William Kristol: Poor T-Paw

Some of 'used' to respect former Minnesota Governor Pawlenty and even bought his book which I enjoyed.  Thanks to Romney and his win at any cost, he has put Pawlenty in a position that will lose him respect of people like me.  This is so dishonest out of the Romney camp and shows they don't have a clue about the raising of the debt ceiling.

Are we to assume with Romney as President he will shut down Government rather than raise the ceiling and then govern by Executive Orders telling members of Congress to take a hike?  Just don't see Romney being able to work with Congress because if they tell him NO he will get back at them.  He seems to be very vindictive against people who cross him.  Ask the former debate coach he had only for Florida about what it is like to take some limelight away from Romney -- he is in the unemployment line today.

Poor T-Paw
4:44 PM, Feb 6, 2012 • By WILLIAM KRISTOL

Campaigns are populated by hacks and trade in cheap shots. But the hacks are usually paid staffers, and the cheap shots are part of their job description. It's sad to see a respected former governor reduced to low-level staff hackery, acting as an attack dog on behalf of a man he once criticized ("Obamneycare") and now supports.

Here's Tim Pawlenty today, as a Mitt Romney campaign surrogate, on a conference call criticizing former senator Rick Santorum for . . . having voted to raise the debt ceiling: "He voted numerous times to raise the debt ceiling and here we as a nation facing fiscal crisis, I mean literally on the edge of the fiscal abyss. We need a next president who’s been strong and proven in fiscal and spending matters, and we had Rick Santorum voting numerous times to raise the debt ceiling." (The quotation is from the Romney press shop’s transcript.)

Here's a question: Did either Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney speak out at the time against any of the debt ceiling hikes Rick Santorum voted for as a member of Congress?

And here's a thought: Perhaps the Romney campaign could stop abusing poor Tim Pawlenty?

Does the thin-skinned Romney want to be President or King?  I remember asking that same question about Obama.  We could have Obama versus Obama light!  What a nightmare the RNC and Rockefellow/Country Club Republicans have caused with pushing Romney so hard and trashing the other candidates.

Now has Pawlenty bought into the Romney koolaid with his attacks on Santorum or been pushed by the Romney camp in exchange for retiring his campaign debt?  Can't these politicians tell the Romney camp NO?  Better yet what is the Romney camp using to get conservatives like Pawlenty to defend the moderate to liberal Romney?   Is the Mormon Church involved in doing opposition research along with the RNC for Romney like has been rumored?  

If you don't think there is something really strange going on as conservative after conservative goes against their core principles for Romney, then you will be happy to buy some swampland north of Tuscon in the heart of Saguaro cactus territory.  A swamp in that area is as likely as some conservatives bending into pretzels to defend Romney of their own free will.  What is the Romney camp using to make conservatives turn into pretzels?