The PAC that Tim Pawlenty set up to support Republican candidates around the country, will report that it raised $1,279,906 during the last three months of 2009, a source tells CNN.
It’s standard practice nowadays for those planning to run for president to set up PACs to distribute to other candidates as they build toward announcing their own presidential candidacies.
Pawlenty’s PAC is named “Freedom First,” which ties in to a recent piece by the liberal linguist George Lakoff called “Freedom vs. the Public Option.” Lakoff, who advises Dems on their “framing” and “messaging,” says that Repubs are excellent at using language to reconcile their policy positions with a basic moral message that conservatives have in their heads. Thus Freedom, which everyone is for, is a coded reminder to conservatives of freedom from big government and freedom from taxes. It is a very short hop from that concept to the idea that if, like most liberals, you have ideas for new government initiatives or new taxes, you are against freedom.
Lakoff contrasts that with liberals’ general poor framing and messaging, such as the decision to adopt the phrase “the public option” for the health care debate.Wrote Lakoff:
Liberals thought that conservatives would like consumer choice. That’s why they used “public option.” As Harry Reid said, “It’s public and it’s an option – a public option.” But what did a conservative hear in the words “public option?” Say “public” and he hears “government.” “Option” is a policy-wonk term, from the language of bureaucracy. Say “public option” and the conservative hears “government bureaucracy.”
How does the governors fund raising compare to the other supposed GOP candidates and their PAC’s?
It would be interesting to know who is receiving the bulk of the contributions and where the governor fits into that hierarchy.
And no mention of George Orwell.
Said it before: I don’t think TP will go for pres…VP maybe.