In the interest of full disclosure
Posted at 2:23 PM on April 4, 2006
by Bob Collins
(37 Comments)
Now that the FEC has decided not to treat bloggers as potential independent expenditures and allow them the freedom to say what they want and do what they want, perhaps it's safe to answer these questions.
I know a lot of other bloggers read Polinaut. So please post in the comments section, your answer to the following questions.
-1- Are you paid in any way by a campaign or candidate?
-2- Do you consult with campaign officials or party officials as to how the content on your site can be most beneficial to a particular candidate or party?
-3- Are you as an individual paid by a campaign or affiliated with an organization or company that has as a client, a particular campaign or political party?
There's nothing wrong, mind you, with either 1 or 2 or 3. I just think it would be interesting to find out what bloggers are independent, and which ones actually are working with or for a campaign.
Besides, throw in your URL and it's a free plug.
FYI, here's my current list of blogs I read several times a day (these are the ones I have in the (only) POLITICS category. :
The Analyst
Backbone Minnesota
Blog of the Moderate Left
Broken Nails
The Carpetbagger Report
Centrisity
Comedy Central - Daily Show Text Headlines
Daily Kos
DFLSenate
The First Ring
Hammerswing75
Kennedy v. The Machine
The Kool Aid Report
Krinkie for Congress
Minnesota Blue
Minnesota Campaign Report
Minnesota Democrats Exposed
Minnesota Republican Watch
Minnesota's in the middle
minvolved.com
MN Publius
Myelectionanalysis.com
Nihilist In Golf Pants
North Star Liberty
North Star Politics
Norwegianity
NPR People: Ken Rudin
People's Republic of Minnesota
Polinaut
PoliPundit
Rambling from the North
Republican Minnesota
Residual Forces
Roll Call
SD63: red life in a district of blue
Session Daily - Minnesota House of Representatives
Shot In The Dark
Swing State Project
Three Way News
Vox Verax
The Wind Beneath the Right Wing
Pollytick in Minnesota
RedState
Comments (37)
1. Not anymore
2. Although I always try to make clear in my content who I support and my past work.
3. Emphatically No.
Mmmm, free plugs...tasty....I hope this produces some good return, might be some interesting answers.
1) No.
2) No.
3) No.
Thanks for the opportunity to plug my wholly independent blog.
Lloydletta's Nooz
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
Dump Michele Bachmann
http://dumpbachmann.blogspot.com
Both of these are political blogs:
-1- Are you paid in any way by a campaign or candidate?
No.
-2- Do you consult with campaign officials or party officials as to how the content on your site can be most beneficial to a particular candidate or party?
No. I do communicate with campaigns in order to fact check, and to get stories right. I have acted on tips provided to me from a variety of sources. Jim Knoblach has commented on Dump Bachmann to add to what he considered not correct in a post. I posted his comment as a regular post.
-3- Are you as an individual paid by a campaign or affiliated with an organization or company that has as a client, a particular campaign or political party?
No. I have lead a workshop at the Go Run Lead converence about Guerilla Political Marketting - about the use of blogs in campaigns - and was paid $200.00 for that - which I contributed to the Minnesota Women's Political Caucus.
I'm glad you are asking these questions. I actually think the same questions should be asked of campaigns - that is does the campaign or political have a policy on anonoblogging or commenting?
I figured out that MDE was Michael Brodkorb before others did - and Brodkorb posts an evasive response:
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com/2005/09/is-michael-brodkorb-elusive-mde-see.html
A Lloydletta reader sent me proof that Brodkorb was MDE:
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com/2005/10/lloydlettas-nooz-exclusive-proof-that.html
This was a month before Blois Olson took Brodkorb to court - and his mask was removed.
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com/2006/01/michael-brodkorb-is-such-drama-queen.html
Eva Young
The answer for all three questions is no. Further, I pledge to state publicly on my blog if the answer to any of those questions changes.
Incidentally, I thought you might like more detailed maps than the ones you posted earlier. If your commenting allows images, try these:
(Sadly, no, the html doesn't work in comments. But I'll put a referrring link in the original entry -- Polinaut)
If these don't show up with the comment, I'll put them on the blog.
David Kirchner
The Analyst
Somehow I neglected to include the intended end of my answer to #2: "...the answer is no." My bad
-1- Are you paid in any way by a campaign or candidate?
Yes. Amy Klobuchar is currently paying my rent and utilities, and together we share a love shack just outside of Bemidji.
-2- Do you consult with campaign officials or party officials as to how the content on your site can be most beneficial to a particular candidate or party?
Frequently, but they never write back.
-3- Are you as an individual paid by a campaign or affiliated with an organization or company that has as a client, a particular campaign or political party?
No, but if you have a sign up sheet, please add my name to it.
No.
But I have contributed money to a candidate.
Nono-nono.
But I was a delegate to the 45th Senate District DFL convention
Nononono-nonono-nonono.
But then some people don't include my blog in the politics category, so I could probably get away with it.
Speaking on behalf of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show"...
No, just kidding. On behalf of myself:
1. No.
2. No.
3. No.
Those are three good questions, and they do need to be asked (and answered). Of course, it's nearly impossible to confirm the answers, especially for the anonymous among us.
Speaking for myself at Minvolved, No, No, No. Can't speak for the other new folks there.
Being green it's not like they having any money for #1 or 3. :-)
I agree that there would be nothing wrong with "yes" to any of the above, but knowing this sort of thing is important. And I especially agree with you regarding the Daily Show's categorization!
www.dflsenate.com (on the list)
www.powerliberal.blogspot.com (not on list, ouch!)
1)Not paid, don't even run ads to keep us all independenty
2)We've talked to campaign people (I have to for drinking liberally), but I don't think they listen to us. Sometimes they send us stuff, but I assume we're all on press release lists and you mean do we change the content, which no, we don't.
3) I'm affiliated with Drinking Liberally, but I hemorage money over that, so I'm sure it doesn't count.
(I'm going to speak for both Patrick at DFLSenate and smartie at Powerliberal, both of whom better not be making ony money and not sharing, especially smartie.)
1-3: No. Though I'm willing to try it.
Bob, I hope you'll re-post this, including previous responses, once it falls off your front page. Lefties and righties frequent your page pretty universally, and it's both important and interesting to keep this disclosure effort going.
I don't know if Eva Young has or has not been paid by and political candidates or campaigns, but until recently the University of Minnesota was paying her to blog..although to be fair they did not know it at the time...;-)
1. No
2. No
3. No
But I am taking bids on the price of my blogging soul! (Not really, or at least no one has offered yet, no one wants my soul.)
Neither of my guest bloggers do either (or at least not that I know of, I'd kick them off if they took cash without giving me a cut).
I do get e-mails from lots of campaigns and occasionally e-mail posts (or links to posts) to certain campaigns, and sometimes get information back from them, but never tried to figure out with a campaign how to be beneficial.
I do work very closely with my local senate district but they don't pay me either.
-1- Are you paid in any way by a campaign or candidate?
No. This is a public stump for me to share my own views and visions. I have an ad free blog and have refused to become part of any group blog so as not to be tied to anyone else's viewpoints.
-2- Do you consult with campaign officials or party officials as to how the content on your site can be most beneficial to a particular candidate or party?
As part of any investigative or research process I have contacted campaigns for their views and input. But the content decisions are mine and mine alone.
-3- Are you as an individual paid by a campaign or affiliated with an organization or company that has as a client, a particular campaign or political party?
Definitely not, and if it ever happens I would presume I would either have Centrisity go dark, or would fully disclose such, prominently
hey nails, I'll give you $1.55 (that's all that's left from my lunch money)
Sorry it took so long, I had to get permission from Mr. Rove before I could answer.
ah, no html tags, fine
http://www.residualforces.com/http:/residualforces.com/index.php/2006/04/05/mprs-polinaut-goes-phishing/
-1- No.
-2- No.
-3- I am paid by the American Lung Association of Minnesota, which may come a shock to some, as my blog has the missleading title: American Lung Association of Minnesota. We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit health charity. I am a communications director, not a lobbyist. I've never been a lobbyist, and I wouldn't want to be one.
On behalf of Jambo, Libby Mae and myself, no one at Three Way News is paid for anything we post. We don't consult with any campaigns.
In sum:
No
No
No
No
No
No
Dump Representative Mark Olson (16b)
1. No.
2. No. One of the benefits of being an anonyblogger.
3. Maybe, depending on exactly how you define it. But again, nobody knows that I'm blogging.
I know that a lot of people have issues with anonymous bloggers. Well, for some of us, we'd like to keep our blogs separate from the rest of our lives for one reason or another.
Dump John Kline
1-3 no
No 1-3
But on 2, all the posters are active Democrats to varied degrees and interact within the Democratic community. Like all Democrats, we tend to be independent thinkers and in no way been directed by the party.
http://koolaidreport.blogspot.com/2006/04/were-nobodys-monkey-but-we-are.html
Whew! Made the list!
1. No
2. No (But I have emailed parts of a post to a campaign for fact checking purposes - when you do local stuff you often have to dig for the news because there are no articles to link and fact check.)
3. No
www.anti-strib.com
No
No
No
We did get spam from the Republican Talking points, but our "rebuttal" to the Meirs nomination got us removed from that list.
I'm glad you're using my tax dollars to question the independence of other bloggers. Mr. Pot, please meet Mr Kettle.
Negative on all 3 counts.
Noodles
//I'm glad you're using my tax dollars to question.
So you think questions are bad thing? Why?
Greetings, Here is a question your forum might want to present: Should Tax Cuts at the Federal Level be renewed ?
Should Corporations and Businesses be criminally liable for hiring illegal aliens, and for not paying payroll taxes for them and others ?
I offer these as someone who likes your service.
Daniel Wargo
Bob,
Good questions. My answers:
> 1- Are you paid in any way by a campaign or
> candidate?
Heh. I wish. No, I'm not. Never have been. I do, however, have a category on my blog, "Disclosure", in which I list everything I receive as a result of this blog. It's been consideration for speeches at district fundraisers, mostly - I've gotten three dinners and probably four adult beverages, so far.
> -2- Do you consult with campaign officials
> or party officials as to how the content
> on your site can be most beneficial to
> a particular candidate or party?
No. I have advised campaigns and party officials on how best to leverage blogs. Every opinion I write about a candidates is purely my own.
> -3- Are you as an individual paid by a
> campaign or affiliated with an organization
> or company that has as a client, a
> particular campaign or political party?
Nope.
Now Bob - why do you assume that for *any* of us it was *ever* "unsafe" to answer those questions?
There seems to be an unstated assumption on the part of much of the exempt media that we're on the take - that there's no WAY we can all be organic. Nick Coleman spent much of 2004 insinuating as much, and your question (inadvertently or not) does the same.
Do you know something we don't? And if so, let me know - I'd love to see some of that money I'm supposedly getting...
-1- Are you paid in any way by a campaign or candidate?
No. I volunteer for some in my own capacity, but I am not paid.
-2- Do you consult with campaign officials or party officials as to how the content on your site can be most beneficial to a particular candidate or party?
On occasion, if a candidate requests that some favorable news or information about himself/herself be posted, I have agreed to post it. However, this does not happen often. While I have spoken with particular campaign officials or candidates themselves, we have not discussed how my blog can be most beneficial to them.
-3- Are you as an individual paid by a campaign or affiliated with an organization or company that has as a client, a particular campaign or political party?
I do some of my own volunteer work, but I am not currently paid or officially affiliated with any campaign in any capacity. I'm an official member of the Republican Party of Minnesota. That's as far as it goes.
// and your question (inadvertently or not) does the same.
Only if you assume it does. I've actually been interested in the leaps people have taken to imply meaning behind questions. I guess it's a Minnesota thing. But I never said anyone was on the take.
Look, like it or not, blogs are the new journalism. You know it. I know it. The '27 Yankees know it.
Here's what I think is POSSIBLE. I think it's POSSIBLE in this new medium for campaigns and political parties to outsource certain activities. I think it's possible for the line to blur between a campaign and a blog. Do I think that campaigns are paying bloggers now? I don't have any evidence of that, no.
Do I think it's possible? Of course, it's possible.
Minnesota's Middle
1 No
2 I suppose I consult with myself so in that sense yes, but as far as anyone else, not on Minnesota's Middle. I've consulted with party officials about playing a major roll in an official Independence Party blog however so we'll see how that develops.
3. Yes
I do however try to keep a relitivly low profile because some of my politics go directly against an employer
You have a great site, but I'm so sorry you have a lot of spam :-(
You have a great site, but I\'m so sorry you have a lot of spam
[url=http://great-wall.supador.com]great wall[/url] [url=http://volkswagen.supador.com]volkswagen[/url] [url=http://maybach.supador.com]maybach[/url] [url=http://honda.supador.com]honda[/url] [url=http://infiniti.supador.com]infiniti[/url]
infiniti honda volkswagen maybach great wall
http://honda.supador.com http://volkswagen.supador.com http://infiniti.supador.com http://great-wall.supador.com http://maybach.supador.com
Thanks!
Just today (6/8/06) discovered this site while visiting a library at UW-Madison.
-1- Are you paid in any way by a campaign or candidate?
As far as I know, no one who writes for Vox Verax is paid by a campaign or candidate.
-2- Do you consult with campaign officials or party officials as to how the content on your site can be most beneficial to a particular candidate or party?
Being involved in politics, we talk to them but we never coordinate. They do their thing; we do ours.
-3- Are you as an individual paid by a campaign or affiliated with an organization or company that has as a client, a particular campaign or political party?
No.
| April 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | ||||||
Master Archive
Recent Entries
- Dayton strikes two projects from legacy bill
- Poll: Dayton's approval numbers slide, but still leads in 2014
- House bonding chair looks ahead after final night protest
- Top Republican says six MN U.S. House seats could be in play in 2014
- Franken and Klobuchar release details on personal finances
- Dayton signs education funding bill
- Poll shows Franken with big leads over potential opponents
- Dayton hails results of session
- The Daily Digest: Session wrap-up
- No minimum wage hike this session
Categories
- 2011 Freshman class
- 2011 Shutdown
- Bachmann fact check
- Campaign 2008
- Campaign 2008: MN Legislature
- Campaign 2008: President
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD1
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD2
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD3
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD4
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD5
- Campaign 2008: U.S. MN CD6
- Campaign 2008: U.S. Senate
- Campaign 2010
- Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor
- Campaign 2010: U.S. House
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD1
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD2
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD3
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD4
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD5
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD6
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD7
- Campaign 2010: U.S. MN CD8
- Campaign 2012
- Campaign 2012: Minn. House Races
- Campaign 2012: Minn. Senate Races
- Campaign 2012: Presidential Race
- Campaign 2012: U.S. House
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD1
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD2
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD3
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD4
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD5
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD6
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD7
- Campaign 2012: U.S. MN CD8
- Campaign 2012: U.S. Senate
- Daily Digest
- Iowa
- Mark Dayton
- Marriage Amendment
- Michele Bachmann
- MN Legislature
- MPR in D.C.
- Pawlenty fact check
- Pawlenty travel
- PoliGraph
- Political parties
- Recount
- Recount 2010
- Redistricting
- State Government
- Tim Pawlenty
- U.S. House
- U.S. Senate
- Vikings stadium
- Voter ID Amendment
About Poligraph
The feature examines statements made by Minnesota politicians and checks them for accuracy. Based on data analysis, document reviews and interviews with non-partisan analysts, statements are rated either true, false or inconclusive. PoliGraph is a collaboration between Minnesota Public Radio News and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. MoreServices
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock