Star Tribune's TPaw coverage gets feisty!
Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck got the scoop Monday about Gov. Tim Pawlenty delivering a $100,000 check from an unnamed donor to the Alabama Republican party, but the Star Tribune's Rachel Stassen-Berger put a point on it when the identity was revealed Tuesday: "Pawlenty plays bagman for Bob Parry."
You don't usually read 'em that tart outside of the partisan blogs. In fact, the Day One headline on Stribber Pat Doyle's post was far blander: "Pawlenty shuttles contribution to Alabama GOP."
Stassen-Berger's story comes on the same day the Strib chronicled the state GOP's rising hopes; I'm pretty sure the Republicans who leaped to link to that one this morning will resume criticizing the Red Star now.
Meanwhile, MPR's Bob Collins channels the criticism of ex-Congressman Tim Penny, who says Minnesota media have been too soft on Travelin' Timmy. (Worth noting: Penny was the 2002 Independence Party candidate TPaw beat.)
Penny complains that the media "seem to write only glowingly about Pawlenty's trips." I don't think that's right — there's been obsessive coverage, though not all glowing — but after Stassen-Berger's post, it's a harder argument to make.
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"You don't usually read 'em that tart outside of the partisan blogs."
Um, that IS a blog. This story seems to imply that headline was in the Strib. I had to click through, only to find it was actually in the "Hot Dish Politics." So what's the big deal?
Steven -
You know that's a *Strib* blog, right?
The reporter/blogger really ought to learn the meaning of "bagman" before she uses it. The term refers to an "illegal" transaction. There is nothing in the reporter/blogger's piece to back that up. If it was an "illegal" transaction, she should should have explained it -- or at least checked her dictionary or thesaurus.
By the way, Steven, I'm sure that you are aware that the item appears on StarTribune.com under "latest news."
I really don't see how Pawlenty's proto-campaigning is a Minnesota news story. The guy is running. Everyone knows that. Just like Sarah Palin is running. The whole will-he/won't-he tease is kabuki and kind of insulting to the readership IQ and ultimately unbalanced in the big scheme of things. It also makes it seem like the MN news corps would gladly adopt the fan boy tone of the Washington press corps were it not for the fact that we don't have that many guys being called up to the bigs very often. I do love the "bag man" hed. Not because I think it takes a swing at Pawlenty, but because it animates and ads color and life to the usual insistence on only lifeless descriptions of the goings on in political sphere.
Illegal, oh please. Bag man is a funny way of saying you have either delivered or received cash. People need to lighten up.
Yes, I knew it was a Strib blog. I don't see the big deal of sexing up a story in a blog.
from thefreedictionary.com:
Bag Man
Informal; pejorative.
1. A person who collects funds on behalf of a political candidate or organization. Campaign finance laws limit the amount of funds a bag man may collect from one person or interest group.
From Dictionary.Com
Bag man
1. A dishonest official; a person who collects, carries, or distributes illegal payoff money.
The dictionary is for eighth grade book reports.
I could not agree more with Tim Penny. The media has been easy on Pawlenty. Our state is in crisis and he is politicking across the country. You can bet if Ventura would have been traveling like this stumping and raising money for Independent candidates it would have been covered in a completely different manner. It gives me the impression that the news is never with out bias.
Mark Rosen's twitter said Pawlenty is unalloting some of the dough he handed to Perry.