Presidential hopefuls Cap and Trade stance offers "Pawlenty" of problems

Governor Tim Pawlenty

Minnesota Governor and Republican Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty has a problem. He WAS a big supporter of Cap and Trade. He has tried to distance himself lately by saying it was a mistake. But, in a 2008 article published in the Star Tribune he seemed pretty cozied up to the idea to just dismiss it now as "a mistake."

In the article his then spokesman Alex Carey said, ""He would prefer that come from the federal government, it was something he really wanted to do."

Pawlenty joins global-warming radio ad


The governors of Minnesota and Arizona take to the airwaves to urge Congress to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Deepening his involvement in the global warming debate and in national affairs, Gov. Tim Pawlenty is lending his voice to a nationwide radio ad sponsored by the activist Environmental Defense Action Fund. In the ad, Pawlenty teams up with Arizona's Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano to scold Congress for not doing more to combat climate change.

Against a background of inspirational, New Age-style music, the two tout state-level achievements and urge Congress to pass national curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. Quick action could spur thousands of "enviro-friendly" jobs, Pawlenty and Napolitano say in the ad. Foot-dragging, they warn, could push job-yielding innovations overseas.

Those claims are disputed by some critics who say that the jury is still out on climate change and that promises of a golden age of affordable, homegrown fuel and controllable climate are overstated. Many of those are in Pawlenty's Republican Party, and the pressure on him to back off the issue has been substantial at times.

But Alex Carey, spokesman for Pawlenty, said the governor is convinced of the need for action. Pawlenty plans another clean energy package in the coming legislative session and has adopted renewable energy as his signature issue during his tenure leading the National Governors Association. Napolitano was the previous chair.