Caffeinated Thoughts

---

• A Tale of Two Minnesotans: Comparing Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann on Education
• Social Conservatives Speak at Conservative Principles PAC Conference in Des Moines
• Michele Bachmann Talks Faith and Politics
• Gary Johnson To Skip Exploratory Committee and Announce Presidential Run In April

A Tale of Two Minnesotans: Comparing Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann on Education Posted: 28 Mar 2011 03:00 AM PDT Below is a side by side contrast between the two prospective 2012 presidential candidates from Minnesota: Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and former Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) on education.  There is a similarity in their positions on parental choice in education, but with their positions regarding federal involvement in education… not so much. Michele Bachmann Is against federal control in education. Wants to abolish the Federal Department of Education. Thinks dollars should remain at home instead of ending tied up in Federal education bureaucracy. Opposes No Child Left Behind. Source: Interview 3-24-11 Bachmann also homeschooled and she and her husband Marcus started the first charter school in Minnesota. Tim Pawlenty Approved and promoted the International Baccalaureate program in Minnesota. (see here and here). He supported Race to The Top along with the Federal Department of Education standards that came with it. He supported the Common Core Standards from the National Governor's Association. He approved taxpayer money to be used for GBLT advocacy in public schools. He has said he is in favor of educational choice as well. While I appreciate Governor Pawlenty's support of parental choice in education, I am concerned by his lack of support for local control in education demonstrated by his support of the International Baccalaureate program, common core standards and Race to the Trough Top.  He still has an opportunity to explain his position on education and his support of these programs, and he is always welcome to interview with me where he can do so. HT: New Hampshire Tea Party Coalition for the Pawlenty info Share and Enjoy:

Social Conservatives Speak at Conservative Principles PAC Conference in Des Moines Posted: 27 Mar 2011 10:00 PM PDT Representatives from various social conservative organizations spoke at Steve King's Conservative Principles PAC Conference to an audience of 550 on Saturday.  Panel participants included: Emmett McGroarty of American Principles Project, Connie Mackey of Family Research Council, Former Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) of Susan B. Anthony List, and Brian Brown of National Organization for Marriage.  You can watch the panel discussion below. MSNBC’s First Read reported on McGroarty’s response to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour’s "main thing" comment which garnered a positive response from the audience. Barbour focused largely on the economy. "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing," Barbour joked, adding, "and the main thing is economic growth." Barbour was generally well received, and earlier in the week, he showed no qualms in expressing his emotion on the issue of abortion. But with Iowa being a caucus state dominated by social conservatives, some attendees in the hallways and in the audience questioned that focus. Another speaker, Emmett McGroarty, on a panel on family values, wrapped his speech by with what appeared to be a mild shot at Barbour. He said social-conservative values are part of "the main thing, and that’s the main thing I’m focused on today." That drew a mix of laughs and applause. As he’s said before, Barbour stressed that the presidential election needs to be about policy, "because these are the wrong policies. … These policies make it harder to create jobs." As I have said before, Governor Barbour has to overcome his social conservative problem, and he didn't help himself on Saturday. **Thanks to Eric Goranson for videoing the panel discussion. Share and Enjoy:

Michele Bachmann Talks Faith and Politics Posted: 27 Mar 2011 03:15 PM PDT I was able to interview Congresswoman Michele Bachmann a second time.  The first time was for Caffeinated Thoughts, the second opportunity was done in partnership with KTIA Radio 99.3 FM/1260 AM before the Iowa Renewal Project conference in West Des Moines, IA sponsored by the American Family Association. I asked her to share her personal testimony about placing her faith in Christ, and how her faith impacts her public service, and how Christians should be get involved in the political process. You can watch the interview below. Share and Enjoy:

Gary Johnson To Skip Exploratory Committee and Announce Presidential Run In April Posted: 27 Mar 2011 09:30 AM PDT We here at Caffeinated thoughts were one of the first to start to highlight former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson as a potential 2012 GOP Presidential candidate.  In June of 2010 we announced his intention to ride RAGBRAI, the annual bike ride across Iowa in 2010.  We had a follow up report about additional visits to Iowa in August.  Gov. Johnson intends to again ride across Iowa in RAGBRAI in 2011. As the chair of the 501 c 4 Our America Initiative Johnson cannot comment on his intention to run, but an aid for Gov. Johnson has announced that Johnson will skip the traditional Presidential Exploratory Committee and formally announce and file to run for the GOP nomination sometime in April.  His “Our American Initiative” has essentially served as an exploratory committee.  In the last 15 months he has visited more than 30 states, and has spoken to over 500 groups. He has broad appeal to many Americans.  His record of fiscal responsibility while governor is attractive to fiscally conservative tea party members.   He earned the nickname Gov. NO, when he vetoed over 750 bills, more than all the other governors combined while in office.  He cut the number of state employees and cut taxes in New Mexico.  He appeals to those who see our overseas empire and acting as policeman of the world as fiscally and morally irresponsible.  Unlike many of the potential GOP candidates he wasn’t for intervention in Libya before he was against it.  And he is for ending both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a position that he shares with the majority of the American people.  Among the potential GOP candidates only he and Ron Paul are speaking out against the wars, and if either are nominated, it could result in some very interesting debates as Obama seeks to defend his foreign policy of interventionism and war over the past 4 years. Share and Enjoy:

You are subscribed to email updates from Caffeinated Thoughts To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610