OK, let's face it. There are probably a million and one reasons why I won't vote for Tim Pawlenty. But the number one reason rises above politics and above personality. That reason is Jeremy Giefer.
Jeremy Giefer was convicted in Minnesota of statutory rape. When Giefer was 19 he impregnated his 14 year-old girlfriend. Now, I know there are a lot of you who will say that this is not the type of crime that deserves the type of shame and lifelong stigma that comes with a child sex conviction (actually I'm hoping that there are more of you who think that this is the type of crime that deserves this), especially since he ended up marrying the "victim" of this crime and they went on to have a family together and are still married.
Certainly Tim Pawlenty thought that this was not the sort of crime that deserved this type of punishment under these circumstances. That's because Tim Pawlenty pardoned Jeremy Giefer. Now, the fact that Pawlenty made such a decision alone may not persuade you that he is not fit for the highest office in the land. Governors pardon people all the time and usually these go without any negative repercussions down the road.
However, in this case, there are serious repurcussions. You see, recently Jeremy Giefer was indicted on charges that he repeatedly raped his daughter, the daughter who was "State's Exhibit Number One" in the statutory rape case for which Giefer was convicted. He raped her starting when she was age 9 and continued to rape her until she was 16. Giefer has yet to face trial on these charges. Of course when he is tried, evidence of the prior rape will not come in because he was pardoned for it. Oh, and of course if he is convicted he will receive a lighter sentence having officially never been convicted of a previous child sex crime.
Still, you say, how could Governor Pawlenty have foreseen this? I mean, it's not like he has a crystal ball. And even if he could have foreseen it, the Governor's action didn't let Giefer out of jail. Nothing in the pardon would have prevented Giefer from committing these heinous acts against his daughter. This, anyway, was the line of defense coming from Pawlenty's camp when news of the charges against Giefer hit the press.
But, there is one other part of the story that is the real reason that I feel this incident shows that Pawlenty simply doesn't have the decision making capability necessary to be President. You see, when Giefer made his application to the Board of Pardons, he listed as a reason for needing the pardon that he and his wife wanted to open a day care in their home and the fact that Giefer was a registered child sex offender prevented them from being able to do this. Apparently, this didn't raise any red flags in Pawlenty's mind, nor in the mind of the rest of the board.
Child rape is a crime of opportunity. This is why we don't let convicted sex offenders live near schools, or playgrounds, or be teachers, or drive school buses, or have day cares in their home. Giefer is a perfect example of this. He initially fed his evil by befriending and raping a girl too young to give consent, legally or otherwise. He got away with this crime until he impregnated the girl and was thus charged with a crime. The criminal justice system gave him his next opportunity by giving him a paltry jail sentence of 45 days. Society gave him his next opportunity by allowing him to marry his victim, thereby giving him the opportunity to raise and groom his next victim, his own daughter.
But Pawlenty gave him an opportunity that is beyond belief. Because Pawlenty's pardon of Giefer gave him the opportunity to have parents from around his neighborhood send their children into the lion's den of their home. Of course, responsible parents would never send their children to be cared for by someone who is a registered child sex offender. But, they never would know this thanks to the pardon that Pawlenty gave Giefer so that he could have the witless parents send their children to his home.
To date, there have been no reports of Giefer raping or otherwise molesting the children that were in his and his wife/victim's care. Hopefully there weren't any. However, experience and logic would both argue against this hope, as child sex offenders don't get better and they don't give up opportunities to re-offend -- don't believe me, just ask Giefer's daughter.
It is my hope that Pawlenty is faced with the picture of Jeremy Giefer, pardoned child rapist, over and over throughout his campaign for President. I hope that his Republican opponents don't miss an opportunity to make all of America become very familiar with Jeremy Giefer. If, for some reason Pawlenty ends up getting the GOP nomination, I hope that the DNC, the Obama campaign and any other wealthy citizen with money to blow on issue-oriented television commercials goes all Willie Horton on Pawlenty's ass, repeatedly showing Jeremy Giefer welcoming children into his lair.
Look, Tim Pawlenty wants a job that has responsibilities that dwarf any other job in the world. If he is too stupid or too careless to see that pardoning a convicted child rapist so he can open a day care is a bad idea, then I sure as hell don't want him in a position to decide whether to send in bombers or not.
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