KWN: Many Independent or Centrist voters regard a track record of implementing innovative policy solutions as a requisite of successful, modern governance. The conservative grassroots, of course, look for candidates who promise to closely adhere to our principles of reducing the size and influence of government when deciding whom to support. How does a successful Republican juggle these seemingly mutually exclusive demands?

Gov. Tim Pawlenty: Well, I think that the role and idea of a limited and effective government is consistent with the founding principles of our country, it’s consistent with good public policy and it’s consistent with what our country needs, particularly now. So, I don’t think being innovative and being conservative are in contrast--in contradiction.

So, for example, one of the main issues right now is jobs and the economy. And the conservatives would suggest that the best way we can grow jobs and stimulate the economy is to reduce burdens on the private sector and not add burdens to the private sector; to do things to encourage entrepreneurs and businesses to grow, not discourage them, so, when you see, for example, Republican proposals to shrink government or reduce taxes, that would lighten the load on the private sector, whereas you see the Democrat and liberal proposals to increase taxes or to extend government-run health care or to have cap and trade or to have card check, those are the things that would all burden the economy or an example of things that would burden the economy the other way so I think you can be certainly both conservative and innovative and empowering individuals in the private sector in a way that is pro-growth and pro-opportunity without having government have to do that.

KWN: President Obama has called on Republicans to share their ideas regarding health care reform. How do we improve access, hold down costs, and still preserve the quality of our health care system?

Gov. Tim Pawlenty: Well, we can make it more affordable, for one, and by making it more affordable, more people would have access to health care and of course Republicans, including me, have put many ideas on the table ranging from things like medical malpractice reform, and allowing people to buy insurance across state lines and bring more choice and more competition, to switching how we pay for health care from paying for fines and procedures performed to paying for better health care outcomes to making sure we have portability of health care since people need to switch from job to job and many other ideas and so making it more affordable will make it more accessible. But the current system is broken, we all can agree on that.

But Republicans and Democrats have a very different view about what would be the appropriate steps to fix that, what would be the most effective steps to fix to that, which is heated in the debate unfolding across the country.

KWN: Democrats and many in the Mainstream Media in Minnesota are absolutely livid with your budget proposal. Star Tribune staff writers, seemingly with a “straight face” described your budget as, “bad news for low-income Minnesotans who rely on state health care and for mayors already struggling to balance their own budgets, but good news for corporations.” What is the truth regarding your budget?

Gov. Tim Pawlenty: Well, the real story is this: Minnesota needs to be a place where private sector businesses want to start, stay, and grow.

The number one pathway to a quality of life—a good quality of life—for most Minnesotans is a job, a good paying job, and we need to do those things that will make it more likely that businesses will be in our state, will grow in our state, and provide jobs in our state, and that’s why we have proposed a number of initiatives to reduce taxes, to try to create incentives for job growth in the private sector in Minnesota, and we’ve also had to and continue to shrink government.

My state is perhaps one most liberal states in the country. It’s one of the biggest government-spending states in the country and throughout my time as governor, I’ve tried to slow that down and reduce that and that doesn’t sit well with the kind of historical, liberal trajectory of my state. A lot of the current day liberals here, they just have a different view. Many of the cuts that we have made do affect healthcare programs or other programs, but that’s also where most of the money gets spent and those programs were going up in cost so fast that they were just no longer sustainable.

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-My deepest thanks to Gov. Pawlenty for agreeing to sit for this interview to mark Rightosphere's first day.-KWN