On the eve of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's keynote speech to the Greater Boston Tea Party, a Massachusetts Democrat teamed up with a Minnesota Democrat to blast his record on taxes during his eight years in office.
Despite his repeated claim not to have ever raised taxes, his fiscal policies caused local taxes to increase for 90 percent of Minnesota households, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said. "If the Tea Party really knew that how much Tim Pawlenty raised taxes, they would throw him in Boston Harbor," he said during a conference call with reporters Thursday. "If the Tea Party wants to represent the top 10 percent [of taxpayers] and raise taxes for 90 percent of the country, they'll love Tim Pawlenty. If they want taxes to go down, they've got the wrong guy."
Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh said residents of the Bay State doon't appreciate it when a Minnesotan "coms to lecture us on fiscal responsibility." Pawlenty "wasn't really straight" about his own record, he added.
Pawlenty, who kind of announced his presidential candidacy earlier this week, is headlining the Tea Party's Tax Day rally not far from where the original tea party occurred. Last year's headliner was former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Announcing its choice of Pawlenty, the party praised him, saying he "has put his state on a course toward economic success."
Pointing to the $5 billion gusher of red ink state officials are currently trying to stanch, "his fiscal record was a disaster for Minnesota and would be a disaster for the country," Rybak said.
Rybak, not incidentally, one of President earliest and most prominent supporters in Minnesota, also mocked Pawlenty's adoption of a Southern accent when stumping in that region. If tomorrow he sounds like one of the Kennedys, you'll know you're in trouble," he said.
