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	Hecker, Petters, and Pawlenty: Turkeys of the Year 2009 City Pages November 24, 2009 http://www.citypages.com/2009-11-25/news/hecker-petters-and-pawlenty-turkeys-of-the-year-2009/2 This year's seriocomic budget battle was a prime example. Knowing that no Republican could win the party's nomination with a record of tax increases, Pawlenty drew a line in the sand and refused to discuss tax compromises even during one of the worst budget crises in state history. When his brick-wall stubbornness created a stalemate with the Legislature, Pawlenty reached into his constitutional bag of tricks and pulled out "unallotment," a process that allowed him to unilaterally slash $2.7 billion from the budget, much of it from education and health services for the poorest of the poor. Minnesota was nearly alone among hard-hit states in not raising some taxes during the economic crisis, and Pawlenty's stance was at odds with other recent Minnesota Republican governors such as Al Quie and Arne Carlson, who understood the necessity of civilized compromise during hard times. Pawlenty's intransigence only postpones the most difficult decisions till the next budget cycle in 2011, when state deficits are projected to be nearly as huge as this year's. What's more, Pawlenty's "no new taxes" mantra isn't even true. By hacking state aid to local governments (by about a billion dollars since Pawlenty took office, and $300 million this year), the governor has forced counties to raise property taxes to pay for basic services—by more than 11 percent during his term. Let the nation have T-Paw—we don't want him.
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