Minnesota Independent

Bachmann, Pawlenty to attend Faith & Freedom Conference

By Andy Birkey | 06.02.11 | 2:19 pm

Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty are among a long list of presidential hopefuls attending the Faith and Freedom Conference and Strategy Briefing this weekend. The conference is organized by Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition and controversial religious right leader. In addition to Reed, Bachmann and Pawlenty will be sharing the stage with a number of controversial figures from the anti-abortion rights and anti-gay rights movements.

Religious right urges anti-gay marriage amendment vote, Dayton vows to fight it

By Andy Birkey | 05.19.11 | 10:09 am

Religious right groups praised the House Rules Committee vote on Wednesday morning to pass an amendment that would codify a gay marriage ban in the Minnesota Constitution, but also called for action against “gay activists” who would “assault,” “attack” or “take one last shot” at Republican legislators. While conservative Christians rally the troops for a possible vote on the House floor Thursday afternoon, Gov. Mark Dayton said he’d fight it “with every fiber of my being.”

After viral video fame, Rep. Simon slammed by religious right for pro-gay comments

By Andy Birkey | 05.10.11 | 8:17 am

Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-St. Louis Park, briefly flirted with folk hero status in the LGBT community and beyond last week after comments he made in opposition to an anti–gay marriage amendment went viral. He asked, “How many gays must God create before we accept that he wants them around?” And with that increased attention, Simon has drawn the ire of religious right figures who have called him “evil” and a “blasphemer” who should be immediately removed from office.

Rep. Michele Bachmann. Photo: Bachmann for Congress, Facebook

Bachmann to headline religious right webcast

By Andy Birkey | 03.03.11 | 12:01 pm

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.

Values Voter Summit invites Pawlenty — sort of

By Andy Birkey | 02.10.11 | 8:36 pm

The Values Voter Summit is the premier gathering of the religious right each year, and it’s an event Tim Pawlenty will need to attend to shore up the support of social conservatives before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary should he seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. But judging by the invitation page for the summit, Pawlenty may have his work cut out for him getting recognized: Instead of Pawlenty’s picture, the organizers posted that of Janet Parshall.

Wooing the religious right: Will it help or hurt Pawlenty’s 2012 bid?

By Andy Birkey | 02.10.11 | 10:15 am

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty has spent the past few weeks trying to curry favor with a slew of conservative religious figures, some so extreme they’ve been labeled “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. He’s gone public about his plan to reinstate of the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers if elected president and claimed that America was founded “under God.” While Pawlenty has always been a social conservative, he hasn’t worn it on his sleeve this prominently. But will these new friends help or hamper his likely 2012 bid for president?

Bachmann adds Sekulow to list of constitution class teachers

By Andy Birkey | 02.01.11 | 3:02 pm

Rep. Michele Bachmann has added religious right attorney Jay Sekulow to her list of instructors at her Tea Party Caucus constitutional classes. Sekulow is the head of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a conservative religious law group televangelist Pat Robertson founded because he thought the American Civil Liberties Union was “hostile to traditional American values.” Sekulow joins Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and controversial history revisionist David Barton as an invitee of Bachmann to teach the courses.

‘Reagan in pumps’: Religious right excited about potential Bachmann prez bid

By Andy Birkey | 01.12.11 | 8:36 am

When Rep. Michele Bachmann’s office declined to rule out a 2012 bid for the Republican nomination for president, religious right leaders responded with glee at what they say could be the next Ronald Reagan — except “swap boots for pumps.”

Meet David Barton, Bachmann’s Constitution class teacher

By Andy Birkey | 11.16.10 | 9:27 am

Rep. Michele Bachmann announced last month that she wants to hold “Constitution classes” for new members of Congress in the hopes of preventing them from being “co-opted into the Washington system.” She’s already announced several people she wants to teach the classes, including Pastor David Barton, a controversial figure whose ideas about the constitution and the founding fathers have drawn sharp criticism from both the religious and secular communities.

Greg Wersal, Tim Tingelstad, Dan Griffith

GOP-endorsed judicial candidates lose in statewide contests

By Andy Birkey | 11.03.10 | 9:47 am

A trio of judicial candidates who were backed by the Republican Party of Minnesota and tea party groups was defeated at the polls on Tuesday. Supreme Court candidates Greg Wersal and Tim Tingelstad were projected to lose by more than 20 points, and Appeals Court candidate Dan Griffith appeared to lose his challenge by about 4 points.