Durenberger on a roll

Mike over at Inside Minnesota Politics will have a hot interview with former Republican Senator Dave Durenberger up later this afternoon. Durenberger has some choice words for the Bush administration, Governor Pawlenty and Republicans in general. Here's a taste:

On Iraq:

“We were wrong. It was the wrong decision.I would have never voted for it…. Number one it was the wrong target. There are people we should be at war at, but it’s a whole different war.”

On Mark Kennedy:

“[Kennedy] is basically stuck in a Texas Republican party. It’s not a Minnesota party. He needs to be a Minnesota Republican. And I don’t mean necessarily the current so-called ‘from the business right’ or whatever the right is in Minnesota. Business, church, evangelical or something or other. But he needs to be what his instincts, what his upbringing in PequotLakes, what his education at St. John’s taught him to be – a compassionate conservative.”

On Tim Pawlenty trying to govern from the center:

"I bet on Tim Pawlenty to be that kind of Governor and I still would like to bet on him to be that kind of Governor. Although the evidence so far is… it’s kind of a stretch to find it at the current time.”

On who was damaged most politically by the state government shutdown:

“Here in Minnesota, the blame is going to lie on the Governor”