Politics

Fact Free Pawlenty

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

With the new year comes the beginning of the 2012 presidential race. Outgoing Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty is making his move. He’s written a book, and he’s written a recent op-ed article for the Wall Street Journal. That article is so devoid of facts that Pawlenty has been awarded the “Pants on Fire” rating on PolitiFact’s Truth-o-meter.

This should make him a shoo-in for the Republican nomination.

Pawlenty wrote:

Since January 2008, the private sector has lost nearly 8 million jobs while local, state and federal governments added 590,000.

In January 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),  total private-sector employment in the United States stood at 115,562,000. That number had dropped to 108,278,000 by November 2010. That’s a decrease of 7.3 million jobs, which is pretty close to the 8 million Pawlenty claimed. While trying to pin the job losses on Obama, Pawlenty failed to mention that two-thirds of those job losses came during the George W. Bush administration.

What about Pawlenty’s numbers regarding government jobs? The BLS has a category called government employment, which includes local, state, and federal employment, as Pawlenty had defined it. Over the same time frame, the number of government jobs went from 22,379,000 to 22,261,000 — a decrease of 118,000, rather than an increase of 590,000, as Pawlenty had written.

Even if Pawlenty penned the WSJ article, someone on his staff should have verified its accuracy.

H/T: NYTimes (Paul Krugman), PolitiFact.

/Please also comment on the animated GIF. Do you like it or not?

14 thoughts on “Fact Free Pawlenty”

  2. “22,379,000 to 22,261,000 — a decrease of 118,000, rather than an increase of 590,000, as Pawlenty had written.”

    that many people are working for government?

    So we have about 5 private sector workers supporting 1 government worker. WOW. That is amazing and unsustainable.

  3. I’d be very wary about the overuse of animated gif. They’re fine in small amounts and provided their presence, removal or replacement does not disrupt the rest.

    Kind of like politicians.

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  6. eniobob

    Leave it to Sister Sarah to find a use for what is raw intelligence data with no substantive veracity or analysis.

    Those dratted neo-cons are everywhere, maybe even in the Diplomatic Corp.

  7. Minnesota had a history of some pretty good Republicans, sadly the wingnuts have gotten a very good grip on the party and given us third-tier losers like Norm Coleman and Timmy.

    Timmy has bowed down before the faux taxpayers league and the religious right to the exclusion of all common sense or good governance. It is no coincidence that the I35 bridge fell down under his watch or that our schools are crumbling and roads are not properly plowed in the winter now.

    But it is not because he believes in these things, it has all been with his eyes on a bigger prize. Pasta save us if this rudderless, soulless, empty suit ever became President.

  8. Aw, c’mon. It’s just a coupla numbers. He means well, right? Up, down…what’s the diff? It’s just politix. It don’t mean a thing, nohow.

  10. Otteray Scribe-

    I haven’t heard Chester A. Riley quoted in many a year. “What a revoltin’ development this is!”

  11. “This should make him a shoo-in for the Republican nomination.”

    Pawlenty is no worse than Mr. Obama and some Democrats with their own satchel of abject lies and broken pledges.

  12. Nal,

    The animated gif is fine.

    The picture of Pawlenty is making me a little nauseous though.

    Seriously, would any of you buy a used car from that guy?

  13. Now, now. Lets not burden his argument with facts. As Chester Riley would say, “Don’t confuse me with facts, my head is made up.”

  14. “Even if Pawlenty penned the WSJ article, someone on his staff should have verified its accuracy.”

    Meaning “FACTS”LOL!!

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