Stupid Channel 5 "news"

[trotsky]

So this morning they have an exclusive in-studio guest to explain what's going on with the budget, and what a government shutdown might affect. Who could it be? None other than Goobernor Timmy "The Tool" Pawlenty! Golly gee, he gets uninterrupted time on an actual "news" cast to - surprise, surprise - blame Democrats for the impasse. Never mind the 55% of the voters who DIDN'T want you to be governor, Timmy. Never mind the fact your party LOST 13 seats in the House. Never mind that even some supporters of the "No new tax" pledge have said it needs to fall by the wayside. We don't hear ANY of that, only poor Timmy whining that the Democrats won't give him everything he and "Chief" Sviggum want.

WTF? Is this the "liberal" media in action?

[jean]

1. Here's contact info for KSTP - thanks for the alert trotsky

KSTP contact info:

Switchboard: [phone]
Newsroom phone: (612) 5TV-NEWS (612-588-6397)
Newsroom fax: [phone]

[question everything]

7. And a "contact us" email list

http://www.kstp.com/article/43/

[hermetic]

2. He's on Channel 11 too

Guess he's hitting all the stations

[no name no slogan]

3. Yeah, he's getting his licks in-- gotta protect those richest 10%

Still, if there's a shutdown, it won't be for very long, IMHO.

Tim still has national aspirations in 2008. If he shuts down the state, it will be political suicide. Look what happened to Gingrich after the fed govt shutdown in the mid-90s.

Sure, his shutdown may sell well with the MN Tax Evaders League, but it won't fly with middle America (or the average Minnesotan for that matter). If he can't be trusted to run a medium-sized state like MN, why should he be trusted to run the federal govt?

:shrug:

[trotsky]

4. Timmy's between the proverbial rock & a hard place.

2 of the 3 possible outcomes are bad (for him):

1) Government shutdown - egg on his face, no matter how much he tries to spin it as being the DFL's fault.
2) He caves and allows a tax increase. Norquist and the Tax Evaders scream to high heaven.
3) DFL lets him get everything he wants.

Of course a different 2 of those three are also very bad for the state. I dunno, I don't hold out much hope that he'll give up on his stupid "pledge." Whoring himself out to the extreme right is all he knows. If he alienates those "friends," who's left?

[CatholicEdHead]

8. I doubt he will get #3

The DFL gains were gains for moderation in the tone of the goverance. He is thinking ahead for his political future. He cannot be a Presidential canidiate if he brakes his "pledge". That would leave him at most in a cabinet position in the future.

The DFL is trying to compromise. Timmy wants capitulation which is totally different.

[hermetic]

5. Did you see the article in City Pages?

"A Cold Florida" You should really get the picture for your office. http://citypages.com/ Down a little on the left side.

[no name no slogan]

6. Oh, yeah, GREAT pic!

I could hang it in the cafeteria here at work, but it's hard enough to eat the food there as it is without such a disturbing pic. :o

That is a classic, though!

[no name no slogan]

9. D'oh! The "Drive-by Excellence" article

At least, that was what we called the "Drive To Excellence" last fall when they had the high-fallutin' consultants from Deloitte in the office.

Just like any other overpaid consultancy, they didn't tell us anything that any normal worker-bee couldn't have told management, had management bothered to listen. Once again, the opinions of the consultants are more valuable than those of the day-to-day employees, who do the work and see things first-hand.

Drive-By Excellence was a big joke-- just another one of those "why don't we run the government like a business" things that right-wingers like to try when they're in power, just to prove that you can't run the government like a business.

"Republicans say government doesn't work, then get elected to prove it."
-- P.J. O'Rourke