Former Minnesota Governor and presidential contender Tim Pawlenty, who made news last week when he suggested government shutdowns are sometimes a good thing, apparently thinks he’s onto something here, making his history of government paralysis a central theme in his second Iowa TV ad:

Pawlenty’s point is that his stubbornness won the day, state Democratic leaders yielding on the contentious issues. But he need only ask his Republican primary rival, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, how standing firm on conservative principles in the 1995 budget showdown with Bill Clinton affected the party in the 1996 and 1998 elections (hint: not well).