Minnesota Independent

Pawlenty’s ties to Morgan Stanley execs scrutinized

By Andy Birkey | 06.08.11 | 11:00 am

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign and political action committee has benefited from a large amount of money from top executives of Morgan Stanley, a global financial services corporation which has been implicated in the financial and mortgage meltdown that brought about the Great Recession. A report by the Center for Public Integrity released this week scrutinized Pawlenty’s ties to top executives at the company, finding that he’s raised more than $800,000 in the last month with their help.

Dems try to tie AIG bonuses to Bachmann, Kline, Paulsen

By Andy Birkey | 02.03.10 | 6:09 pm

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee went after Reps. Michele Bachmann, John Kline and Erik Paulsen on Wednesday for their votes last year against taxing bonuses of bank executives who received TARP funds from the federal government. The DCCC jumped on…

‘Obama Republican’ Paulsen tapped to lead House GOP on AIG

By Chris Steller | 03.18.09 | 11:36 am

U.S. Reps. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., and Leonard Lance, R-N.J., are among the lowliest members of the House Financial Services Committee. Yet some politically astute casting elevated the freshmen to GOP point men in response to the AIG bonus scandal. The pair are among that rarest of species in Congress: newly elected Republicans from districts that favored Barack Obama for president.

Coleman donations urged in anti-labor call hosted by bailout recipient

By Paul Schmelzer | 01.28.09 | 8:33 am

Did bailout money end up boosting Norm Coleman’s senatorial campaign? Hard to say, but damning new evidence unearthed by Huffington Post suggests that the former U.S. senator was heavily promoted by corporate opponents of the Employee Free Choice…

Paulson’s epic fail: Klobuchar slams Treasury on Wall Street bailout

By Andy Birkey | 01.09.09 | 11:07 am

Is Sen. Amy Klobuchar having bailout remorse? In a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., on Thursday, Klobuchar called Paulson’s efforts a “failure” with a “massive transparency gap” and criticized Wall Street for not doing more to…

Did GOP can auto bailout for political reasons?

By Paul Schmelzer | 12.13.08 | 10:07 am

Thursday’s 52-35 Senate vote on a proposed $14 billion bailout for the auto industry broke down along party lines in Minnesota: Norm Coleman voted against it; Amy Klobuchar for it. The vote on the House version a…

Minnesota delegation mixed on auto bailout

By Andy Birkey | 12.11.08 | 8:20 am

The $14 billion bailout of the auto industry passed the U.S. House on Wednesday by 237 to 170, but the majority of Minnesota’s Congressional delegates voted against it. The bill will give loans to General Motors and Chrysler to…

Bachmann strays from GOP talking point: Pelosi not to blame for ‘no’ vote on bailout

By Andy Birkey | 09.30.08 | 8:17 am

The House rejected a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street on Monday, sending the Dow plunging 777 points, and Republican leaders blamed a speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for the rejection. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., roundly rejected…

Backpedaling to nowhere: In 2007, Bernanke said ‘regulatory changes’ were to blame for subprime crisis

By Molly Priesmeyer | 09.26.08 | 1:59 pm

After the first subprime-related collapse of the market in August 2007, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the financial-services committee on September 20, 2007, to discuss subprime lending and the spate of foreclosures across the country. Of course, this…

A record week: sales, bailouts, suspensions and profits

By Molly Priesmeyer | 09.26.08 | 11:01 am

This week has been all about history-changing events: Washington is asking for the biggest bailout for Wall Street ever; a presidential candidate “suspended” his campaign because he’s too busy campaigning via TV interviews; and now, after the implosions of…