Rep. Michele Bachmann will be headlining a California-based religious right webcast on Mar. 26 along with Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Haley Barbour. The “Rediscover God in America” will be shown to churches around the country; so far only two Minnesota churches have signed up to show it. “It’s time to learn and understand what ‘One Nation Under God’ really means,” the program’s website states.

“History is clear: the founders of our country drew their inspiration, wisdom, and direction from the Bible,” the webcast promoters write. “Beginning in colonial times, church leaders spoke to their congregations about the events and issues of the day in the context of Biblical truth. Rediscover God in America will lay a foundation of critical knowledge for your congregation. They’ll learn how to interpret and assess current events in light of God’s Word, as our founding fathers did, and how to respond Biblically and take action that aligns with His truth.”

Rediscover America is part of United in Purpose, a conservative Christian organization that works to mobilize Christian voters.

In Minnesota, only two churches have signed up to show the webcast: United Methodist Church in New London and Jesus Assembly of God in St. Peter.

With just over 14 months remaining before the Iowa Caucus, National Journal’s The Hotline has released its Presidential Power Rankings Tuesday morning, assessing the viability of 15 Republicans who might mount bids to become their party’s representative in the race against President Barack Obama.

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.

The Hotline breaks the potential candidates down into four tiers that, rather than revealing the strength of each candidate, indicate what sections of the Republican base Hotline believes will play the most prominent role in the selecting the nominee.

The publication essentially dismisses the 2010 uprising of the tea party movement as a force in Republican primaries, with “The Tea Party Tier” at the bottom of the list. Hotline gives most weight to the traditional-style candidates, known as “The A-List Tier.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sits atop this pack, followed by Pawlenty, U.S. Sen. John Thune (N.D.) and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. In explaining its high rating of Romney, Hotline points to his strengths in context of previous primary elections:

The GOP has a history of nominating the person who has stood in line, and after finishing second behind John McCain in 2008, Romney is now that person. He’s got the necessary infrastructure, fundraising ability, and intangibles to be the undisputed front-runner, but how convincingly he answers nagging questions about his individual mandate in Commonwealth Care will determine how long he keeps the top spot.

That last point is not just a distraction Romney can brush off on the campaign trail. His passage of health-care reform during his tenure in Massachusetts has already become a lightning rod for his potential opponents. The legislation is remarkably similar to the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in 2010, with the individual mandate especially toxic among today’s Republican base voters.

On Fox News last night, Texas Gov. Rick Perry — himself ranked 11th on Hotline’s list — said that Romney would need to repudiate the Massachusetts plan if he is going to enter the 2012 field. And President Obama — likely viewing Romney as one of his greatest threats toward reelection for a second term — has frequently targeted Romney in public remarks on the health-care reform bill as a way of defusing his vulnerability in a Republican primary.

Similar problems face the remaining A-Tier candidates in Hotline’s list. Thune voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008,  a decision Hotline says Thune has “an explanation for which he’s already rehearsing.” But TARP is up there alongside health care in the conservative base’s litmus test for vetting candidates. Support for the banking bill toppled Republican Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah during his primary and has drawn conservatives’ ire for numerous other Republicans. And few politicians carry the establishment label quite like Barbour, a former lobbyist and chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Though they’re termed the “The Fox News Tier,” the second class of candidates in Hotline’s rankings really represent the standard bearers of the tea party movement. Ranking from fourth to eighth are former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence.

While Hotline ranks its first four candidates primarily on their similarities to past primary winners, everyone in the second tier is described in the terms that truly matter in running primary campaigns: the way voters receive them. Huckabee is a “charismatic man in the field.” Gingrich is “greeted like a rock star at every GOP rally he attends.” They note but do not give much weight to Pence’s victory in the Value Voters Summit straw poll, a key indication that the Indiana representative draws significant support from an important element of the Republican base.

As the name for this tier implies, all four are major figures appear regularly on Fox News, which has become one of the prime avenues for Republicans to reach the base. And though many tea party favorites such as Christine O’Donnell and Ken Buck ended up losing their general election campaigns, one of the main lessons of the 2010 cycle was the outsized power held by conservative activists in Republican primaries, a role likely to continue during the presidential nomination selection process. Increased enthusiasm for a candidate in the grassroots leads to excessive media coverage (see the endless discussion for any of Sarah Palin’s endorsements) and significant infusions of campaign funds (tea party favorite Sharron Angle’s $21 million haul).

As Slate’s Dave Weigel noted today, Romney may perform well in the early primary polls, but he largely serves as a placeholder, or traditional candidate, with significantly lower enthusiasm and loyalty than the candidates popular among the party’s base. The level of support for him or Pawlenty will likely vary significantly between now and February 2012, but the die-hard supporters of Sarah Palin are unlikely to waver in their allegiance.

With over a year to go until the first actual election in the nomination process, there is still plenty of time for political dynamics to shift. At this point 14 months ago, the tea party was still a nascent concept with little organizational power. But the current direction of political dynamics after the 2010 elections indicate that these voters will play a prominent role in selecting the Republicans’ 2012 candidate.

Read Hotline’s post for their rankings of candidates 9-15 and a description of each candidates strengths and weaknesses.

On Wednesday, ABC News reported that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has begun organizing their opposition files against potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates. The DNC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Pentagon, requesting information on any communications between the department and nine GOP politicians.

The DNC’s shortlist of Republican presidential aspirants consists of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and South Dakota Sen. John Thune.

While the FOIA is intended to gather negative information, in some respects, gaining a spot on the DNC’s list is a compliment to the Republicans. These nine politicians appear to be the slate of candidates that the Democrats believe has the best chance at gaining the Republican 2012 nomination; other GOPers publicly flirting with presidential campaigns — such as former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum or Indiana Rep. Mike Pence — were snubbed for the list.

But Pawlenty did not receive the FOIA request as positive news, and fired back at the DNC on Thursday. Minnesota’s governor filed his own FOIA request, seeking information on the DNC’s communications with the federal government on the health-care reform bill.

Governor Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC will submit FOIA requests to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other relevant agencies seeking any documents related to the DNC’s communications with Federal officials about the Federal health care reforms. The request will specifically ask for documents related to the timing of promotional taxpayer-funded ads and mailings, DNC polls about health care, and the DNC’s role in promoting the President’s legislation.

Where the DNC’s request was all about gathering behind-the-scenes information, Pawlenty’s FOIA is all about public posturing; such a broad FOIA application is unlikely to result in any of the specific information gained, and, instead, just provides red meat to conservative primary voters who are likely to be receptive to speculation about the collision between governing and Democratic politicking.

Patrick Caldwell is the American Independent’s Minnesota correspondent.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer continues to be the darling of Republican politicians with national aspirations. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Minnesota’s own Gov. Tim Pawlenty are all scheduled for a joint Oct. 30 rally boosting Emmer, according to the Star Tribune.

All three governors set to appear with Emmer have seen their names bandied about as potential 2012 presidential hopefuls. Both Barbour and Pawlenty have clearly broadcast their intentions to seriously consider presidential campaigns after the midterm elections. After serving less than a full year in the governor’s office, Christie has been hesitant to discuss future national aspirations, but he finished first in a recent tea party convention straw poll and visited Iowa earlier this month.

Once the midterm elections are over in two weeks, potential Republican candidates will likely begin solidifying their political organizations and campaigning against one and other, so this may be the last time three possible candidates appear together on stage until the pre-primary debates begin in 2011. The optics of the rally may also counter some of the star power in Washington, D.C., as the much-hyped Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally on the National Mall is scheduled for the same day.

Emmer has received support from a number of GOP luminaries of the late. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigned with Emmer earlier this week, and will appear with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich in Winona on Saturday as part of Gingrich’s “Jobs Here, Jobs Now Tour.”

The Emmer event follows a rally for Democrat Mark Dayton this Saturday. President Barack Obama will attend a public rally on Dayton’s behalf on the University of Minnesota’s Northrop Mall on Oct. 23. It’s the first time in almost a century that a sitting president has been part of such an event on campus.

Patrick Caldwell is the American Independent’s Minnesota correspondent.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Photo: Facebook

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, is still the leading choice in the Hawkeye State today among 2012 presidential hopefuls, according to a poll by The Iowa Republican blog. Presumed presidential hopeful, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, barely registered among caucus-goers.

The poll, conducted by Washington, D.C.,-based Voter Consumer Research, found Huckabee garnering 22 percent of support to 18 percent for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich received 14 percent and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin placed fourth with 11 percent. Other likely candidates, such as Minnesota Pawlenty, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, barely registered in the poll.

The results are similar to another poll conducted in May by North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling, which found Huckabee winning with 27 percent compared to Palin’s 17 percent,  Gingrich’s 16 percent, Romney’s 15 percent, and Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s 7 percent.

The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza concludes that these early polls are more or less just a reflection of who is already well known in Iowa.

Given the findings — and the fact that the 2012 campaign has yet to begin in earnest — the poll is right understood as, basically, a name identification test. Huckabee and Romney finished one-two in the Iowa Republican caucuses in 2008 and so it’s no surprise that they hold down those same spots in the new poll.

It should be some comfort to the Pawlentys and Barbours of the world then that just a few years ago neither Romney nor Huckabee moved the needle in Iowa either.

With the Iowa State Fair currently underway, Gingrich and Pawlenty have already made visits to Iowa, with Santorum scheduled to return this week.

Before his trip to Iowa, Pawlenty had taken heat for endorsing the Conservative Party candidate over the Republican in Tuesday’s U.S. House district in New York. He then called moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine “more liberal than most Republicans would like.”

Pawlenty seemed to be addressing that controversy, saying debate over things like the party platform are good, but once that’s complete Republicans must unite to “start the American comeback.”

Pawlenty then struck a chord for party unity, saying that there should be vigorous primary campaigns, but then everyone should get back on the same team in order to elect Republicans.

“We’re going to have our debates about what the platform will look like,” he said. “We’re going to have our primaries and caucuses. We’re going to go through that process, and it should be hard fought. But when those decisions are made, as a team we have to come around and support each other.”

This marks the second major Republican Party of Iowa fundraiser where a potential 2012 presidential candidate has made it a point to discuss creating an inclusive party. In June, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told a crowd of GOP activists and elected officials that the only way back into the majority was to resist demands for ideological purity.

For most of his speech, Pawlenty struck a populist tone attacking federal bailouts for Wall Street companies and Detroit automakers. And on the night that U.S. House lawmakers approved health care reform legislation, Pawlenty repeatedly hit the Democratic reform efforts, saying they are proof that Democrats no longer care about working families.

“They have a party now, our competitors, that have embraced big government, big unions and big bailouts,” he said. “And they want to have the people believe that they work for the common person. The working person.”

During his successful presidential campaign, Barack Obama regularly asked if the crowd was “fired up and ready to go,” Pawlenty said

“Are you fired up and ready to fight back?” Pawlenty said. “Are you willing to be involved?”

He said Obama broke his campaign promise to seek bipartisan health care reform, instead deciding to push for a liberal bill, ignore Republican voices and continue the “dangerous leftward tilt” the president has pursued for the country.

“In his victory speech in Iowa after the caucuses, President Obama promised — he used the word promise — he was going to bring Republicans and Democrats together to pass needed health care reform,” Pawlenty said. “Now I ask you, are you sick and tired of Democrats trying to ram down this liberal monstrosity down our throat which is their health care reform plan?”

But the Republican Party can’t simply be critics, Pawlenty said. Republicans must also offer solutions, and he pointed to his record as governor of Minnesota as proof that GOP ideas work. Minnesota is a very liberal state, Pawlenty said, and he was still able to cut spending and taxes.

“If we can do it there, we can do it anywhere,” he said.

The federal government could learn from his experience in Minnesota. Instead of allowing the national deficit to continue to grow, government should begin to live within its means, Pawlenty said.

“The only thing growing faster than the national debt is [MSNBC host] Chris Matthews’ man-crush on Barack Obama,” he said.

This marks Pawlenty’s first trip to Iowa since he campaigned for Arizona Sen. John McCain last year, and many are speculating that the trip is another indication of his interest in seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. He has already said he will not seek a third term as governor and last month he formed a political action committee called Freedom First, a typical first move for presidential aspirants.

“It’s democracy in action,” Pawlenty told listeners to his weekly WCCO-AM radio show. Those are the same words Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue used to describe the town hall-ering during an RGA-sponsored telephone press conference today.

Perdue was joined by Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle and RGA Chairman Haley Barbour, governor of Mississippi, who said, “People do not understand why it is being crammed down their throat without getting their questions answered.” Perdue termed “ludicrous” this statement by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: “Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American.”

Pawlenty wasn’t on the call with the press, but his comments anticipated the RGA line on tactics at Congressional town hall meetings that have in some cases descended into chaos:

The thing that I don’t understand about that, Brian [McClung, Pawlenty's spokesman and radio co-host], regardless of right or left, Republican or Democrat or neither or some — what’s wrong with any group sending out an email saying, ‘Hey, Brian McClung, your representative is going to be at, you know, Eagan City Hall and since you’re a member of, say, a senior citizens organization, go tell ‘em what you think about this health care thing. And by the way, here’s five reasons we don’t like it.’

I think that’s not only appropriate and legal — it’s advocacy. It’s democracy in action. So even if some group is saying, ‘Here’s some information, go tell fill-in-the-blank-congressman or -congresswoman what you think,’ that seems perfectly fine to me. …

Both sides do it. But who cares? I mean, so what? Let’s say it is organized. It’s all organized. Any time you have a town hall meeting, I can tell you there are some folks who naturally show up, but it’s always representatives of the nursing home industry, the local school district, the county, you know, everybody’s who’s getting a government program or got a lobbying organization.

Most of the emails or many of the emails we get at our office are because some lobbying organization sends out a blast email and says, ‘Call the governor’s office and tell them this or that on a bill.’ You know, we know that. We know it’s mostly generated by some group, but so what? What’s wrong with that?

It was nice of the governor to generalize about what most or many of the emails he receives say, because when the Minnesota Independent asked to review his emails under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, his office would release only about one-seventh of them.

The announcement came this morning from Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, RGA chair, who last week named Pawlenty as one of the party’s “stars.”

Pawlenty had already been scheduled for a key speech at RGA’s annual meeting next month in Puerto Rico. This week, he’ll give what’s billed as a major address (at least for his own presidential prospects) to the Republican National Committee.

The RGA post gives T-Paw an excuse to rub shoulders with governors — and more importantly, donors — across the country. That could dovetail nicely with his need to raise a national profile for a 2012 run at the White House.

Pawlenty won’t count former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the woman who did get the GOP nod for VP last year, as an RGA member. (She resigned yesterday.)

And different from Pawlenty, she has had trouble keeping her national speaking engagements.

Photo: MN North Star

If Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s office still uses those “While You Were Out” notes, his Monday-morning stack would make interesting reading. During his weekend trip to Iraq, Pawlenty was called a GOP “star” like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and his name came up in speculation about which unnamed governor was reportedly also serviced by one of former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s sex providers.

A hooker identified only as “Annie” told the New York Daily News that besides Spitzer (and Bernie Madoff) she counted another, unnamed governor among her customers. That led Gawker to speculate that it could be Pawlenty.

City Pages insists one detail — a “prominent” wife — nixes T-Paw from the list of possible candidates. But hey, Mary Pawlenty used to be a judge (before a brief stint at an arbitration outfit that Attorney General Lori Swanson just forced out of the arbitration business). Gov. Pawlenty also frequently deems his wife “hot,” although he once said he’d have it made “if I could only get her to have sex with me.” 

Photo: US Army

More flattering was the pronouncement by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, himself a 2012 presidential prospect, that the Republican Party’s future lies with “stars” like Pawlenty and Jindal (not to mention Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who Barbour called “a bona fide energy expert”).

Pawlenty and Jindal haven’t been mentioned in the same breath as often since Jindal’s lackluster GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. But Jindal is fixing to make his star rise again this week by blitzing op-ed pages and the cable-news talk show circuit.

Barbour made the comment at the annual meeting of the National Governors Association, which Pawlenty used to chair. This year, Pawlenty skipped the guvconfab (as well as his Friday radio show) for a trip to Iraq with three other governors.

It was planned as a morale-booster for the troops but turned solemn due to the deaths of three Minnesota National Guard military policemen – Spc. Daniel Paul Drevnick, 22, of Woodbury, Spc. David Wertish, 20, of Olivia, and Spc. Carlos E. Wilcox, 27, of Cottage Grove — just days before.

According to the Red Bull Report:

“Normally, at these town hall meetings, we talk about a lot of stuff,” said Pawlenty, “from the GI Bill to the Minnesota Vikings. But I want to limit my comments today to letting you know that I’m just so very sorry.”

When the time came for the MPs to ask questions of the governor, the room was silent for a moment. One Soldier stood up, who would ask the one and only question from the entire company. The Soldier was Staff Sgt. Blake Hayden from Woodbury, Minn., squad leader for the Military Police Company’s Quick Reaction Force and the direct supervisor of Drevnick, Wertish and Wilcox.

“Sir, are you going to be able to be at the funerals?”

The governor did not mince words with his response.

“Yes.”

Pawlenty has almost promised to travel to Puerto Rico next month as a special guest at a fundraiser for the Republican Governors Association. That’s an organization his fan Barbour now heads, after South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford resigned the post following his own sex scandal.

A straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference last February made it clear Pawlenty wasn’t at the top of the 2012 heap despite his status as the leading 2008 vice-presidential also-ran on the GOP ticket. He placed ninth out of 10.

Then in a Rasmussen survery last week, Pawlenty was the choice of only 1 percent, tied with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. Today, the Gallup Poll puts Pawlenty 1 percentage point up on Barbour (3 percent to 2 percent).

In both recent polls, the two current governors trail four leading lights, all of whom have “former” attached to their names: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, soon-to-be former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Pawlenty can only hope that some of Gingrich’s fourth-place magic rubbed off last night when they made a joint appearance at a University of Minnesota health-care forum.