Why do you think this man is laughing?

Tim Pawlenty, the former Republican governor of Minnesota who criticized Wall Street while running for president last year, is joining the Financial Services Roundtable as president and chief executive officer.

Pawlenty…will take over from the retiring Steve Bartlett as CEO of the Washington-based group that represents 100 of the biggest financial-services companies, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America. Corp. and Citigroup Inc. The new job means quitting his post as national co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign…

In a Bloomberg Television interview last year before he ended his presidential run and joined Romney’s campaign, Pawlenty said his “truth message to Wall Street is going to be, ‘Get your snout out of the trough’.” He was viewed as a potential Romney running mate before the former Massachusetts governor selected Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

Pawlenty, who campaigned as a “Sam’s Club Republican” concerned with issues affecting the middle class, will represent the interests of the large financial firms across a broad range of business, from insurance giants such as State Farm Insurance Cos. and money managers including BlackRock Inc. to payment networks like Visa…

In a statement, Romney said…“While I regret he cannot continue as co-chair of my campaign, his new position advancing the integrity of our financial system is vital to the future of our country”…

He may also receive a substantial raise. Bartlett was paid $1.8 million in 2010, according to the group’s IRS filings for that year. Pawlenty’s most recent salary as governor was $121,000, according to a 2011 financial filing for his presidential bid. Scott Talbott, a senior vice president of public policy at the Financial Services Roundtable, declined to share Pawlenty’s salary information.

Musical jobs among the politicians of America, two pantywaist parties and the corporate plutocrats who own our lawmakers, legal system and judges – continues without missing a beat.

I hear America singing. And it ain’t Bob Dylan.



  1. So what says:

    Is anyone truly surprised?

    • What? The moth is always drawn to the flame? says:

      No.

      They want an easy job that gives them lots of money and power. QED

  2. UncDon says:

    His criticism was heard, changes were made, and now there is nothing to complain about. Case closed.

  3. Derek says:

    NEWSFLASH: Politicians are greedy bastards who will sell their soul for the right price! More at 11…

    Seriously though, this is insanely non-news. I know you want this to be a “The pope caught on video in an orgy” but this is honestly more “Paris Hilton releases another sex tape”

  4. Gildersleeve says:

    Well this IS something to note – in another 8 or 12 years. When Tim runs for Prez again, lets see how his message and his image changes.

    • msbpodcast says:

      Another election cycle of two and there won’t be any presidency.

      If Mittenz gets his way, we’ll have done away with it, and elections too (which I agree with, [but for entirely different reasons.])

      All hail King Mittenz, the Foist!

      Bakunin was right… Every state is criminal at heart.

  5. deowll says:

    And where do you think the people now working in the WH came from and will go back to once they leave the WH? This has been going on for a long time now and is not limited to one admin. or one party. One company has had a particularly incestuous relationship with the Fed and the WH through the last two Admins at least: Goldman Sachs. They get a cut on every bond the Fed buys from the Treasury even though the Fed could buy directly from the Treasury. Heck you can buy directly from the Treasury if you want to buy some high priced junk bonds.

  6. Dallas says:

    A hypocritical Teapublican? You don’t say.

  7. scandihoovian says:

    Makes me sick as a Minnesotan this piece of garbage ever got elected. Independents need to start catering to the dumbed down like this douchebag did, using rationale logic is not appealing to the masses.

  8. orchidcup says:

    Tim Pawlenty – A Time for Truth

    In a Bloomberg Television interview last year before he ended his presidential run and joined Romney’s campaign, Pawlenty said his “truth message to Wall Street is going to be, ‘Get your snout out of the trough’.”

    Now Pawlenty is feeding at the trough with the rest of the piggies.

  9. msbpodcast says:

    Why is this man laughing?

    Because they’re not even trying to hide their faces as they laugh right in yours.

    They feel entitled to rule. (But you’re not allowed any entitlement, like a pension or a health care system, or anything else.)

  10. ± says:

    It should be illegal for any lobby to donate a dime or a dinner to any politician. If they can’t convince a politician to support their cause because of it’s intrinsic good for the people, then too bad. It would be the single greatest change for good that could be implemented.

    • msbpodcast says:

      Getting rid of parties would take care of the entire problem.

      No more elections to buy.

      No more politicians who can owe you favors because it was your money that got them into office.

      No more gerrymandering, filling electoral lists with the currently dead, vote buying or onerous poll taxes.

      No more idiots with axes to grind before they swing them at your neck.

      Just select at random instead of elect from an oil smeared, dirty and muddy pool of lying sacks of shit, or millionaires, (but I repeat myself.)

      The only thing a rich man is qualified at is getting richer, the easiest way to accomplish this is by making you poorer.

      • ± says:

        I agree that parties should be unconstitutional and this would be best. But if that were to occur, even then, lobbies should not have the power to influence with money.

        But most of the sheeple believe in their party like it is a surrogate or actual religion or like that. When looking at Ds and Rs, they are both wrong about half the time, so I personally don’t get this. Possibly the explanation is that some people are lucky enuff to be born without the genetic failing of needing to latch on to a group.

  11. CPBrown says:

    “…the corporate plutocrats who own our lawmakers, legal system and judges …”

    You could just as easily say : “the lawmakers, legal system and judges who own our corporate plutocrats ”

    It’s unclear to me why the evil is always on the corporate side, when it is as much, if not more, the politicians who accept/encourage the bribery, and extort money/power/influence by enacting more laws & regulations to help their “friends” and/or hurt the ones who didn’t pony up/cozy up enough.

    • msbpodcast says:

      …the corporate plutocrats who own our lawmakers, legal system and judges …

      Yeah … That sounds about right.

      And are corporations evil?

      Listen to Mittenz… “Corporations are people, my friend.

      Under that rule, I have to say that corporations can now be as evil as people.

      • orchidcup says:

        Corporations are more evil than people.

        People are accountable for their actions.

        Corporations have limited liability and unlimited funds to hire lawyers and lobbyists and elect politicians.

        Corporations also have eternal life and multinational citizenship.

  12. bobbo, one Real Liberal making Obama a Conservative by comparison says:

    RICH = CRIMINAL
    POLITICIAN = CRIMINAL
    LOBBYIST = CRIMINAL
    POLITICIAN = LIAR
    LOBBYIST = LIAR

    Hmmmm…. how to make this fair and balanced?

    Fox News = Liar >>> Nope, I missed it. Still have some work to do.

    If you just look at it, common sense says lobbying is providing cash in return for votes. Just because the vocabulary for quid pro quo is avoided doesn’t mean you can’t just watch it take place.

    Two simply rules: you serve in government: you can’t lobby. Not that effective.

    If you take money from an identifiable interest–you cannot vote in the conflict of interest thereby created.

    Let loose the dogs of vested interests. Bought, sold, and can’t change.

  13. bobbo, one Real Liberal making Obama a Conservative by comparison says:

    The simple truth is that Washington can’t be changed from the inside. That would mean the criminals moderated themselves. When does that ever happen?

    Change must come from the “outside.” That means the VOTERS.
    Paying attention and voting their own self interests. When does that ever happen?

    And so, what we see is the creation of a static drain opening near the bottom of the barrow, and we are in a tight spiral to the bottom.

    All analogies fail at some point. I blame the Pukes.

  14. NewformatSux says:

    Now we know the payoff for his Romney endorsement. He thought it was important to campaign from Romney over Santorum. He doesn’t think it’s worth campaigning for Romney over Obama.

    We see the same with Elizabeth Warren, and Barack Obama, and #1 is John Edwards who was employed by a hedge fund between presidential runs. He told us it was to learn about poverty.

  15. Captain Obvious says:

    Obviously he’s not that dumb. He quit the Romney campaign.

  16. Glenn E. says:

    It should be obvious, that Tim Pawlenty wants to change the system from the inside. Just like Obama recently said of Rmoney’s last flub, “What kind of an inside job is he talking about?”. 🙂

  17. NewformatSux says:

    Pawlenty did a good job as governor of Minnesota. When the Democrats in charge of the legislature refused to pass a balanced budget without tax increases, he used his power of unallotment to balance the budget by cutting whatever spending he deemed necessary to cut. Sadly his successor the Target heir Mark Dayton did not do the same.

    • bobbo, one Real Liberal making Obama a Conservative by comparison says:

      As with everything else in life, the smartest most competent people will be good at whatever they set about to do. Be it:
      strengthening the social safety net, or
      getting the operation within budget, or
      getting the operation within balance, or
      running the most corrupt lobbying firm there is.

      Plato described it 2500 years ago as the Philosopher King deciding to run a den of thieves.

      Nothing changes.

  18. John says:

    Is that any different then a former politician becoming a high paid lobbyist? I know plenty of Democrat’s and Republican’s that have done just that. Why is it that some people hate people that make money? Some argue Romney’s view of Top down economics is wrong? But is that not the way it is everywhere in the World?
    The Robin Hood ideology that Obama and some Democrat’s have it just vapor ideals of a Utopia that never has and never will happen.

    • bobbo, one Real Liberal making Obama a Conservative by comparison says:

      Gee John–every thing you say is wrong or idiotic. I’ll even bet John isn’t your real name.

      You post as if you think the CEO of a Lobbying Firm doesn’t do any lobbying himself.

      You can’t be more stupid than that.

      ………well, thinking trickle down economics works all over the world does trump that.

      What a maroon.

  19. It looks like getting passed over for Romney’s VP slot was the best thing that ever happened to Pawlenty. Mr. Ryan wasn’t quite so lucky.

  20. Rick says:

    Republicans have finally stopped pretending to care about the country and now openly support their corporate masters.

  21. Guyver says:

    Could be worse. You could have a tax cheat be the Secretary of the Treasury.


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