Ethical Questions Surround Pawlenty As He Courts Donors While Shilling For Wall Street

Pawlenty Is Lobbying And Fundraising At The Same Time

Tim Pawlenty just can’t seem to let his job as a super-lobbyist go. Whether it is because the money is too good, or because he wants to make a positive final impression on his Wall Street buds before he goes to them hat in hand, Pawlenty continues to do Wall Street’s bidding.
Either way, it brings up serious questions as to whether he should be asking for money from potential donors who may benefit from his continued lobbying efforts.
On February 6, he announced he would be leaving the Financial Services Roundtable, probably because he likely already set up a private meeting with potential donors.
Then, the following week, he went back to the Minnesota capital to re-introduce himself to the state he left with a $6 billion deficit.
All the while, he continued to lobby for Wall Street. During the first week of March, he wrote a letter to Senate leadership lobbying on behalf of deregulating the financial market.
“Tim Pawlenty just can’t quit Wall Street,” said Deputy Communications Director David Turner. “After meeting with donors about a potential campaign, he continues to take his multi-million dollar salary to do their bidding. This begs the question, who would he actually fight for in Minnesota?”
To be fair, running a shadow campaign while continuing his day job is probably easier than defending his abysmal record. During his time as governor, he led Minnesota to a $6 billion deficit, nearly 7 percent unemployment, and underfunding education by $1.8 billion dollars.