Inside military joke here:
What's the maximum effective range of an excuse?
Zero!
First Sergeant Smalls used to say this to soldiers young and old all the time and reading Bachmann's op ed excuse today in the Pioneer Press made me think of some of those good ol' lines.
Apparently, Chris Matthews ambushed her, the liberal blogs are to blame, we misconstrued her comments (AGAIN?), and the dog ate her homework.
MinnPost already commented on the placement of Bachmann op ed piece today.
A couple of Bachmann excuses caught my eye.
In a matter of 48 hours after I participated in an interview with Chris Matthews on MSNBC's "Hardball," more than $640,000 from donors across the country flooded into my opponent's campaign. Almost to a one, these are people who never would have considered voting for me if they lived in Minnesota. In fact, most of them have probably never voted for a Republican. These are strong supporters of Barack Obama who want to see more liberal policies enacted in Washington. Where does Bachmann's money come from? Do Bachmann contributors consider
voting for a Democrat?
According to Open Secrets, about 20% 0f Bachmann's funding has come from outside the State of Minnesota. Interestingly enough, of the Top 10 zip codes for Bachmann contributors, only one of them is in the 6th Congressional District. Zip Codes
55391 (Wayzata, MN) $102,350
55331 (Excelsior, MN) $45,150
55110 (Saint Paul, MN) $43,250
55347 (Eden Prairie, MN) $36,250
55436 (Minneapolis, MN) $29,650
55356 (Long Lake, MN) $28,400
55305 (Hopkins, MN) $22,200
55439 (Minneapolis, MN) $19,650
56301 (Saint Cloud, MN) $18,500
55125 (Saint Paul, MN) $17,300
So for Team Americ...Bachmann, your arguments about where the money for Tinklenberg's campaign, after Bachmann herself opened Pandora's Box are irrelevant. The vast majority of those who send Bachmann money cannot vote for her, no matter how many times Pastor Mac Hammond endorses her from the pulpit and says he's voting for her (I can't, he lives in the 3rd).
It's like a political version of the children's game of telephone. I make a
statement in an interview. Chris Matthews distorts it — as he is paid so well to
do. The liberal blogs contort it even more. The speaker of the House and other
Democrat leaders utter absolute lies about what was said in the interview. Then
the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee picks it up and runs with it,
buying $1 million for negative ads so that they don't have to talk about the
issues. We're not buying it, not at all. Mathews did not distort Bachmann's remarks, he pushed her to say what she really wanted to say and it came out. Bachmann has long since been the Conservative poster child, sending her to media events because she is attractive and speaks well (her GOP talking points). Sometimes, she can create controversy. Her ego loves the national press. She's obsessed. Bachmann went one time too many and got burned, maybe Mathews set her up? Who knows, Bachmann fell for it, that much is certain. So don't blame Matthews, bloggers, our inability to understand your comments, or the dog eating the assignment. Your excuses do nothing except slip you into a deeper state of denial. Quite frankly, the excuses are pathetic. And it's the issues that the voters in Minnesota's 6th District want to talk about. Everywhere I go, people ask about the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, and they want to know why we're saddling taxpayers with generations of debt to pay for risky decisions by Wall Street financiers. There's a clear distinction between my position on this bailout — I opposed it both times it came before the House — and that of my opponent, who says he would have supported it.
The Democrats don't want to talk about the pocketbook issues that are really on the minds of Minnesotans. Those voters were concerned about how much it cost to fill their tank with gas this summer, but that pales in comparison to how much it might cost to heat their homes this winter. They want to know how they're going to pay their mortgage and their grocery bills. Again, my record and my opponent's are clearly different when it comes to the family budget. I've always stood up for lowertaxes and against wasteful government spending.
But when you can't win on the issues, you steal the election with a couple of lies and $1 million worth of mud. And the media reports and Democrat responses to my interview on "Hardball" have been echoing the outright lies of the liberal blogs. Is it really any wonder people are so cynical about politics?
Maybe were cynical because we have a Congresswoman who would rather take 15 minutes of fame on Larry King or Hardball, but neglect her constituents. Maybe were cynical because the Congresswoman has attended a very select few forums and debates across the 6th CD. Or maybe were cynical because our Congresswoman embarrassed us once again. First, the Presidential groping, the I know how Iraq will be segmented fun from last summer, and now this. Congresswoman Bachmann, no one is stealing this election. In fact, it was your 6 minutes of stupidity last week have cost you this election. Really, a simply apology would have made a big difference. Instead, Bachmann comes up with one excuse upon another. And that's failing. The maximum effective range of your excuse Congresswoman Bachmann...is ZERO. Knock it off and apologize. Crossposted at Blueman *Update* First she says she didn't use the term "anti-American" and now she says she did and apologizes for it?
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