Hat Tip to the Tinklenberg blog.
ECM:
Bachmann has made headlines as a vocal opponent to the recent $700 billion bailout plan, which we won’t fault her for. We’re glad she has shown the ability to part ways with a Republican president when she deems it necessary.
And, she scored a lot of points while explaining the financial crisis on Wall Street and what she pushed for as a member of the financial services committee, but we are troubled that she chose to hang onto information so tightly when she could have been back here in her district and out in front of chambers of commerce explaining the pending implosion. Instead, she waited for the bright lights of Larry King Live to come calling to share most candidly and her most methodical campaign swings that passed over candidate forums in favor of photo opportunities.
We appreciate her strong stance on the bailout, but we question her wisdom in calling for resignation of fellow Congressional leaders. We fear that her polarizing approach to her work will work against her and make her less effective in the future.
She has a record of opposing even the most strongly supported bipartisan initiatives, including the mental health parity and addiction equity act, the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act and the credit card holders’ Bill of Rights.
And while tending to matters at home in her district she found time to pillage legislative candidates who voted their conscience on the state’s transportation issues, but had to leave early from our one-hour endorsement interview.
What really sealed her fate, however, was her unwillingness to later answer point-blank questions about a bridge project in St. Cloud and the Northstar Commuter Rail. We find it disingenuous that she wears a Northstar lapel pin but won’t comment on whether or when the line should ever be extended to St. Cloud and Rice.
We understand her concerns about earmarks and even share some of them, but we fail to understand how she cannot stand up for her own district on crucial local votes to deal with a deteriorating bridge in her district.
Tinklenberg will fight earmarks, but not at the expense of constituents on critical projects.
****snip*****
We like that both candidates have concerns about a host of issues important to people in the Sixth District, but we feel Tinklenberg’s approach will bring progress on these fronts locally and for our country. We fear that Bachmann’s approach will further polarize our elected officials.
West Central Tribune:
Minnesota’s 6th District congressional race has turned into an evolving race. Sixth District voters have a choice of Republican incumbent Michele Bachmann, Democratic challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg and the alternative choice Bob Anderson.
The 6th District runs from Paynesville to St. Cloud and then south across Wright County and the northern Twin Cities suburbs to Stillwater and Woodbury. St. Cloud is the largest city in the district with the suburbs of Blaine and Woodbury close behind.
The choice is simple for 6th District voters — elect Tinklenberg, the conservative Democrat. Bachmann has simply become an embarrassment for the district and Minnesota.
Tinklenberg has significant government experiences — first as a former Blaine City Council member and mayor and then as state transportation commissioner during the administration of Gov. Jesse Ventura. This background would be beneficial to the district.
A former United Methodist minister, Tinklenberg received both the Democrat-Farmer-Labor endorsement and the Minnesota Independence Party endorsement for the 6th District seat.
Bachmann has become out of touch with her district as well as reality at times. She has remained steadfastly aligned with President George W. Bush until recently when she said Tinklenberg was more aligned with Bush. Her recent “anti-American” statement and call for an investigation into unpatriotic lawmakers is an embarrassment to Minnesota and the Republican Party. Her gushing embrace of the president at the 2007 State of the Union address was teen-idol overwhelming. She also spoke of knowledge of a secret plan between Iran and al-Qaida to divide or partition Iraq.
The accomplishments of her first term are highlighted by her unflattering gaffes. In fact, the National Republican Campaign Committee pulled its advertising support from Bachmann this week. She is becoming isolated within her own party.
|
|