Pawlenty says Johnson should be forgiven

03/22/2006

by PATRICK SWEENEY
Pioneer Press

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Tuesday it is time for people to forgive Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson for admitted misstatements by Johnson on the gay marriage issue and to move on to other issues facing Minnesota.

“Senator Johnson has admitted being untruthful,” Pawlenty said when questioned by reporters. “He has asked for forgiveness and a second chance. I think we should give it to him, and we should move on. … All of us have made mistakes. This is a big one.”

Pawlenty said he had lingering concerns about unresolved differences between Johnson’s statements and those of Chief Justice Russell Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court. But Pawlenty said he would ask leaders of the Minnesota Republican Party to join him in putting the Johnson flap to rest.

“I would be willing to do that, and I will do that,” Pawlenty said of the approach he would make to party leaders.

Later, Ron Carey, the Republican state party’s chairman, said Pawlenty had telephoned to talk about the Johnson controversy, but Carey said the governor did not ask for an end to the party’s criticism of the majority leader.

“This is certainly not the governor saying we should all just forgive and forget and let this all die and go away,” Carey said.

Carey said the state party would maintain the Web site — http://www.sandingoffthetruth.com — it established to question Johnson’s account. Carey also said party officials, who had already bought radio ads challenging Johnson, would consider expanding the advertising buy.

Through a spokesman, Johnson declined to comment.

Since last week, Johnson has been at the center of a raging political controversy over statements he made in January to clerics in Willmar. One of the meeting participants tape-recorded Johnson.

In the meeting, Johnson said he had talked to three current or former members of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

He said they assured him the court would not strike down a 1997 state law that bans gay marriage. After being confronted with the tape, Johnson said he had “embellished” a conversation with one justice and had received no promises of any kind.

On Monday, Anderson, the chief justice, denied Johnson had even spoken about the marriage law with any current justice or with former Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz, whom Johnson had mentioned by name.