Sen. Don Betzold, DFL-Fridley, told City Pages’ Matt Snyders on Thursday that Gov. Tim Pawlenty has diverted funds from the “Support Our Troops” license plate program to his Governor’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, an office that works to connect religious organizations with state funds.
Betzold says that $30,000 from the license plate program was supposed to go to the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of Veterans Affairs, but instead paid for a position at the faith-based office which is part of the Pawlenty’s office. The funds, writes Snyders, “by law, were supposed to go to the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
“The money helped pay for someone’s salary in the governor’s office who coordinates faith-based initiatives,” Betzold told Snyders on Thursday. “When I bought my license plate, I was thinking I was helping veterans and servicemen. I certainly didn’t think it was going to that.”
But so what? He’s the kind of handsome, sun-chapped prairie guy you’d like to have a beer with.
Robin G
I think you’re thinking of the dude from the Dakotas next door. No one, not even his biggest supporters, would accuse Pawlenty of being sun-chapped.
And this story is both grotesque and completely unsurprising. The man is a worm.
dmsilev
How long until someone makes the argument that the best way to “support the troops” is to convert them to whatever flavor of Christianity that someone happens to believe in? Saving the soul of course taking precedence over more mundane things like psychiatric care, help in finding work, and other earthly concerns.
Sigh. Feeling cynical this evening.
-dms
gbear
Thanks for this post, DougJ. It’s amazing how Pawlenty can always find new ways to be a stupid and obvious scumbag.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
.
Fucking veterans are useless now that they’re old and can’t a hump sand dunes no mo. And Baby Jeevus goes through a lot of lolipops. So what’s the problem.
Thanky you Mr. Ferret Face Pawlenty.
Yutsano
This needs to be screamed about early and often until T-Paw gets busted for this. IOKIYAR needs to stop somewhere, and nothing screams Republican values like fucking with vets.
Mike Kay
MAYDAY! MAYDAY!
TAIL RUTTER IS OUT – HE’ GOIN DOWN!
And we bid adieu to Ex-presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty.
Yutsano
@Mike Kay: Sad part is he’ll be an even stronger candidate for wingnut welfare now. At least this will take out any possibility of him re-running for governor. The main thing is not letting this die. He needs to be hounded with this until he can’t escape it anymore and with any luck resigns in disgrace.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
I would say something like this was against the law, but Timmy, of course, is a God fearin’ Republican. Different rules.
Mike Kay
So Jesus freak Huckabee has self-destructed. Ferret face Pawlenty has self-destructed. And Palin is still a hilarious joke.
That leaves Romney who was recently bitch slapped by a D-List rapper in Vancouver.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/02/19/2010-02-19_rappers_lmfao_say_mitt_romney_got_physical_first_on_flight_from_vancouver.html
And former lobbyist and porky-pig look-a-like Halley Barbour.
http://www.southernstudies.org/Haley%20Barbour2.jpg
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ve been thinking Pawlenty was gonna be the come from behind sleeper. I guess it’s gonna be Romney with Li’l Ricky Santorum as this year’s model of Huckabee.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ve been thinking Pawlenty was gonna be the come from behind sleeper. I guess it’s gonna be Romney with Li’l Ricky Santorum as this year’s model of Huckabee.
someguy
Now assless-chapped, maybe.
gbear
@Yutsano:
He’d decided not to seek another term months ago. He’s getting out before the shit hits the fan as far as the state budget goes. He’s spent his entire time as governor raiding every reserve and loading up every credit card so that he could keep his ass clean for Grover Nordquist’s no-new-taxes crowd.
Norm Coleman did the same thing when he was Mayor of St. Paul.
Yutsano
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I would love love LOVE Santorum to explain the burying of the dead fetus incident on a national stage. The jokes would seriously write themselves with that mess. Plus IIRC he has a few other choice little tidbits in his background that will keep him well away from either 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or the Naval Observatory, thank the FSM.
Mike Kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Thing is Sen Man on Dog is catholic. And the fundie base in the Iowa and South Carolina hates catholics. Without some base support, I don’t see how Man-on-dog(who lost his last race by 20pts) raises a nickel.
Too funny. Type in Man on dog into google, and he’s the 2nd listed link.
gbear
@General Egali Tarian Stuck:
Yes. It’s nauseatingly predictable.
Dimmic Rat
Barbour is not to be underestimated. He’s a lot more dangerous than the fundies in this Mississippian’s opinion.
Elisabeth
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m keeping an eye on Mitch Daniels (although, truth be told, Pawlenty is the guy I bet would be the nominee).
madmommy
@Dimmic Rat:
Haley Barbour is a miserable, hateful, spiteful, trollish creature. He’d sell his own mother for a chance at the White House.
robertdsc
Too bad we can’t find the deepest lake in Minnesota, tie the asshole to a slab of concrete, and drop him in it.
Mark S.
I still think it’s Romney’s to lose. Goopers never seem to nominate dark horses.
Yutsano
@Elisabeth: It all depends on if, by 2011, Obama in any way looks vulnerable. If he is then they will want the strongest candidate possible and play to win. If Obama stays popular (and right now nothing seems able to stop that) they will put up a sacrificial lamb to essentially ruin their career and accept permanent wingnut welfare for the rest of his/her days. In other words, by 2011 we’ll know for sure if Palin will be coming anywhere near the nomination since they are milking her for all they’re worth.
Elisabeth
@Yutsano:
Then my bet with Pawlenty might still bear some fruit. The guy with whom I have the bet took Huck so he’s not guaranteed a win, either.
Yutsano
@Elisabeth: I think when Huck jumped into Uncle Rupert’s arms that was the peak of his career advancement and he knew it. His record as governor of Arkansas isn’t pure enough anyway, plus he has those ugly pardons he still hasn’t really explained away yet. No doubt in my mind he’s out of it.
Elisabeth
@Yutsano:
I don’t see Huck leaving Fox. I also don’t think Palin’s jumping in, either. I just don’t think Romney’s the guy.
Mike Kay
@Dimmic Rat:
His 25 year gig as a corporate lobbyist in this environment is poison.
Keith G
After which, he goes snorkeling.
More importantly, don’t forget to set your antique clocks ahead.
Mike Kay
@Elisabeth:
I can’t wait until they start basing the fuck outta Romney on Gubmit-run-healthcare (RomneyCare).
Mark S.
@Elisabeth:
I agree with that. I think she even knows what a disaster that would be. You think she wants to cram for the 825 debates they have for presidential nominees?
madmommy
@Mike Kay:
Don’t forget, IOKIYAR. Barbour is thick as thieves with the fundy base. It’s possible.
Yutsano
@Elisabeth: The Mormon thing still has yet to be dealt with. And Evangelicals cannot stand Mormons period. It’s why he barely got anywhere in 2008. The Teabaggers most likely aren’t happy with him either, what with the big specter of Romneycare hanging over his head.
Jake
I love it. Republicans are still running around with their tails between their legs trying to prove to the religious right that they are worthy…Taking funds away from veterans to support faith-based programs that profess to support our troops is the ultimate irony.
I am sick of young conservative men and women pundits, who enthusiastically promote war, with the assumption that others will do the actual fighting and absorb the consequences.
Elisabeth
@Keith G:
Thanks for the reminder about the clocks. I almost always forget and then wonder why the stuff on tv is off an hour.
Moonbatting Average
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” playing in MSG, that’s kinda surreal… Thanks WVU for taking some of the sting out of Syracuse’s loss to GT.
Mike Kay
Maybe they should run Reagan.
After all, the constitution doesn’t say the candidate has to be alive, only that he/she has to be atleast 35 years old and a natural born citizen.
middlewest
I have a friend who works in the MN state government, and she tells me that this is just the tip of the iceberg for that vile shitbag Pawlenty. He conducts state business with his cronies in secret and lies constantly, even to members of his own party. We’re going to be digging up dirt on him for years after he’s fled the Midwest. Also, there’s a rumor that his wife calls him “46”, because that’s the presidency he expects to hold.
Mike Kay
@middlewest:
I guess Gov Brian Schweitzer of Montana is 45.
Elisabeth
@Mike Kay:
Yep, he’s already trying to say RomneyCare +/- (can’t do not equal sign) ObamaCare. He’ll spend a lot of time defending that bill signing moment.
mclaren
Yet another in a long line of recent smug self-congratulatory Balloon Juice pieces detailing how stupid and corrupt and incomepetent the Republicans are.
Trouble is…you look at the polls, and they all show a Republican landslide this fall. A landslide. Terms like “unprecedented in the postware period” pop up when the statistical people discuss these polls.
So what have we got here?
We’ve got a bunch of liberals reaching around and patting themselves on the back for discerning how stupid and inept and grossly dishonest the Republicans are. Meanwhile, the Republicans look like they’ve going to wipe the Democrats out in November 2010. They’re just going to grind liberals into hamburger this fall. All the polling data and all the regression charts projecting out to November show a tsunami, a total wipeout for liberals.
This is one of the things about Democrats that really pisses me off. Democrats think that just because they state the facts and just because they use logic and just because the facts and logic are in their favor, and just because their Republican opponents are corrupt and dishonest and grossly incompetent, that somehow this means the Democrats will win the elections.
Doesn’t work that way.
I’m looking at you guys, and you’re smirking and strutting around like the Carter supporters in 1980, about to get wiped out by the senile ignorant incompetent sociopath Ronald Reagan. Wake up and smell the latte, people. You need to figure out how to win the f*cking elections. Figuring out the right policies and getting government to work right is just part of the job. If you have the right policies and you can make government work but you can’t win the elections, what the hell good are you?
Persia
@Yutsano: I had no idea how deep anti-Mormon sentiment ran in this country until Romney started running. I am as agnostic as they come and found myself utterly baffled by it.
Elisabeth
@Mark S.: I don’t think she wants to do the hard work and I think she’s perfectly happy raking in money from people dumb enough to pay her six figures to mumble stupid stuff off her hand.
Elisabeth
@mclaren:
Uh, talking about how inept the Republicans are in March on a computer is a whole lot different than taking an election for granted. Trust me, this person isn’t taking anything for granted and will work her ass off in the coming months.
Mike Kay
@Elisabeth:
In a way, he’s right….. MassCare specifically covers abortions. Yup, taxpayer funded abortions. He even named Planned Parenthood to the board of advisors.
http://massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/health_ins/
Oh, how delicious.
AnotherBruce
@robertdsc: Superior it’s said, never gives up it’s dead, when the weather in November turns gloomy.
Quiddity
Pawlenty was, at first, thought to be a moderate Republican. Partly because of where he was located (i.e. not in Dixie).
Are there any moderate Republicans left in the country?
Jake
Well said…Republicans are stupid and inept and grossly dishonest…That is why they sometimes win elections…Their stupid, inept, and grossly dishonest policies and practices often appeal to large segments of the US population. That doesn’t make them right…
AnotherBruce
@Mike Kay:
So Jesus freak Huckabee has self-destructed
So when did this happen and how did I miss it?
Mike Kay
@mclaren: so who’s your candidate?
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@mclaren: Whack-a-doodle mclaren with ass rabies. Again.
Yawn.
nancydarling
@Quiddity
Blanche Lincoln
gbear
@Jake:
…and did you mention that republicans are stupid and inept and grossly dishonest? That needs to be said.
Mike Kay
@AnotherBruce:
Last november, a habitual violent criminal, who’s sentence Huckabee commuted, killed FOUR police officers in Washington state. Thus, hanging the Willie Horton prize around his neck.
Moonbatting Average
@middlewest: You sure that’s not just how many seconds he lasts in bed?
madmommy
@Quiddity:
There’s one. Preserved under glass as a specimen to show future generations who will never believe such a creature ever existed.
mclaren
@Mike Kay:
My candidate is Alan Grayson.
Obama has betrayed everything he ran on and he’s stabbed every liberal in the back. Time to primary the sonofabitch’s ass with someone far far to the left of Obama.
If I thought America was non-racist and non-antisemitic enough, I’d also suggest Russ Feingold, but as we all know, a jew can’t be president in the alleged home of the free and the land of the brave. So Grayson it is.
Either way, Obama needs to get blown away by a candidate wayyyyyy over on the left. Obama needs to get primaried and wiped out. Enough of this “bipartisanship” horsesh*t. The Republicans want to be obstructionists? The Republicans want war? Let’s give ’em war. Turn out the lights when the Republicans hold hearings, shut off their microphones, see how they like it. Enough with this can’t-we-all-get-along crap. We saw how that worked during the HCR debate. Solid blocks of 40 NO votes. Total obstructionism.
Fine, put a serious radical leftist like Alan Grayson in the White House and crush the Republicans. Drive ’em into the sea. If liberals are not victorious, let no one come back alive. That’s the attitude we need to develop. No more of this “let’s water down the legislation to get some Republican votes” and the Republicans still vote no.
Yutsano
@Mike Kay: That was part of it. What really sank ol’ Huck was his absolute inept reaction to the whole tragedy. He sputtered and basically ducked the issue as much as possible until IOKIYAR kicked in and FOX moved on. After that he pretty much stuck to his show and maintained a low profile. He could be waiting until someone else slips up but I think he knows he’s done.
@mclaren: You funny! What planet do you see this happening cause it sure as hell ain’t gonna be on this one.
gbear
@Moonbatting Average:
If only he could get her into bed..
Ana Gama
@mclaren: Oh good lord…
Mike Kay
Comrade mclaren, why not Nader.
PS you’re an idiot, as well. If
FoolsGoldFeingold can’t get elected because he’s Jewish, than neither can Grayson, who’s…… wait it for it…. Jewish. Don’t hippies read anymore?Btw, why has
FoolsGoldFeingold REFUSED to sign the petition for the public option? Sniffle.The Moar You Know
@mclaren: The word “leftist” does not mean what you think it means.
Grayson is a moderate, at best. More of a conservative Democrat, if you look at his record and his platform. Which is fine. I like that and I like his style.
But calling an asshole an asshole does not make one a “radical leftist”, any more than me throwing a can of soup in the microwave makes me Anthony Bourdain.
There’s no one I can point to in American national or state politics today who would even come close to qualifying as a “radical leftist”.
Oh yeah, Grayson’s a Jew, BTW. So I guess you qualify as a stone-cold idiot.
Wag
My heart wishes it were so. My brain says bullshit. My brain wins.
Ana Gama
@The Moar You Know:
Very much in keeping with his district.
The Sheriff's A Ni-
Meanwhile, here in the magical mystical land we call Reality, 538 is currently calling a Republican ‘landslide’ of +5 in the Senate – and this is in March. Elsewhere, the GOP’s best hope in 2012 is the Massachusetts Mormon mannequin they ditched in favor of a crotchey septugenarian last election. Pawlenty makes Al Gore look like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, Palin’s electoral chances are positively McGovernian, Jindal’s just too young and brown for the nomination, and the rest of the field sets up a ‘Southern good ole boy vs smart black man’ matchup that couldn’t have been set up better if Frank Capra wrote the script himself.
Not to mention that it looks like we’ll have honest to FDR health care reform by the end of this week. It’s all good in the hood.
Elisabeth
@Mike Kay: Feingold also voted for Roberts.
Ana Gama
Six months ago, the polls had Specter as dead-man-walking. Lately, he’s trouncing Sestak, and beating Toomey by about 5%. Go figure.
rikyrah
no good mofo.
plain and simple.
The Sheriff's A Ni-
@Ana Gama: The polls currently have Portman something like five points ahead of Brunner or Fisher over here. I’m not sure how long that lasts once we get a firm candidate and Portman’s footsy with the Birthers becomes widely known.
Mike Kay
@Elisabeth: and worst of all, he voted for John Ashcroft and Rumsfeld.
Mike Kay
@The Sheriff’s A Ni-: Also, wait till he gets pounded for his “Free”-trade record.
asiangrrlMN
Fuck. You. Ratface Pawlenty. Doesn’t surprise me in the least. The MN Supreme Court is deciding whether or not he overstepped his power limits by using unallotment incorrectly as a way to ‘balance’ the budget. Fucker. Rusty pitchfork, let’s go have a talk with Ratface.
kommrade reproductive vigor
The GOP has already established that only dirty American-hating sissy-pants terrorist huggers think we should treat soldiers like human beings rather than the exciting playthings that they are. Remember: Supporting the troops means nothing more than slapping a Support Our Troops magnet ribbon on the back of one’s car. I’m sure there was enough money left over for one. (A magnet, not a car. Even a Yugo.) So I don’t see what all the fuss is about.
Not another GOP closet case. [eye roll]
What? Oh.
Never mind.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: After the Franken decision, I have much more faith in your state’s SC than mine. But really hard to say how this all shakes out, after all Ratface has gotten out of slick jams before.
AhabTRuler
@The Moar You Know:
Well, you’d have to be smoking a cigarette when you did it, for one thing…
Anne Laurie
@Persia:
Neither did Romney, which shows just how out of touch Willard really is. That’s why his new book is called ‘No Excuses’ (unwritten subtitle: Just A Different Flavor of Bullshite Next Time). Having failed to sufficiently impress God’s Own Heartland Americans(tm), he’s positioning himself to run as the NON-Talibangelical, Chamber-of-Commerce-friendly, “sensible centrist” Rethug candidate in 2012, against whichever whackaloon the fundies get distracted by at the right point in time. (Of course he’ll probably have some flavor of rampant whackaloon on his underticket, but since Mitt’s only actual philosophical commitment is to the Awesomeness That Is Mitt, whether said whackaloon is fundiegelical, objectivist, or straight-up 9/11/birther-fantasist is of no importance to Mr. Romney.)
Anne Laurie
@Quiddity:
Shh! If we name them here, the raving nutbags that now control the party will have them hunted down and killed!
Yutsano
@Anne Laurie: Obama initiated his moderate Republican salvation program by putting LaHood as Transportation Secretary (where he’s been very good IMHO) and sending Huntsman off to China to be ambassador. So far he’s doing an admirable job at preserving the species.
Oh and the fact that Romney is clueless about anti-Mormon sentiment in this country isn’t just a problem with him. Most Mormons seem blissfully unaware of anti-Mormon bigotry until someone slips up and it smacks them in the face. But since they’re encouraged to be insular in their social interactions when they get out in the real world and reality bites back most end up unprepared for the true feelings of others. It adds on to their persecution complex beautifully.
Uloborus
@The Sheriff’s A Ni-:
I’ve been optimistic and poopooing every premature, idealistic declaration that HCR is dead because of X, Y, or Z for months. And now it could be voted on in days and is in Pelosi’s brick-crushing hands, I’m biting my nails and trying to figure out how it’s going to fail.
Damn you, lizard brain!
Elisabeth
@Uloborus:
Student loan reform is attached to health care bill, too.
ruemara
@mclaren:
serious radical leftist? Alan Grayson? When you’re through smoking whatever you’re smoking, there’s a seat in rehab for you.
TenguPhule
No.
We have Dead Republicans and Republicans that aren’t dead yet. That’s it.
very reverend crimson fire of compassion
@TenguPhule: The good Republicans, and those who will get better?
Sly
Where have you gone, Jacob Javits? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Woo-woo-woo.
Xenos
The hatred of fundies for the Mormons is astonishing. It really is the matter of one, well established cult resenting the up-and-coming competition.
WereBear
@Persia: Well, we found out what yer average Republican thinks of Mormons.
Which is some serious irony, since he got elected as a Democrat in blue Mass, and now, as a Republican, the usual getting arrested problems occur.
Of course, he’s not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but even he might be grasping this.
kay
Good.
We need a thorough accounting of Faith Based Initiatives funding, state and federal. Both where the money goes, and whether they’re using funds for evangelizing-converting, rather than delivery of social services.
ACORN is a secular social service delivery agency that receive(d) federal funds, and they were defunded based entirely on a heavily edited video submitted by political operatives that media promoted.
We’d insist on a fairer and more transparent audit process for religious organizations than ACORN received, of course. No politically-motivated smear jobs that destroy individual reputations of low-level workers. Just a request for records and such, maybe a review of management performance or qualifications. No reason to immunize religious from review, right, when they’re receiving public funds?
Jay C
So IOW, the “veteran’s” plate money was applied directly for Wingnut Welfare? Smooth. Unfortunately, the fact that this particular diversion was for “faith-based” purposes will probably assuage any possible objections Republicans might have. After all, maybe the position Pawlenty was financing was for coordinating sending Our Troops copies of the Conservative Bible or something.
Anyway, IOKIYAR covers (and excuses) a multitude of sins….
L Boom
@Persia: If you don’t follow this stuff at all, it’s pretty easy not to realize just how different Mormonism is from mainstream Christianity (and, well, fringe, too).
A couple bullet points from the Mormon belief system:
1. The Apostasy – All Christianity past Christ was a heresy until Joseph Smith redeemed it. (The Great Apostasy)
2. The Planet Kolob. Plus, when you die, you get to become a god with a bunch of wives on your own planet. Not like a god, a god. On the plus side, this provided the underlying mythology for Battlestar Galactica, so I’ve gotta give them credit there.
3. Magic underwear. Seriously. Magic underwear. I probably already put in enough links to end up in moderation, but I’m sure you’ve heard at least a bit about it.
Part of the thing with Mormonism is that as this stuff becomes better known it’ll come across as either deeply offensive to many Christians (things like the Great Apostasy) or deeply hilarious to many non-Christians (interplanetary gods, magic underwear). Throw in the recent scandals like polygamous child brides in the Fundamentalist Mormon church and Mitt’s going to be facing a PR nightmare.
That said, I do think he’s going to end up the nominee, as the Republicans have in almost every case nominated the runner-up from the previous open election. And you can count on the Republicans flogging Mitt ruthlessly with this stuff during the primaries. I can’t even begin to imagine the whisper campaigns.
Silver Owl
Yep lying and stealing, definitely christian values of today’s republicans. It’s all good as long they are attractive to the base.
The Truffle
Why is state money going to religious organizations? Can you say “unconstitutional”?
drillfork
I know the fundies are freaked out by Mormonism (even though they each share such a deep and vast hatred of teh Gay), but I don’t see any way Romney isn’t the Republican candidate in ’12. He’s just too perfect a Republican in every other respect…
Mover
Wow, this is a fun thread. Normally you have to go to the Huffington Post to find this much self-fellating going on.
Seriously, did anyone actually read anymore on the issue? No. OK, let me help.
While I agree that it looks pretty awful in a PR sense of awful, when you read an entire article on the matter, as I did, you may find that the use of the money was OK’d by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Maybe you should be railing against the DVA?
“Michael Pugliese, deputy commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Pawlenty’s policy adviser contacted him about using Buckley’s services, and Pugliese said he thought it was an opportunity to use her contacts to reach out to some of the more than 60 percent of veterans who do not seek benefits.”
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/87533432.html?page=2&c=y