Pawlenty's forays demonstrate need for polish

Nov 9, 2009 — Washington Post

Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, after making a series of smart strategic moves over the past few months in advance of an expected run for president in 2012, has struggled on the national stage in the past few weeks.

First, Pawlenty waded into a special election in upstate New York on behalf of Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman -- a move that came directly on the heels of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to endorse Hoffman over Dede Scozzafava (R), a state assemblywoman.

"We cannot send more politicians to Washington who wear the Republican jersey on the campaign trail, but then vote like Democrats in Congress on issues like card check and taxes," Pawlenty said in a statement announcing his decision.

Then, in an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" last Monday, Pawlenty seemed to make an unforced error by calling into question whether Maine Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R) truly belonged within the Republican party.

"If Olympia Snowe disagrees with us on one or two things, there's room for her, of course," said Pawlenty. "But if she disagrees on everything, then that's a problem."

In retrospect, neither move was a smart one. Hoffman fell short in the special election, and Pawlenty had to reach out to Snowe in the wake of his comments to make clear that his belief was that the party was a big tent rather than a small one.

Pawlenty detractors are sure to see these two incidents as evidence of a transparent attempt to tack to his ideological right in advance of a presidential primary process that is dominated by conservative activists.

Defenders of the governor insist that his motives had little to do with 2012. In the case of New York's 23rd, he felt compelled to get involved once he became aware of the selection process -- 11 county chairs picked the nominee -- and Scozzafava's support for the Employee Free Choice Act. With Snowe, it was less a premeditated attempt to appease the right than a simple mistake by a candidate somewhat new to the national stage.

Fair enough. But, regardless of why Pawlenty did what he did, his actions over the last week reveal how difficult and fraught with peril the national political scene is for candidates who are new to it.

Brown waits on Feinstein

The recent decision by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to drop his candidacy for governor of California left only state Attorney General Jerry Brown in the race for the Democratic nod, robbing political junkies of what was expected to be one of the premier primaries in the country.

But Brown's primary primacy was short-lived, as California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) told a local California paper late last week that she was still mulling a run for governor and would make a decision in early 2010.

Feinstein's waiting-and-watching approach is a major change from the expectation in Democratic political circles that she had long ago decided against the race, preferring to stay in Washington and retain her post as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Polling has long suggested that if DiFi ran for governor, she would be a wide favorite in both the primary and general election against the likes of former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner or former Rep. Tom Campbell -- all of whom are seeking the Republican nod.

In the meantime, here's a look at the five best intraparty fights on the ballot in 2010:

5. California governor (Republican primary): The Democratic race for the top spot in California may have dropped off of the political radar (for the moment), but the GOP contest still has all the makings of a classic contest. Whitman has weathered her first major crisis of the campaign -- a series of stories that showcased her poor voting record -- and seems to have stabilized. Poizner continues to hit Whitman every chance he gets, while Campbell seems content to stay above (or below?) the fray. The central question of the race: Which of the trio will become the preferred pick of social conservatives in the state ?

4. Connecticut Senate (R): Give former World Wrestling Entertainment chief executive Linda McMahon this: She has made the Republican race for the chance to take on Sen. Chris Dodd (D) a lot more interesting. McMahon has already spent millions on television introducing herself to the state's voters, and she has certainly gotten the attention of former Rep. Rob Simmons, the favorite for the nod. McMahon has had to endure several negative stories about her ties to the wrestling operation, but she has vaulted herself into "serious candidate" status in relatively short order.

3. Florida Senate (R): Three months ago, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio was fending off daily rumors that he was planning to drop his Senate primary bid against Gov. Charlie Crist. Today, all the momentum is on Rubio's side thanks to the conservative uprising in N.Y.-23 and Crist's poorly executed attempt to walk away from his past support for the Obama administration's economic stimulus package. The events of the past month or so have virtually ensured that this will be the marquee race in the ongoing debate within the GOP about its future direction. And that's not good news for Crist.

2. Pennsylvania Senate (Democratic primary): The race between party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak has been relatively quiet of late, but knowing the two combatants that won't last long. Polling suggests that Democratic voters still have real doubts about Specter and that his best path to the nomination is to turn the race into a "devil you know" choice. Sestak, however, won't go quietly and has enough money -- $4.7 million in the bank at the end of September -- to ensure that Democratic primary voters hear his side of the story.

1. Texas governor (R): The intensity of the primary fight between Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison rivals that of a presidential race. On a daily basis each side peppers the Fix inbox with e-mails detailing the race-changing mistake made by the rival campaign. It's all a little bit much -- especially since the primary isn't until March 2, 2010. Everything is bigger in Texas, however, and this race is no exception; it has the potential to go down as one of the truly legendary intraparty squabbles in modern political history.

Countdown

Nine days: Fresh off of a sweep of the 2009 races in New Jersey and Virginia, the Republican Governors Association -- and its donors -- will gather in Austin for its annual politics and policy conference.

29 days: Massachusetts Democrats head to the poll to choose their nominee in the Senate special election. State Attorney General Martha Coakley is a heavy favorite for the nomination.