Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty told Missouri Republicans gathered for Lincoln Days in St. Charles that their time has come.
Pawlenty, the featured speaker to open the weekend gathering, said it wasn’t that long ago that pundits dismissed the Republican Party. He said many claimed that the time of conservatives had come and gone, but that liberal policies in Washington have turned many against the Democrats.
In a nod to the Tea Party movement, Pawlenty said that all the various labels given to conservatives serve a purpose, but the label they should seek is “constitutional conservatives”. Pawlenty said Republicans must stand for limited and effective government and against the expansive form of government pushed by Democrats in Congress and President Obama in the White House. Pawlenty criticized the spending habits of Democrats claiming that they are suffocating the country with a massive amount of spending, which could threatened the country’s national security.
Pawlenty urged Missouri Republicans to return to their conservative roots by growing the economy, empowering consumers in health care and reining in governmental spending.
