolis’ newly re-elected mayor at long last made his intentions clear — though murky syntax made it sound like he is one of his own good friends [...]

Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled a proposal on Tuesday to amend the state’s constitution in order to keep a lid on government spending. His plan would cap the size of the state’s general fund budget at the amount of revenue received in the previous two year cycle. But according to figures compiled by the Senate Majority [...]

Gov. Tim Pawlenty believes Minnesota has a “binge” spending problem. In order to fix this addiction, he’s proposing a rather radical solution: an amendment to the state’s constitution that would strictly limit future expenditures. Democrats say it’s simply a stunt to bolster Pawlenty’s presidential ambitions.

Is the honeymoon over already for Gov. Tim Pawlenty? The Republican has largely been receiving accolades from the national media as he’s bolstered his profile with cable television appearances and laid the groundwork for a potential 2012 presidential bid. But influential Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza takes Pawlenty down a few pegs in a post [...]

Gov. Tim Pawlenty travels to Iowa this weekend to headline a Republican fundraiser, simply the latest evidence that he’s seriously eyeing a 2012 run for president. But according to the latest poll looking at potential GOP presidential contenders, Pawlenty continues to lag well behind his likely rivals. Only 32 percent of Republicans polled would “seriously [...]

Gov. Pawlenty’s new Freedom First political action committee held its first local fundraiser tonight at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. About 250 people — the same size crowd Pawlenty drew at the PAC’s considerably more affordable pretzel reception in Washington, D.C. last month – paid $1,000 each to attend a reception on the hotel’s third [...]

Actor Jon Voight dances to Minnesota Republicans’ tune over the next two days, appearing tonight with Gov. Tim Pawlenty at the first local fundraising event for his new Freedom First PAC in Minneapolis and on Thursday with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Washington, D.C., answering her call to storm the U.S. Capitol to stop health [...]

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine bristled at Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s litmus test for deciding whether she can call herself a Republican. “I’ve been a lifelong Republican. I haven’t changed. I don’t know what the problem is. I really don’t,” Snowe told the Politico. “Other Republicans could probably borrow more from me … in [...]

MSNBC commentators jumped on a remark by Gov. Pawlenty this morning about minimum requirements for being a Republican candidate: ”There’s a range of behavior and issue positions you can take. You just can’t be so far out of the mainstream that it becomes a joke.”

Getting named in a developer’s lawsuit on Thursday, five days before Election Day, was bad enough. But Friday wasn’t much better for Minneapolis Council Member Diane Hofstede, whose office got more than 50 calls after the city’s public works department towed cars to clear University Avenue for cleaning without having posted required warning signs. Among [...]