The Tampa Tribune - Pawlenty in Town, Promises to Speak 'Hard Truth'

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By William March

On the first official day of his presidential campaign, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty curried potential supporters in Tampa and marked off Florida as ground zero in the coming debate over Social Security and Medicare.

"I'm going to Florida to tell both young people and seniors the truth that our entitlement programs are on an unsustainable path and that inaction is no longer an option," Pawlenty said in his announcement Monday in Iowa.

After his announcement, he attended a reception at the home of a supporter, Republican fundraiser and lawyer Martin Garcia, and a dinner at a South Tampa restaurant sponsored by surgeon A.K. Desai.

"We flew right from Des Moines and our announcement today to this event, so this is the first event I've had in my campaign," he told a group of about 70 Republican Party leaders and fundraisers, many of them undecided in the GOP primary, at Garcia's Beach Park home.

"It's time to tell the American people the truth. They can handle it," he said.

The events were aimed mainly at letting the local Republicans hear Pawlenty talk and evaluate him as a candidate, said Phil Handy of Winter Haven, Pawlenty's state chairman.

Pawlenty will talk about the elderly entitlement programs in a Facebook town hall Tuesday, while attending similar meet-and-greet functions and raising money in South Florida, Handy said.

In his announcement speech and in Tampa, Pawlenty said he intended to tell Americans "the hard truth," which he said politicians including President Barack Obama have avoided.

For example, he said, he intends to say in Iowa appearances that the nation's corn-based ethanol program, dear to the hearts of Iowa farmers, must be phased out.

Another, he said, is that the costs of Social Security and Medicare must be reduced.

He outlined several steps for changes in the two popular programs but stopped short of the most drastic changes recommended by other reformers.

For example, he took no position on Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher program under which elderly people would buy private health insurance.

Instead, he advocated "pay for performance incentives that reward good doctors and wise consumers," changes recommended in Washington by Congress members of both parties, including Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.

On Social Security, he advocated gradually raising the retirement age and means-testing annual cost-of-living benefits increases. He didn't advocate means-testing all benefits, or diverting Social Security tax revenue into private retirement accounts -- an idea unsuccessfully proposed by former President George W. Bush.

The Social Security retirement age already is being raised gradually, and will hit 67 by 2027. Some Republicans have advocated accelerating the increase to reach age 70.

Asked about immigration at his Tampa event, Pawlenty spoke in favor of work visas and tougher border enforcement, but didn't recommend an Arizona-style law on illegal immigrants.

Regarding "the folks who are here now, the 9 to 14 million who may be here illegally, I don't think we should have amnesty, but we need to be mindful about this issue," and take account of illegal immigrants who have been in the country for years, working and raising families, he said.

He said he hoped to "craft a legal, enforceable but thoughtful immigration policy," and would look for assistance from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who also has opposed an Arizona-style law.

Pawlenty emphasized to the Tampa crowd what's expected to be one of his main campaign themes -- the idea that he governed successfully as a conservative in a strongly Democratic state, Minnesota.

Handy said the Florida events were planned starting some time ago but took on increased importance when Pawlenty scheduled his announcement for today.

Asked whether it means Pawlenty is adopting a Florida-intensive strategy, he said, "I hope so. Florida's an important state. In 2008, it was vitally important and it will be again."

Pawlenty must overtake the candidate many political experts are now calling the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, who's way ahead of the GOP field in fundraising, and who received a name recognition boost from his unsuccessful 2008 race.

The two could face a critical test in Florida as early as September, when the state Republican Party will conduct a straw poll at its state convention, Presidency 5.

The event could benefit a candidate such as Pawlenty who's seeking to overtake a frontrunner, because it's designed to favor a candidate who can organize backing among party activists rather than one who spends heavily on advertising.

But Handy said the campaign doesn't have any plans regarding Presidency 5.

He acknowledged that for many party activists, today's and tomorrow's events may be their first good look at Pawlenty.

Many of those at the events are still undecided.

Prominent GOP fundraiser Nancy Watkins, who plans to attend both events, supported Romney in 2008 but is still making up her mind this year and said she's "keeping a very open mind."

"I was very impressed with Jon Huntsman," who held a meet-and-greet in St. Petersburg two weeks ago, "and I still hold Mitt Romney in very high regard," she said. "I look forward to seeing Tim Pawlenty again and hearing what he has to say."

Tampa developer and GOP stalwart Dick Beard, attending the Garcia event, said he's still undecided, and that the number of potential candidates waiting on the sidelines or dropping out has many Republicans confused about their choices -- "The country's uncertain who's really in or out."

Even the sponsor of one of today's events, Desai, said he's not committed yet in the race. "I'm doing it as a friend," he said.

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