Posts by Paul Schmelzer

Like fellow Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has now thrown his support behind Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in New York State’s special congressional election. When asked about the race in Washington last week, he refrained from answering, stating he didn’t know enough about the contest. Now that he does, he’s snubbing the [...]

Updated: Shortly after the Star Tribune reported that the faith-based Riverview Community Bank had been shut down by the state, we — like others — noticed that the paper’s online report deleted a reference to Mary Kiffmeyer, the former Secretary of State and current state representative who has close ties to the bank.

If a public option ends up in whatever health care reform bill is passed, Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he’d prefer Minnesota not participate. Appearing on ABC’s Top Line today, he said he’d lead the charge to have the state opt out because he “doesn’t believe in government-run health care.”

Republicans cross-country — from Sarah Palin to Michele Bachmann — are weighing in on the special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District. But what’s unusual is that they’re throwing their support not behind the endorsed Republican, but behind the Conservative Party candidate, Doug Hoffman.

Huffington Post’s Sam Stein is reporting that an amendment to the defense appropriations bill authored by Sen. Al Franken and approved in the Senate two weeks ago may be stripped from the final bill. Thirty Senate Republicans — now commemorated in the satirical web site Republicans for Rape — opposed the measure, which would prohibit [...]

Quick: What rhymes with Bicking? In South Minneapolis’ city council race, Ward Nine challenger Dave Bicking is rolling out an unconventional campaign tool: the Green Party–endorsed candidate now has a song written about him. And to answer that question, “kicking” is the rhyming word — and it’s followed immediately by the word “ass.”

At first glance, it’s not entirely clear what the point of the Bachmann-Palin 2012 website is: selling cheesy bumperstickers (emblazoned with the flag Bush/Cheney ‘08 used), promoting an unlikely far-right dream team, or mocking such a pairing.

Technorati’s just-updated list of U.S. politics blogs has a new addition: The Minnesota Independent now makes the cut, and after starting out at number 34, we’re now ranked 29th in the top 100 list, with Technorati authority at 762 on a scale of 1,000. Thanks to a new algorithm that calculates a blog’s authority, [...]

We try to have a local hook around here, but since it’s Friday — and since this video features Ohio Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D) and Steve LaTourette (R) in Snuggies watching The Jay Leno Show — I’m breaking the rules. Cue: “Kumbaya”! (Literally.)

Third-quarter campaign finance reports seem to show a trend: The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Rep. Michele Bachmann, whose cable-TV and townhall tour has had her rattling off now-infamous claims about “anti-American views” and wrist-slitting to oppose health care reform, is raking in the dough today, thanks to a new fundraising appeal that calls supporters [...]