By Rachel E. Stassen-Berger

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty got praise in DC for attracting many to his "pretzels and pints" fundraiser this week but he didn't make all potential allies happy.

In a piece posted on the day of the governor's first fundraiser for his Freedom First PAC, David Mastio, the Senior Editor for Online Opinion at The Washington Times, says Pawlenty's folks should have let him inside the event, even though most media, including the Star Tribune, was kept out.

"Suddenly Washington is kindergarten where the rules have to be fair? Get a grip," wrote Mastio. "If Mr. Pawlenty has 2012 aspirations he needs to let conservatives to get to know him. Hopefully his consultants will figure that out."

Mastio also writes for the Des Moines Register in Iowa. Pawlenty will make his Iowa debut next month.

For those who weren't inside, here's a snippet of what Pawlenty said via his political spokesman's YouTube channel. His speech as portrayed in the clip is almost the same as words he's given at other events, which were open to the media.

(h/t Bring Me The News.)