Video: Saint Cloud Times Catches MN GOP Lying About Video/Audio Ban

[Avidor]

Lawrence Schumacher's video:

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080407/VIDEO/304070004/-1/Umbrella

Lawrence Schumacher's blog:

http://65.36.138.212/publicus/blog/read.asp?BlogID=6&ID=9492#Top

6th CD GOP: The story changes

Posted: 4/18/2008 at 11:57 AM

A letter from Benton County Republican Party Chairman David Wilson to the Times about his party's decision not to allow audio/video recordings at its 6th Congressional District convention raises new questions about their policy.

The letter to the editor, which hasn't run yet, is a response to Times Executive Editor John Bodette's column about the incident.

In it, Wilson alleges that television news crews would have been allowed to videotape the convention, even though I was not.

From the letter:

"Television crews were exempt because their footage is unlikely to end up on YouTube. Also, television crews are easy to identify. Other media representatives? Not so much," Wilson wrote.

Wilson, who was the chief Seargeant-At-Arms for the convention, said he was responsible for enforcing the ban.

However, 6th Congressional District Republican Party Chairman Mark Swanson, who was the one who told me no video or audio recording devices would be allowed, said it was a rule that applied to everyone, regardless of what media they represented.

Wilson said in the letter he personally expelled two individuals who had come to the convention for the purpose of "attempting to obtain material that would be embarrassing (sic) to (U.S. Rep. Michele) Bachmann or others running for various positions."

I will attempt to follow up with Swanson to clarify the descrepancy between his instructions to me and the instructions as Wilson understood them.

In the meantime, a couple more thoughts:

As to identifying members of the media, I was wearing and displayed for Swanson my Times ID badge when he met me at the entrance to the Schwan Center at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

Second, MPR reported that they were prevented from recording audio at the convention. So were television stations exempt from the ban, but not radio stations?

Third, I don't know if any television stations showed up, but I sure didn't see any of their cameras set up in the hall.

Finally, I'm pretty sure that, despite the best efforts of Wilson and Swanson, there was video taken at the convention. It's just a question of when it surfaces.

I don't know if many people know this, but there are these things called "cell phones" that people carry around with them now, and many of those cell phones have the ability not only to take still pictures but also capture video.

[Avidor]

1. Mark "Swannie" Swanson

MN GOP 6CD chair Mark Swanson's Personal Rapid Transit blog:

http://prttruth.blogspot.com/

His Wikipedia page and edits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Swanny123

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Swanny123

[Minnesota Raindog]

2. Michele Bachmann is her own worst enemy on camera

That's the funny thing about this whole brouhaha over recording at the GOP 6th CD convention. They claimed they imposed the ban because they don't like what people do to Bachmann's images on youtube. But if you look at what shows up on youtube, the vast majority of it is simply unedited footage of Bachmann going on about the global warming hoax, or the healthy Terry Shiavo, or lying about her constituents, or talking about how God told her to go to law school and marry her husband and run for Congress. No trickery there. Just Michele Bachmann, straight, no chaser. See for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=michele+bachmann&search_type=

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3. Story on Minnesota Monitor

http://tinyurl.com/6bsy6s