Minnesota Independent

Cathedral of St. Paul. Photo: jpellgen, Flickr

Archbishop Nienstedt: Gay marriage ban is not anti-gay

By Andy Birkey | 06.09.11 | 1:05 pm

Archbishop John Nienstedt penned a column on Thursday defending the Catholic Church’s decision to lobby for an amendment that would add a ban on same-sex marriage to the Minnesota Constitution. He said the amendment is not “anti-gay, mean-spirited and prejudicial.” Later in the column he endorses the words of his fellow Catholic, the Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, who says if same-sex marriage is legalized, it could lead to polygamy and incest.

At shareholder meeting, Target stays neutral on gay marriage ban

By Andy Birkey | 06.09.11 | 8:18 am

Minneapolis-based retailer Target told investors on Wednesday that the company will not be taking sides on the anti–gay marriage amendment slated for the 2012 ballot. The shareholders meeting in Pittsburgh, the first held since a nationwide boycott targeted the stores last fall over its corporate contributions to Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, drew protesters critical of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and members of the LGBT community. Target’s announcement comes as Twin Cities LGBT Pride festivities get under way — an event for which Target is a major sponsor.

GOP owes 20 Minnesota counties for Emmer recount costs

By Andy Birkey | 06.07.11 | 4:00 pm

The Republican Party of Minnesota owes nearly 20 counties payment for expenses incurred by the counties during the 2010 recount between Tom Emmer and Gov. Mark Dayton. The fact that so many counties haven’t been reimbursed in seven months led one Republican senator to offer to pay some of the bills out of his own pocket.

Complaint: Nat’l Organization for Marriage, Family Council violated lobbying laws

By Andy Birkey | 04.20.11 | 10:52 am

When the National Organization for Marriage and the Minnesota Family Council spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads promoting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions last fall, the groups should have reported those expenditures, according to a complaint filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board earlier this month. The complaint, which focuses on ads launched throughout the 2010 campaign cycle in support of gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, asks for financial penalties as well as an audit of NOM’s spending in Minnesota.

Rep. Michele Bachmann. Photo: Lynda Waddington, Iowa Independent

Bachmann: Franken stole election, gave us ‘Obamacare’

By Andy Birkey | 04.12.11 | 1:29 pm

During her speech at the Iowa-based Family Leader on Friday, potential presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann made a bold claim before the gathering of social conservatives: Sen. Al Franken, she said, stole the election against Sen. Norm Coleman, and that election is to blame for the passage of the national healthcare reform law.

Target changes political expenditures in wake of MN Forward flap

By Andy Birkey | 02.18.11 | 9:00 am

In the wake of a controversial donation to MN Forward that riled LGBT activists and sparked boycotts cross-country, Target has changed its process for making corporate independent expenditures. The retail giant will now run its political donations through a policy committee that would determine if the donations “advance issues that are important to our business.” But will the change be enough for LGBT community members still hurt by Target’s 2010 donations?

Pawlenty in Iowa: Obama swung and missed on spending cuts

By Tyler Kingkade | 01.31.11 | 9:27 am

ANKENY, Iowa — Appearing at a book signing at a Christian bookstore Sunday, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty criticized President Obama for not significantly addressing spending cuts during his State of the Union address last week. “He stepped to the plate, he swung the bat and he whiffed badly,” Pawlenty said.

Emmer, Senjem fined for campaign finance violations

By Andy Birkey | 01.11.11 | 3:42 pm

Sen. David Senjem and former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer were fined by the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board on Monday. The board reviewed complaints stemming from the Nov. 2 election: Emmer’s campaign was fined for accepting illegal corporate contributions while Senjem was found to have violated campaign laws when he gave money to former Sen. Paul Koering.

New Kansas SOS thinks Ritchie stole Franken-Coleman recount

By Andy Birkey | 01.03.11 | 11:45 am

In an interview with Stateline, Kansas Secretary of State-elect Kris Kobach said that Minnesota’s Secretary of State Mark Ritchie committed a “heist” in the recount election of Sen. Al Franken. A Republican, Kobach ran on a platform of eliminating voter fraud and was — as Stateline notes — “the intellectual architect of Arizona’s S.B. 1070, the tough-on-illegal-immigrants legislation signed into law in that state last year.” Ritchie, whose work with the bipartisan canvassing board in the Coleman-Franken recount was praised by many, was handily reelected by voters in 2010.

Ellison gets year-end cheers and jeers

By Andy Birkey | 12.29.10 | 9:41 am

Rep. Keith Ellison got some cheers and some jeers in editorial pages this week, as pundits put their spin on politics at the end of the year. The Nation called him the “most valuable representative,” while the Star Tribune’s Jon Tevlin told him to pack his bags and move to New York. Tevlin gave Reps. Michele Bachmann and James Oberstar their marching orders as well.