Michigan GOP bars Michigan Messenger from convention

For the second day in a row, officials of the Michigan Republican Party have barred Michigan Messenger reporters Ed Brayton and Todd Heywood from covering the state convention.

GOP officials denied the reporters press credentials, which provide access to the floor to interview elected officials, candidates for office and the party faithful who are voting on issues.

Party officials described the denial as “a consequence” of Messenger’s coverage of the Michigan Republican Party, specifically Eartha Jane Melzer’s article from last September titled “Lose your house, lose your vote.” The story cited a GOP official in Macomb County as saying the party planned on Election Day to use foreclosure lists as the basis for challenging voter eligibility.

“It [the article] wasn’t very favorable to the party, and we just chose not to give you guys credentials,” said a man who would only give his first name, Greg, and identified himself as the new media coordinator for the party.

Party spokesperson Robert Wolfe denied that the GOP was censoring the media.

“We’re in favor of allowing media into our conventions that we feel are going to give us fair coverage. Based on our previous experiences with you, we do not feel that you are such an outlet,” he said.

Melzer’s story caused a national stir and resulted in the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee filing suit against the Michigan Republican party to prevent the form of voter caging described in the article. The parties reached a settlement in October agreeing that “the existence of a person’s address on a foreclosure list does not provide a reasonable basis for challenging the person’s eligibility to vote.”

After being denied credentials this morning, Heywood asked Wolfe if there was an appeals process. Wolfe said there was not. He would also not address the question of who in the party had made the decision to bar Michigan Messenger from the convention.

“If you’re not gonna tell the real story, then we’re not gonna let you in. We’re not gonna prop you up to the point where you’re gonna be able to tell the story,” Greg said. “That is a consequence [of Messenger's coverage].”

When asked why RightMichigan.com, a conservative blog covering Michigan politics, was credentialed while the Messenger was not, Wolfe responded, “They (RightMichigan) are a news outlet that we chose that will present the news in a way that we believe is fair and we believe is accurate.”

In a post Saturday on RightMichigan.com, Nick De Leeuw, the owner of the blog, stated in his convention coverage: “I’m not a reporter. I’m a conservative who blogs and I count a lot of the men and women bouncing around this convention floor as friends.”

Other outlets present were Dave Eggert from the Associated Press, a reporter from the Michigan Information & Research Service Inc. (MIRS), Dawson Bell from the Detroit Free Press and others.

Michigan Messenger’s Ed Brayton also contributed to this report