Minnesota Independent

Bachmann voted for government shutdown because of abortion

By Andy Birkey | 03.02.11 | 12:48 pm

“There is a point where you draw the line in the sand and you have a hill where you die on,” Rep. Michele Bachmann said in a Tuesday evening webinar with anti-abortion rights activists. “I think this is our issue.” The issue — and Bachmann’s rationale for voting against a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown — is that the resolution didn’t include provisions to defund Planned Parenthood and what she calls “Obamacare.”

Conservative philanthropist Scaife comes out against GOP effort to defund Planned Parenthood

By Scot Kersgaard | 02.28.11 | 3:45 pm

Billionaire newspaper publisher and right-wing philanthropist Richard Mellon Scaife came out Sunday strongly in opposition to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has been among the most vocal proponents of the effort.

Rep. Betty McCollum. Photo: Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent

McCollum blasts GOP plan to defund women’s health services

By Andy Birkey | 02.24.11 | 2:46 pm

“Dumb.” That’s how Rep. Betty McCollum characterized proposed cuts to federal family planning funding and a Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood. At a St. Paul Planned Parenthood clinic Thursday, she also noted that Republicans refused to cut Pentagon funding for NASCAR, but remain adamant about cuts she says could have devastating effects for Minnesota women and children.

Daily Show dings Bachmann on statement about Planned Parenthood

By Andy Birkey | 02.23.11 | 12:31 pm

The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart took on Republicans who are attempting to defund Planned Parenthood, and as an example he used Rep. Michele Bachmann. Bachmann condemned Planned Parenthood’s “express centers” in Minnesota saying that they offer abortion. According to Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, they don’t.

Bachmann backs Planned Parenthood sting video

By Andy Birkey | 02.04.11 | 10:24 am

Rep. Michele Bachmann threw her support behind an anti-abortion activist on Thursday who made undercover videos of a Planned Parenthood clinic in New Jersey. Bachmann said the video, and the fact that Planned Parenthood offers abortion as part of its services, should result in a ban on federal grants for the reproductive health chain.

Abortion bill that redefined rape to be changed by author

By Andy Birkey | 02.03.11 | 11:33 am

A bill that would ban taxpayer funding to clinics that perform abortions — and caused significant controversy over the definition of rape — has been changed by the bill’s author, Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey. The bill is sponsored by Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann, Chip Cravaack and John Kline, as well as DFL Rep. Collin Peterson, among many others. The bill sought to provide exception for incest and “forcible rape,” which opponents said would not cover statutory rape or instances where force could not be proven.

Bachmann renews call to defund Planned Parenthood

By Andy Birkey | 01.27.11 | 3:19 pm

Rep. Michele Bachmann renewed her call to defund Planned Parenthood in an article penned for Human Events, a conservative publication, over the weekend. After the last time she made such a plea — in December — she helped Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota raise $3,000 from supporters. Bachmann, along with fellow Republican Reps. John Kline and Chip Cravaack, are cosponsors of a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House to deny federal family planning funds to Planned Parenthood.

After November gun trouble, Hackbarth proposes gun rights bill

By Andy Birkey | 01.20.11 | 12:58 pm

A Republican legislator who was found in a Planned Parenthood parking lot with a loaded gun in late November has offered a constitutional amendment for gun rights. Rep. Tom Hackbarth lost his leadership roles in the House after a police stopped him in a Planned Parenthood parking lot in St. Paul with a loaded gun in his car. Hackbarth said he was in the parking lot checking up on a woman he met on the internet.

Reproductive rights groups anticipate tough legislative session

By Andy Birkey | 12.16.10 | 9:07 am

Advocates for reproductive rights are concerned that new socially conservative leadership in the Minnesota Legislature could curtail those rights in the upcoming biennium. While Republicans, who’ll control both houses, say that jobs and the economy will come first, there’s little doubt that they’ll also press for restrictions on abortion within the next two years — especially with Sen. Michele Fischbach as President of the Senate. Fischbach’s husband, Scott, is the executive director of Minnesota’s largest anti-abortion group, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.

Bachmann hit 14 national media outlets in the last seven days

By Andy Birkey | 12.13.10 | 8:00 am

A study last year by the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota found that Rep. Michele Bachmann appeared on cable news programs every nine days on average. Last week, she shattered those expectations by appearing on a cable news program at least once a day from Tuesday through Saturday making 14 national television or radio appearances.