VIDEO: DGA Releases New Video Highlighting Pawlenty’s Failed Record As Governor

Today, the DGA released a new video titled “Tim’s Mess,” highlighting the mess Tim Pawlenty made of Minnesota during his tenure as governor. Whether it was on health care, the budget, or jobs, Tim Pawlenty failed to live up to his promises and left Minnesota broke and worse off.
The facts speak for themselves. Under Tim Pawlenty, the number of people without health insurance increased from 6.1 percent to 9.1 percent, job growth stagnated, and Pawlenty left the state with a $6.2 billion budget deficit.
Maybe this is why former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) is warning Pawlenty against campaigning on his record, saying:
“In the end, I think it would be a mistake to go back and [say], ‘Well, here’s where the state was, here’s where it is now,’ like somehow Pawlenty is tied to the past. You’re not going to see that,” Coleman said. “It’s going to be, I’ve got to believe, ‘Here’s the vision for the future.’ … I don’t think Tim’s going to be looking back very much.”
Watch the video HERE or click the image below.

“Tim Pawlenty left Minnesotans an enormous mess to clean up during his time as governor, and they don’t want to be on cleaning duty again,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “Even Republican Norm Coleman is telling Pawlenty to run away from his record. But Tim Pawlenty can’t hide from his disastrous record of soaring unemployment and a $6.2 billion budget deficit. Minnesotans won’t forget the mess Tim Pawlenty made as governor.”

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Background:
PAWLENTY LEFT MINNESOTA A MESS
Star Tribune Editorial Headline: “State No Better Off As Pawlenty Era Ends.” [Star Tribune Editorial, 1/1/11]
Star Tribune: Pawlenty Left “Minnesota Less Prepared for The Challenges of the Next Decade Than it Ought to be.” [Star Tribune Editorial, 1/1/11]
Star Tribune Dane Smith Op-Ed: “We Can’t Escape The Fact That Pawlenty Presided Over The Worst Decade Economically, For Most Minnesotans, Since The 1930s.” [Star Tribune, Smith, 12/18/10]
Star Tribune Dane Smith Op-Ed: “The Most Damaging Statistic for Pawlenty is That Minnesota, Relative to Other States, Generally Performed Worse in the Last Decade Than It Did in Four Previous Decades.” [Star Tribune, Smith, 12/18/10]
FISCAL MESS: $6 BILLION BUDGET DEFICIT 
Good Morning America: “You Left Your Successor With a Deficit to be About $6 Billion.” [Good Morning America, 5/23/11]
NBC Today Show: “Former Republican Governor of the State of Minnesota, Arne Carlson, Had This To Say About Your Time There and Your Fiscal Responsibility: Quote, “I Don’t Think Any Governor Has Left Behind a Worse Financial Mess Than He Has.” [NBC Today Show, 5/23/11]
Fox News Sunday: “We Checked With The Head Of The Minnesota Taxpayers Association Who Said You Left Your Successor With a $5 Billion Deficit.” [Fox News, 6/13/11]
Pawlenty Left a $6.2 Billion Budget Deficit. According to Minnesota Public Radio, “what Pawlenty failed to highlight is that he’s leaving Democratic Gov.-elect Mark Dayton and the Republicans ready to take control of the Legislature with a $6.2 billion budget deficit in the coming biennium.” [MPR, 12/22/10]
LACK OF JOB GROWTH
Star Tribune Editorial: “Minnesota’s Unemployment Rate is Stalled at an Uncomfortably High 7 Percent.” [Star Tribune Editorial, 1/1/11]
Minnesota Public Radio: “For Most of Pawlenty’s Two Terms Minnesota Lagged the Nation In Creating Jobs.” [MPR, 12/22/10]
Minnesota Only Had 6,200 More Jobs After 8 Years Of Pawlenty. In December 2010, Minnesota Public Radio reported,“For most of Pawlenty’s two terms, Minnesota lagged the nation in creating jobs. A look at Minnesota’s jobs record shows that the state has just 6,200 more workers now than it had in January of 2003.” [MPR, 12/22/10]
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASED
Minnesota Public Radio: “The Number of People Without Health Insurance Has Increased. According to The Minnesota Department of Health, 9.1 Percent of State Residents Did Not Have Health Insurance In 2009, Up From 6.1 Percent In 2001.” [MPR, 12/22/10]