Minnesota Independent

Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney

Pawlenty claims 2nd in Hotline’s 2012 ‘presidential power rankings’

By Patrick Caldwell | 11.09.10 | 5:34 pm

The list ranks Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty as the second leading contender, far above his placement in most early 2012 opinion polls. Hotline cites his “executive experience and conservative credentials,” as reasons to believe Pawlenty is the real deal, but wonders if the stereotype of Minnesota nice might be true in this case, harming his ability to appear aggressive enough to run an effective presidential primary campaign.

Fox 9′s Heidi Collins raises eyebrows for ‘insanely hostile’ interview with Mark Ritchie

By Andy Birkey | 11.04.10 | 2:08 pm

Fox 9 News anchor Heidi Collins’ seven-minute interview with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie Wednesday night has drawn fire from media critics for her combative tone. Collins attacked Ritchie for connections to the now-defunct ACORN and appeared to blame him for the close race between gubernatorial candidates Tom Emmer and Mark Dayton.

Bachmann dodges Hardball question about subpoenas for Democrats

By Paul Schmelzer | 11.03.10 | 12:00 am

As she awaited election results Tuesday night, Rep. Michele Bachmann did a quick interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. Presaging the victory that came for Bachmann an hour later, Matthews revisited the topic of their conversation two years earlier: “If your party gets control of the House of Representatives, will you use the subpoena power to investigate the Democratic members of Congress for un-Americanism?”

Citing angry tone, Olbermann suspends ‘Worst Person in the World’ feature

By Paul Schmelzer | 11.02.10 | 11:01 am

Some Minnesotans — Rep. Michele Bachmann and GOP Senate District 56 webmaster Randy Brown, among them — are unlikely to mourn its passing: Liberal MSNBC host Keith Olbermann is halting his “Worst Person in the World” feature. The news comes just days after Comedy Central star Jon Stewart lambasted the increasingly negative tone of cable political shows at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington.

Ellison: Juan Williams ‘dishonored his legacy’ with remark about Muslims

By Andy Birkey | 10.25.10 | 6:30 am

Rep. Keith Ellison weighed in late last week on the controversy surrounding the firing of National Public Radio’s Juan Williams after he told Fox’s Bill O’Reilly that he gets “worried” and “nervous” when he sees people in Muslim garb get on an airplane. Williams dishonored his own legacy, especially his work on the “Eyes on the Prize” documentary on the civil rights era, Ellison said, calling Williams’ remarks “ugly” and “bigoted.”

Minnesota Independent reporting on pulpit politicking creates media ripple

By Paul Schmelzer | 10.21.10 | 4:10 pm

The Minnesota Independent’s Andy Birkey was the first reporter in the state to cover plans by pastors Brad Brandon in Hastings and Greg Stone in St. Peter to endorse political candidates from the pulpit in violation of laws governing tax-exempt organizations. Since he published that report on Friday morning, plus two follow-ups this week, other media — including the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, City Pages and WCCO — have been following up on the Minnesota Independent’s original reporting. None of these outlets mentioned Birkey’s reporting, but one key group did: Americans United for Separation of Church and State cited his work multiple times in its letter of complaint to the Internal Revenue Service over Pastor Brandon’s endorsement.

Bachmann spokesperson won’t give straight answer on candidate debates

By Andy Birkey | 10.04.10 | 9:48 am

Annie Baxter tried to get the facts on how many debates Rep. Michele Bachmann is committing to in the waning days of the 2010 election, but she couldn’t get a straight answer — so the Minnesota Public Radio reporter posted the exchange for readers to decide whether or not Bachmann has agreed to debate her opponents. Bachmann’s spokesman Sergio Gor made a straightforward question into a complicated game of wordplay.

Michele Bachmann stars in Citizens United film, ‘Fire from the Heartland’

By Andy Birkey | 09.16.10 | 3:26 pm

Rep. Michele Bachmann is starring in a new film by Citizens United, the group that sued to allow unfettered independent expenditures by corporations in politics. The new film, “Fire from the Heartland: the Awakening of the Conservative Woman,” spotlights…

Minnesota AP’s ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ guidelines criticized

By Andy Birkey | 09.10.10 | 3:15 pm

Save the News, a media reform project of Free Press, criticized the Minnesota Associated Press Friday for story submission guidelines that focus on calamities like train wrecks, car accidents and tornadoes — with the more death the better.…

Conservative paper’s partisan links back data requests, despite denials

By Jon Collins | 07.29.10 | 8:19 am

The Minnesota Republic, a conservative student newspaper that filed more than a dozen data requests from state DFLers, blurs line between journalism and politics.