"America is in trouble," Tim Pawlenty warned Saturday. "Tyranny" is possible. In fact, it's "creeping." And, in case you thought otherwise, the nation is "worth fighting for."

The (once) mild-mannered Minnesota governor was speaking before about 600 Republicans in Dallas. It was Pawlenty's latest audition for the part of presidential candidate. The "Sam's Club Republican" has long been the GOP's sedate populist. But what Pawlenty lacks in charisma he increasingly compensates for with rhetoric.

Last month in Washington, Pawlenty invoked Tiger Woods' wife and said, "We should take a page out of her playbook, and take a nine-iron and smash the window out of big government."

It was ironic to hear these words from a conservative leader at a conservative conference. Smashing government windows is somewhat antithetical to the Burkean idea of conserving order, institution and a respect for authority. But lately Pawlenty sounds more like Thomas Jefferson than John Adams. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Yes, that Jefferson.

Pawlenty noted Saturday that "we are first and foremost constitutional conservatives." Perhaps we are to understand Pawlenty in terms of the military oath of enlistment. To "solemnly swear" to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Domestic is the key word here.

Last October, Pawlenty held a conference call to announce his Freedom First PAC. He explained that he was worried about "tyranny of a creeping bureaucracy." You see, "tyranny can come in many forms" and "even in a well-meaning bureaucracy." Uncle Sam might mean well. But in ten years, he insinuated on MSNBC a month earlier, Uncle Sam could force you to die in a "death panel." Be afraid.

This is, somewhat transparently, all about dog whistles to the Tea Party activists. They too fancy the term "constitutional conservative." They too talk of tyrannical government. Smashing the window of big government sure sounds great.

To bring home this point, let's return to February's Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

"The patriots in this room and patriots around this country are sounding the alarm and rising up. And we also have a message for liberals. We're planting the flag on constitutional ground. And if you try to take our freedoms, we will fight back," Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty proceeded to draw a loose historical analogy to Ulysses Grant. That Grant was seen as "scruffy" and "rough at the edges" and "some even said, you know, he drinks too much."

"When you listen to the elites and the pundits talk about the Tea Party movement ... implicit in their comments are ... a lot of them didn't go to the Ivy League schools. Or you know, they're from places like the heartland, not -- you know, they don't hang out at our Chablis-drinking, brie-eating parties in San Francisco. You know, they're a little rough around the edges ... the implication is, you know, we're kind of bumpkins. ... We're on the side of the rule of law. We're on the side of limited government. And like Grant, we fight."

If the Tea Party is Grant, does that make the federal government the Confederacy?

Of course, the anti-elitist language is conventional cultural populism. Some conservatives also talked about government's "creeping tyranny" about a half century ago. But Pawlenty's populism, combined with themes of revolt, strains reason and reality. We are not, after all, surrounded by a foreign force that we must also shelter.

Pawlenty's politics are also at odds with his theology. He tells Republicans they must stand up against government's "creeping tyranny." But then he says "God's in charge." Ergo, Republicans should go on with their day. The Big Guy is on it. It appears, the Freedom PAC founder forgot "free will."

Pawlenty's latest reminder of tyranny and God came at the Dallas dinner named for one – Ronald Reagan. Pawlenty seeks what every GOP contender seeks: Reagan's union of national security, economic and social conservatives. But Reagan did not go around stating that, as the Dallas Morning News reported, "Americans needed to accept that 'God's in charge.'"

Pawlenty could learn from Reagan's softer cultural populism. Reagan's transformative moment with social conservatives took place three decades ago, also in Dallas. "Well, I know that you can't endorse me, but I only brought that up because I want you to know that I endorse you," Reagan told 15,000 social conservative church leaders.

That's how it's done. It's always best to sound presidential if you actually want to be president.