MINNESOTA IN WASHINGTON

Tim Pawlenty should have stayed in Minnesota.  Instead of running for a third gubernatorial term, he decided to run for president.  Big mistake.

Prior to the GOP debate in New Hampshire June 13, he’d been gaining some traction by denouncing ethanol subsidies in Iowa, calling for Social Security reform in Florida, and making the most comprehensive statements on foreign policy of any candidate. 

Then he zinged Mitt Romney by coining the clever, and accurate, term "Obamneycare" to highlight similarities between Obama’s health care plan and the one Romney imposed in Massachusetts when he was governor (2003-2007).   Conservatives who’d overlooked him looked again with new respect.

Yet after throwing down the Obamneycare gauntlet on June 12, Pawlenty refused to confront Romney on it during the debate the very next day.  He wimped out, and his candidacy may never recover.

Yep, he shoulda stayed in Minnesota, for with Washington gridlocked, action on the fiscal crisis has moved to the states.

In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich cut $2 billion from the $8 billion deficit he inherited from his Democratic predecessor without raising taxes.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels gave Hoosiers a small tax cut when he balanced his budget.  He weakened the power of teacher unions, and greatly expanded school choice.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie won approval from a legislature controlled by Democrats for a measure which requires public employees to pay more for health care and pensions.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker erased the $3.6 billion deficit he inherited without raising taxes.  His budget requires public employees to contribute more for health care and pensions, restricts the power of public employee unions, and expands school choice.

The new law has saved at least one school district from bankruptcy.

Massive protests by public employee unions made the budget fight in Wisconsin a national story, Gov. Walker a national figure.

"Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker appears to have the makings of a national GOP rock star fighting the growth of union influence and trimming the fat from state government to get Wisconsin’s fiscal house back in order," said Glenn Beck producer Phil Rizzuto.

Back in Minnesota, Democrats controlled at least one house of the legislature for all of Mr. Pawlenty’s eight years as governor.  But Republicans won both houses last year.  So if Mr. Pawlenty had run again (he surely would have won; a much weaker GOP candidate fell just 9,000 votes short), he could be doing what Gov. Walker is doing next door in Wisconsin, and winning similar plaudits for it.

Instead, Minnesota offers a preview of what may happen if President Barack Obama and House Republicans don’t resolve their impasse over raising the ceiling on the national debt.

The legislature passed in nine separate bills a budget that would raise Gopher state spending to its highest level ever, six percent more than in the last biennium, but do so without raising taxes.  Dem Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed all nine. He wants to increase state spending 24 percent. 

The legislature passed its budget bills with six weeks to go in the legislative session, but Gov. Dayton didn’t veto them until the very end, triggering a shutdown of state government July 1.

The governor intentionally caused the shutdown, because "if it were broad-based and painful enough," Minnesotans could be persuaded to support his big spending ways, said Minneapolis Star-Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten.

Dem Gov. Dayton — with the assistance of biased reporting, chiefly from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune — blames the shutdown on Republicans.  Things aren’t working out as he planned.

Hardest hit have been members of public employee unions.  But "many of us not dependent on the government have found the shutdown a minor inconvenience at worst," said Minnesota blogger Scott Johnson (Power Line).

A Survey USA poll June 20 indicated 87 percent of Minnesotans oppose increasing state spending.  The resolve of Republican legislators is strengthening, Mr. Johnson said.

President Obama doubtless will blame Republicans if no deal is made on the debt ceiling.  Let’s hope House Speaker John Boehner has as much gumption as do the GOP legislators in Minnesota.

Jack Kelly is a former Marine and Green Beret and a former deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration. He is national security writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.