Republican Governor Says the GOP Should Be 'Just Like Eminem'

Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress at 9:58 AM on June 8, 2009.

On Friday night, Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) gave the keynote address at the College Republicans National Convention. Perhaps seeking cache with his young audience, he referred to a stunt at the recent MTV Movie Awards, and suggested that the Republican Party should be “just like” the rapper Eminem:

Opening his remarks with a reference to NBC’s “Inside the Obama White House” special, Pawlenty told the gathering of about 200 students, “I haven’t seen something that staged since that half-naked Austrian fell onto the face of Eminem at the MTV music awards.”

“Eminem was mad,” he continued, to laughter and applause. “And so, just like Eminem getting dumped on, we’ve got to kind of regroup. We’ve got to continue to fight. And we’ve got some things worth fighting for.”

Considering Eminem has been criticized for sexism and homophobia, perhaps he is already serving as a model for the modern conservative movement.

Ali Frick is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.