Tim Pawlenty, facing dismal poll results for the GOP 2012 nomination for president, Wednesday released a new six-minute video, which highlights the former Minnesota Governor and his wife talking about their Christian faith. The video, the Pawlenty campaign states, is a response to Pawlenty’s refusal to sign Bob Vander Plaats’ controversial anti-gay, anti-porn, anti-Islam, pro-slavery “Marriage Vow.” The Pawlenty campaign also released a companion radio ad.
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The video opens with Mary Pawlenty, Tim’s wife, stating she was “raised in a Christian family,” adding, “my mother and father were Covenant, by background, they’re from the Evangelical Covenant faith.” Mary Pawlenty talks about Jesus Christ, then Tim talks about how he was raised Catholic, but when he met Mary in college and she “introduced me to the Lord in new and powerful ways.”
Pawlenty says, “my faith is very important to me, it influences all that I do.” Pawlenty adds that “hope is always with us, it’s not in these earthly things, but it’s in Jesus Christ.”
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Mary Pawlenty says she and Tim approach their decisions together as a “faith walk, and you ask that God light your path and help guide you, day by day.” She calls the Founding Fathers’ belief in God a “critical aspect” of America.
Tim claims, “The separation of church and state was intended to protect people of faith from government, not government from people of faith. Now, we have all this revisionism around what was intended and where those lines really are drawn. I think the founders of this country made it very clear, we were founded as a nation under God.”
He adds, “traditional marriage between a man and a woman is a moral building block of our society, it’s in the Bible,” Pawlenty says, attempting to counter-act andy negative response to his refusal to sign the Vander Plaats pledge.
The campaign also released this statement:
“Mary and I have been married for almost 24 years and have been blessed with two wonderful daughters. Â In all we do, we remain committed to our core values that are set out in scripture. Â We are saved by grace. Â As Christians we are to speak the truth, but to do so with love.
“Voters have a right to know about their leaders’ faith and values, and how those beliefs may shape their decisions. To that end, today my campaign released a new video in which both Mary and I speak directly and openly about our faith.  I fully support traditional marriage.  Unequivocally.  The traditional family faces enormous challenges in America, and if elected I would vigorously oppose any effort to redefine marriage as anything other than between one man and one woman.
“I deeply respect, and share, Bob Vander Plaatts’ commitment to promoting the sanctity of marriage, a culture of life, and the core principles of the Family Leader’s Marriage Vow Pledge. However, rather than sign onto the words chosen by others, I prefer to choose my own words, especially seeking to show compassion to those who are in broken families through no fault of their own.
“I respectfully decline to sign the pledge.”
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