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Arne Carlson blasts Politico after receiving 'backstabber' label

By David Brauer | 02/23/11

Somehow, I didn't realize Gov. Arne Carlson blogged until Pioneer Press editorialist Jim Ragsdale tweeted about it. But Carlson — never known to mince words — might be one to bookmark.

In his latest post, the former governor blasts Politico, the D.C. site that recently labeled him Tim Pawlenty's "backyard backstabber." In truth, Carlson is more of a front-stabber, since he declared to Politico reporter Molly Ball, "I will go to Iowa and New Hampshire and have press conferences, if it comes to that," to derail Pawlenty's 2012 presidential bid.

In his post, Carlson writes:

One of my recent blogs dealt with the need for the national media to pay more attention to the actual records of Governors seeking the Presidency and less on what the candidates advance as their version. ...

Surprisingly, Molly Ball of Politico takes exception to this scrutiny of candidates.  It seems she has made the examination and concluded that they all merit a passing grade and anyone who disagrees is a “backstabber”.  How novel?  And here I thought journalism was all about free inquiry and truth.

Anyone who covered Carlson knows his skin isn't the thickest, and Ball doesn't really object to scrutinizing records; she mostly ignores them. Like most Politico pieces, hers was about the horse race, the campaign trail and the food fight; less about fact-vetting than scorecard-keeping.

It's a big reason I removed Politico from my RSS feed; it's too much about "winning the morning" with political fast food. While the site is a news ticker for the 2012-obsessed, I rely on my social networks to tip me to the occasional worthwhile piece.

So far in 2011, Politico has mentioned Pawlenty over 140 times, mostly minutiae, occasionally simplistic recitations of simplistic positions, or uncritical recapitulations of his campaign persona.

It's not beyond the staff's capability to fully vet Pawlenty or other candidates — the site was started by two Washington Post veterans — but doing so at this point in the race seems to be too taxing for reporters skittering furiously on their hamster wheels.

Fortunately, there are top-quality reporters out there who have and will give TPaw the twice-over, and Carlson vows to set an example, concluding with a vow that might even lure Politico's catfight chroniclers back:

It is no secret that I have serious qualms about the candidacy of Governor Pawlenty and do not believe his claims of prudent financial management come anywhere close to the truth.   Hence, the scrutiny will continue……….

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Comments (6)

Submitted by Sheila Ehrich on February 23, 2011 - 4:28pm.

More power to Arnie!! I knew there was a reason why I voted for him once.

Submitted by John Olson on February 24, 2011 - 8:05am.

At least Arne understood during his tenure that he was governor for all Minnesotans--not just those who contributed to his campaign.

Submitted by Paul Scott on February 24, 2011 - 2:30pm.

Arne is the best. What gets me is how much those Politico reporters probably get paid for regurgitating the latest video feed from the campaign trail.

When I think of Pawlenty running for president, which I don't do often because of the deep negativity involved in contemplating the implications of that phrase, I wonder who in the Minnesota press corps will be our Molly Ivins, who labored so hard to tell the world that the image of George W. Bush being passed along the campaign trail did not at all correspond with his record in the state of Texas. Maybe its Arne.

Submitted by Jim Roth on February 24, 2011 - 5:48pm.

"Backstabbing?" I think Ms. Ball needs to look at a dictionary occasionally. Whether you agree with Arne Carlson or not, he doesn't backstab; he calls them like he sees them. Actually quite refreshing in this day and age. As I remember, as governor, he vetoed a lot of bills. But he was and is principled and willing to compromise where appropriate. He also left the state budget in a bit better shape than Pawlenty.

Submitted by Bernice Vetsch on February 24, 2011 - 8:15pm.

Arne Carlson would never have believed that cutting essential state services made the state stronger. Or that refusing to raise revenue by means of a progressive income tax that asked the rich to pay their fair share was UNfair. Or that our infrastructure, K-12 and higher ed, cities/towns could do "more with less" every year for a whole decade and not deteriorate.

When Pawlenty appeared on C-Span's morning call-in show a few months ago, he had apparently set one condition for appearing: he would speak only to Republicans. For a whole hour, every caller was a fawning fan while the phone line for Democrats went unanswered. It's the only time I have ever been really disappointed in C-Span and I wrote to tell them so.

Voices like Arne Carlson's are important for the world to hear. Maybe he would write some op-eds for the Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times and other major dailies.

Submitted by Nancy Gertner on March 4, 2011 - 8:14am.

Thank you Arne, for standing tall and reminding us of the factors that are important on a resume for an executive position.