Pawlenty Another Neo Con Hack?

Tim Pawlenty, a man of mediocre intellect and average capabilities, and also the current governor of Minnesota, spoke last weekend at the "Values Voter Summit." Along with break out sessions about "masculinism," a take-off of feminism, where such bold assertions were made including all pornography leads to homosexuality, the most homophobic people are prepubescent boys and we should learn from them, and that "science" has proven homosexuality is entirely a behavioral choice, the summit also provided a place for Pawlenty to go radical.

He was seen for a long time as the vanilla ice cream of the political world (and not that french vanilla stuff with the little extra something, something). Just plain old Pawlenty with his tired political positions, moderate man's mullet, and blocky-cut suits- the entire package of him being so unremarkable that I'm still convinced it simply didn't occur to many Minnesotans they were voting for him. He was a name on the ballot that looked familiar and safe.

And he's a Republican. Many Minnesotans seem to have a strong desire to strike a perfect, immovable balance in the universe, which leads them to vote both Democrat and Republican apparently in the hopes the two cancel each other out and nothing is much seen or heard from the state capital for a few years following each election season.

But we must toss aside our previous assumptions about Pawlenty. In his probable future running mate's terms, he's gone "rogue." He not only turned up at the ridiculous "Values Voter Summit" ("Values" here means that one believes his/her rights to express his/her religious beliefs usurps the basic human rights of other citizens), he spoke. He actually drew attention to himself with cameras in the room.

After making it clear to the summit attendees he does not believe in the basic acknowledgement of gay relationships through the legal bonds of marriage (Gay people in their belief system apparently are not full citizens or fully human), he went on to land blast the Obama administration for our national debt. Pawlenty said Obama should apoligize to our youth for the debt.THIS IS A NATIONAL DEBT THAT WAS WAITING FOR THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WHEN HE GOT IN THE DOOR. THIS IS A REPUBLICAN DEBT!

But shared reality, as we know by now, is not welcome among the extremist right. Theirs is not a reality based on evidence or even the observable, it is a doctrine based on religious and racial extremism. They do not read, explore, think and debate, they wait for signs from God and ridicule anyone who chooses another route for gaining perspective on decision making.

Pawlenty has chosen to steer hard right. And why? Well, it looks like his motivation is the same deep, underlying motivation that all of these extremists act upon. Take away the religious talk, and the pseudo-economic speak, and the angry protests of other people's private lives and what do we have? A will to power that is so fundamental, so bedrock to their psychology that one needs only know that about them to predict their next step.

Am I surprised by Pawlenty's choice to align himself with the extremist "Values Voters?" No.