Why She Wins

This is a piece I wrote for the Daily Kos a couple of weeks ago. I'm posting it here because we'd been discussing the question: can she ever be defeated, or is it time to throw in the towel and hope for re-districting? Every so often I write a piece puffing our blog on the Kos, hoping to attract drive-by readers and commenters. Whenever I write anything on Michele over there, people from other parts of the country invariably ask me "What is wrong with you people? They have footage of her lying on television, how can this nut even be taken seriously? etc." and I find myself explaining, over and over again, to all different sorts of people, why this nut is representing us in Congress. Over at Dump Michele Bachmann... Hotlist by Bill Prendergast [Unsubscribe] [Edit Diary] Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 09:09:58 PM PST ...up here in the frozen north: we never give up. A couple of years ago I went back and forth with a conservative Bachmann supporter who referred to my "Wile E. Coyote-like attempts to end Bachmann's career." And he was right--at the Dump Bachmann blog, we were denouncing her as a looney waaaay before it was cool--I'm talking six or seven years ago when she first got her start delivering homophobic, anti-evolution rants on evangelical radio. And we did take her on; unpaid, volunteer grass-roots anti-hatemongers that we are. ...and we are like Wile E. Coyote! That conservative was right! Despite our reports of her most extreme rhetoric, her crazy conspiracy theories, records of her outright lies broadcasted to the public and passed on to the local media--she kept winning, and keeps on winning. Our problem up here in the Sixth District of Minnesota has been explained in my diaries many times before. But here's the skinny, again: 1. It's gerrymandered to be a very conservative district. Since it was redistricted about ten years ago, the congressional seat has always been won by a Republican--regardless of the local and national economy, regardless of Michele's opponent. (She beat liberal Patty Wetterling to win her first term in Congress; and she just beat Blue Dog Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg to win her second term.) 2. There is a white hot core of angry, paranoid, conservative potato heads living in this district. It's the most conservative district in this liberal state, and those guys are proud of it. Michele is the darling of the local Rush Limbaugh knockoffs. If Olbermann or Sanchez do a piece on national TV that shows her in the actual act of lying--they vote for her harder. 3. She's an evangelical darling; that's how she got started and took away the nomination from a more "secular" conservative Republican to win her first elective office. These days she doesn't talk as much about "gay marriage meaning the end of Western civilization" and "how wacky the theory of evolution is"--but the conservative evangelicals up here know that's where she came from and what she stands for--so they're in her pocket, every election. (She's also got the national evangelical political movement on her side; the Council for National Policy, the Dobsons of this world.) But we keep after her at Dump Bachmann. Like Wile E., we keep strapping on those Acme rocket skates, time after time, hoping to catch her. But unlike Wile E.--we DO catch her! We catch her red-handed and by the throat--lying, on tape, doing Macaca moments, month after month after month. Which leads me to reason 4) of the skinny on why Bachmann is still running the road: 4. Our local press. We send stuff to the press, letter, calls for corrections, documented evidence of her craziest statements and lies--the professional press and the big papers don't run it. We've been putting it on the Web for years; they won't go near it. Not one journalist in a big local newspaper is willing to report the crazy shit that she's said over the years on local conservative and evangelical radio. (The local "alternative" news weekly in Minneapolis/St. Paul--the City Pages--is doing stuff on her now, but the older folks don't read that. I'm not sure the younger folks are reading it much, either, except for the movie and record reviews.) That's what makes Dump Bachmann the Wile E. Coyotes of netroots activism--our local press in Minnesota. Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews know that a lying extremist is "news"--the editors and publishers of print journals in Minnesota are scared to death to take her on. I'll tell you one other thing--I'm not ordering any more of the crappy equipment they sell via catalogue from Acme Products, that's for sure. (walks away slowly, squeezing in and out like a fold-up accordion.) ...So that's what I write, when I'm trying to explain to liberals how a nut and liar can be elected to congress. There's a "reason number five" that I left out, but commenter Bob Anderson reminded me of it this afternoon: the strength of the Independence Party vote in the Sixth District. I don't usually cite that as a reason she wins when I'm talking to "out-of-staters," because it leads me into a whole weird area of Minnesota/Sixth District specific politics (where a third party can't deliver its own vote on election day.) But the bizarro effect of the IP is an important factor: the fact that at least ten per cent of the voters in the district will never consider voting for a DFL'r of any stripe (liberal, Blue Dog, whatever) is another reason that Michele can stay in office.

Michele Bachmann Makes A Spectacle of Herself Again

From Democratic Underground: Is anyone watching the 'span? Michelle Bachman and Steve King are the only ones there spouting their BS. He yields to her, she yields to him. It's nothing more than the two of them going on and on and on Commenters pile on: dflprincess (1000+ posts) Thu Mar-05-09 10:36 PM Response to Reply #8 13. I swiched back to CSPAN during the commercial this is a hoot. I wonder how the poor stenographer is able to keep a straight face. Both of them babbling on about how we're about to lose our freedom - where have they been. I tell ya - they're going to jump each other when the cameras are off. SharonRB (1000+ posts) Thu Mar-05-09 10:38 PM Response to Reply #13 16. ROFL They should just go get a room. I couldn't believe it when she said the liberals don't believe in the Constitution. Where the hell has she been the last eight years?

The Young Turks: "Dangerous Rhetoric from Rep. Michele Bachmann"

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks talking about Bachmann's interview with Bill Bennett:

Michele Bachmann on the Mortgage Cram Down Bill: "Graveyard Economics"

Andy Birkey at the Minnesota Independent: The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday by a vote of 234-191, mostly by a partisan vote. Minnesota Reps. Michele Bachmann, Erik Paulsen and John Kline, all Republicans, voted against the measure, while Reps. Collin Peterson, James Oberstar, Tim Walz, Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum, all Democrats, voted for the bill. The bill passed, but not before Bachmann had her say.... Bachmann posted this video on her You Tube channel:

Two Conflicting Memes About Michele Bachmann

The National Meme: Michele Bachmann is a right-wing nutcase who damages the image of Minnesota. Some recent examples... Wonkette: "Here is a proposal: Minnesota should be divided into two parts. The part with the Twin Cities can be assigned a single senator, and the part with Michele Bachmann can be dislodged from the earth’s crust and sent to Jupiter, in pieces." Keith Olbermann: "....Co-sponsored with 30 other Republicans, it‘s called the I Am, Too, Crazier Than Michele Bachmann Bill." The Local Meme: Bachman is "Unsinkable". The UofM Smart Politics blog has a post titled "The Unsinkable Michele Bachmann". Hal Kimball: I've had many Bachmann discussions with political friends across the 6th. Most of us are of the belief that Bachmann may in fact be the best politician/campaigner in Minnesota (we also agree that she is the worst elected official in the state). Liberal in the Land of Conservative: "Perhaps I have raised the white flag and come to terms with the fact that this woman cannot be defeated in this part of Minnesota...." Just want to point out that the builders of the Titanic claimed their ship was unsinkable. In the case of the HMS Michele Bachmann, her recent gaffes suggest strongly that she is her own iceberg. I disagree with the local meme. I believe Bachnann can be defeated. Katherine Harris and Marilyn Musgrave are not in Congress anymore... I say keep getting the word out... keep writing those LTE's and blogging and calling up radio talk shows. What do you think?

Bachmann on G. Gordon Liddy's Radio Show

Bachmann doesn't have time to meet with constituents, but she sure had a lot of time today for right wing radio. CNN Politicker says Bachmann was on the G. Gordon Liddy show. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann pressed the socialism argument on Thursday, telling a conservative radio show that the Obama administration is "completely socializing the American economy" with its mortgage relief proposals and bailouts of financial institutions. "What we've seen them do in the last five weeks is nothing short of a great leap forward toward than finalizing a place of socialism in American economic life," Bachmann told radio host G. Gordon Liddy. "We have never seen this level of socialism in the history of our country, and I think the American people would be floored when they understand the dramatic steps that Obama has taken for our future." Bachmann called for a "a growth future, a prosperity future, a freedom liberty future." "Will we be a country that will go forward with liberty, freedom and prosperity, or will we be a country that's mired in Eastern European, Western European doldrums, where freedom is limited and taxation remains high?" Here's an edited version: The podcast page is HERE.

Bachmann Does it Again on Bill Bennett Show

Think Progress quotes Bachmann: BACHMANN: If you want to look at economic history over the last 100 years. I call it punctuated equilibrium. If you look at FDR, LBJ, and Barack Obama, this is really the final leap to socialism. … But we all know that we could turn this around and we can turn this around fairly quickly. We’re still a free country. And as the Democrats are about to institutionalize cartels — that’s what they’re very good at — they’re trying to consolidate power, so we need to do everything we can to thwart them at every turn to make sure that they aren’t able to, for all time, secure a power base that for all time can never be defeated. PZ Myers at Pharyngula: She calls what punctuated equilibrium? I don't think she knows what it means, and I don't believe she knows anything about either biology or economic history. It's interesting to see the Republican version of bipartisanship so nakedly exposed, at least. (By the way, I have a bumper sticker on my car that says, "Honk if you understand punctuated equilibrium!" No one ever honks.)

PRT Promoter's Parody of PRT Supporter Michele Bachmann

Bachmann likes to portray herself as a fiscal conservative, fighting against government waste and pork-barrel spending. But when Bachmann was in the Minnesota State Senate, she co-sponsored a bill for a ridiculous boondoggle called Personal Rapid Transit (PRT). Bachmann was one of the original Pod Squad who promoted the pods in this MPR article with former Mpls Councilman Dean Zimmermann and former Rep. Mark Olson. There was a time when The pod people were very proud of the Pod Squad and very critical of me for criticizing Zimmermann, Bachmann and Olson Advanced Transit Association newsletter Transit Pulse (PDF) item titled "PRT HATERS" attests: There’s a real Avid guy named Ken in Minneapolis. He can whip off some pretty wild cartoons. Check out www.roadkill.com. That’s seems to be his main occupation, but he devotes inordinate amounts of time to belittling PRT designers and promoters in the wildest of ways. (One wonders how this pays him, or is he wealthy enough to bash PRT in his leisure?) Ken Avidor thinks that all PRT promoters start with a hate-LRT premise. He sees the PRT community, including ATRA, as an anti-LRT conspiracy. That’s fine: he has a right to his opinions. Yet he attacks people more than ideas and is ready to condemn with guilt by association. He conducts political crusades to defeat Minnesota politicians who are receptive to the benefits of PRT. Seattle-based ATRA member David Gow, having sparred with Ken on-line many times, concludes that it is pointless to debate this Minnesota activist and blogger. Gow finds Ken’s typical conversations a series of false claims about PRT, none of which he can back up, including ad hominem smears and wild conspiracy theories. Ed Anderson simply describes Avidor a madman. Your editor called him in early July to offer a copy of the recent EU report summarizing the multi-faceted, multi-year PRT research program, with urgent recommendation for a pilot program. His first reaction was, “No, don’t send it.” Later he called my offer desperation! Under the delusion that PRT is a well-moneyed monolith, he blurted out, “You guys buy those reports.” After a further step in this very unpleasant exchange, he screamed “F#@& you!” and hung up. Nice guy, this New York transplant to Minnesota! His original name is apparently Ken Weiner, born in Brooklyn in 1955. Check out his political thinking at dumpmarkolson.blogspot.com. The website seeks to unseat a Minnesota legislator who per Ed Anderson (who ought to know) says is currently the strongest, most articulate PRT supporter there. Many think it is best just to ignore Avidor. Others say he craves attention. ... a few issues later the editor of Transit Pulse admitted that Rep. Mark Olson may not have been the best pick to advocate for PRT at the Capitol. According to Dick Gronning of the Minnesota group, activities are dwindling and membership is down. The Minnesota Sierra Club and other environmental groups are pro-LRT, judging their Hiawatha Line as a great success and often dismissing PRT as a right-wing conspiracy. Jeral Poskey has left Taxi 2000 and relocated back to the Silicon Valley. Taxi 2000 is busy but quite. Ed Anderson also remains quiet these days. A pro-PRT Republican legislator who bucked the Democrat landslide last month is in trouble over charges of domestic abuse. Yep, fate wasn't kind to PRT in Minnesota or two of the original three members of the Pod Squad. Zimmermann was convicted of accepting gratuities (bribes) and Olson lost his safe seat in the MN House after a tawdry trial and conviction for domestic abuse. Someone sent me a parody of Bachmann's recent antics by the aforementioned "Seattle-based ATRA member David Gow" (AKA Mr_Grant, Mr_Blog, Wiseline) on his PRT-promoting website and at Ragebot. Gow, a web-designer has done a similar job Google-baiting and link-spamming me on his various blogs about me and on other blogs and on the Dump Bachmann blog. David Gow along with his pod-pal "A Transportation Enthusiast" have accused me of being a "propagandist" and suggests that I am as much a McCarthyite as Bachmann. ATE makes it more plain in the comments: There is little difference between Bachmann and Avidor, other than ideology. Gow's pal ATE's blog has a number of posts attacking Dump Bachmann. Here's a sample: Consider the case of Mr. Av^d*r, the Minnesota anti-PRT activist. He has a history of lying and deception, regularly committing journalistic offenses that would get him fired from any self-respecting news organization, and yet he continues to be a major presence in the Minneapolis corner of the blogosphere. Why? Because otherwise respectable blogs like Lloydletta and DumpBachmann continue to give him a voice. Lloydletta and DumpBachmann were both created by Eva Young. Over the years they've built a following and gained in respectability, to the point where they've even caught the eye of mainstream media. Yet, Mr. Av^d*r, a known liar and admitted fraud, is still allowed to post at will, at both DB and Lloydletta. Eva Young has admitted that she is aware of his deceptions, but is this enough for her to remove him as an editor? Apparently not. I invite David Gow to explain in the comments why PRT promoters thought it was a good idea back in 2005 to have Bachmann, Olson and Zimmermann promoting PRT and why Gow and his cohort ATE have all that crap on the web about me and the Dump Bachman blog. I invite our readers to go to Gow's many blogs and ask him questions about Bachmann and PRT. For example... what is this PhotoShopped image of me as George Bush with Bachman's face on the seal from one of "Mr_Grant's" blogs supposed to mean?

Pioneer Press Opinion Piece Criticizes Bachmann's "Exaggerations"

Jim Ragsdale, longtime Pioneer Press Capitol reporter has an excellent editorial in the PiPress called "The empress of exaggeration". Ragsdale starts off with the recent Bachmann & Chris Baker interview: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann got 3,212 facts wrong in a recent interview. Do I exaggerate? Yes, I do. In fact, that statement was totally off-base. It is made to point out that Bachmann, our Republican congresswoman from Stillwater, is the empress of exaggeration. She can turn a mote of dust into a flaming meteorite, a scintilla of evidence into a damning indictment, a stimulus bill into a payoff to felonious urban ruffians. I have heard her describe the faults of Minnesota graduation standards and vocational training in such a way that they appeared not just dumb, but damnation-worthy. Ragsdale goes on to remind his readers about Bachmann's Bachmannistan interview with Larry Schumacher and other bizarre episodes where Bachmann has "exaggerated". It's a very good editorial. Let's hope the PiPress will continue to fact-check Bachmann.

What Do You Have Against Guam?

It has been some time since I have written anything substantive about Michele Bachmann. Perhaps I just needed a break from the thought that this person continues to spout the most virulent rhetoric and somehow retains a seat in our government. Perhaps I have raised the white flag and come to terms with the fact that this woman cannot be defeated in this part of Minnesota. Perhaps I simply don't have the energy to keep up with every offensive or downright ignorant thing that the Congresswoman from the 6th District has to say. So, from henceforward I am going to try avoid wrapping my brain around the completely nonsensical things that come out of her mouth and stick to the completely nonsensical votes she casts within the House of Representatives. Let us begin with an interesting NO vote taken on February 23, 2009. What was this heinous legislation that needed to be defeated? Titled 'Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act', it essentially recognizes the suffering of residents of Guam during WWII Japanese occupation and recognized the loyalty of those residents to the United States. (a) Recognition of the Suffering of the Residents of Guam- The United States recognizes that, as described by the Guam War Claims Review Commission, the residents of Guam, on account of their United States nationality, suffered unspeakable harm as a result of the occupation of Guam by Imperial Japanese military forces during World War II, by being subjected to death, rape, severe personal injury, personal injury, forced labor, forced march, or internment. (b) Recognition of the Loyalty of the Residents of Guam- The United States forever will be grateful to the residents of Guam for their steadfast loyalty to the United States of America, as demonstrated by the countless acts of courage they performed despite the threat of death or great bodily harm they faced at the hands of the Imperial Japanese military forces that occupied Guam during World War II. So, Michele, what do you have against Guam?

Bachmann's Excessive Use of Franking

Bob Collins has scans of Bachmann's latest taxpayer-paid, snail-mail blitz on his MPR Newscut blog: The members of Congress get free postage and in the past they've created newsletter-like mailings to tout their accomplishments. These days, they've dropped the illusion of news and are treating the mailers more like what they really are -- pre-campaign literature. In the age of 24/7 cable news, congressional Web sites, the YouTube congressional channel, Facebook, and Twitter, it's still 1857 in Washington. Members of Congress say the "franking privilege" is necessary to "keep in touch" with constituents. Mine arrived last night from my representative -- Michele Bachmann -- touting her opposition to the economic stimulus package. Its claims were unsubstantiated and unattributed. Karl Bremer in the comments: I've already written about Bachmann's excessive use of franking privileges compared with other members of the congressional delegation: The costs of these mailings are public and available at the library. It just takes a little digging--more than you'll find in a spoon-fed press release, which is where most political reporters get their stories these days. In Bachmann's case, it's just another example of her one-way communication with her constituents. She will not respond to letters or emails in writing. She refuses to face her constituents in person unless she or her handlers are in control of the dialogue. She has not had a single public meeting in the 6th District since being elected in 2006. Her "tele-town hall meetings" are carefully scripted and participants are screened. She refuses to talk to reporters on anyone's terms but her own--and reporters generally comply with her rules of the game. The fact that her mailing's claims were "unsubstantiated and unattributed" should come as no surprise. Since when have reporters ever held Bachmann accountable for anything she's said? Not a single local reporter asked Bachmann to explain where ACORN's billions were in the stimulus bill, for example, yet they dutifully reported her claims that it was in there. Nor do reporters question her photo ops and taking credit for federal projects that she voted against. Bachmann has been lying--yes lying--for years now without being challenged by the local MSM. Even when she is caught on tape lying, the local MSM ignores it. How do you think she got elected and re-elected?

Bachmann Puff Piece in the the St. Joseph Newsleader

Our new readers often ask how Michele Bachmann was able to fool enough voters to get elected. One of the reasons is local mainstream media often prefers to publish fawning, celebratory puff-pieces on Bachmann instead of investigative reporting about what the Congresswoman is doing, or not doing for her district and the nation. We linked to the online version of this St. Joseph Newsleader here and here, but our readers told us that the dead-tree version had four... count 'em FOUR color photos of Bachmann acting like the Queen or a visiting TV or Hollywood celebrity. There are scores of these pictures of Bachman and kids on her websites. The article begins with "She doesn't get back to her roots as often as she would like..." and goes downhill from there. Click on the photo below to make it larger: H/T to anonymous DB reader. If you see other articles like this, please take a phot of it and send it our way.

Michele Bachmann's Antics Finally Make It Into the Dead Tree Edition of the Strib

Jon Tevlin has done some excellent coverage in the past on Mac Hammond and Living Word Christian Center. Now he has an article in the dead tree edition that comments on her "Michael Steele - You be da man" remark. Anyone who grew up on Little Feat instead of Lil Wayne has probably done it. Maybe you were in a crowd of people a little younger, and in a vain attempt to appear relevant you made the mistake of turning to a vernacular with which you were not comfortable. Maybe you were even trying to be ironic, but still hip, when you blurted out, "What up, dawg?" So I have to empathize a little with Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who late last week both ventured into some mad hip-hop language and street slang, perhaps in an effort to lure the youth vote that helped win Barack Obama the presidency. Steele, during a radio interview, was coaxed into sending "slum love out to my buddy guv," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Our own Rep. Bachmann was not to be outdone. She introduced Steele to a crowd of natty Republicans by saying, "Michael Steele, you be da man. You be da man." Oh yes, she did. Look at my picture. It's probably pretty obvious that I don't speak hip-hop or even street slang. But my cringe reflex was so overworked by Steele and Bachmann that I had to find them some help. It's admirable that they want to encourage young people to get active in the political process, but they should do it right. So I turned to Alex Mingus, 28, whom I have mentored through Big Brothers Big Sisters for more than 17 years. He's grown up in several worlds, and is as comfortable at Escape Ultra Lounge as he would be on the floor of the U.S. Congress. Unlike our elected officials, however, he would probably know which language was suitable for which venue. I told him Bachmann was repreSENTIN' the East Side, by Stillwater. "We don't use represent much anymore," he said. I mentioned that, if we could help Bachmann, other politicians would soon be stealing her material. "They'll be bitin' her style," Alex said. Exactly. Go read the whole thing, and leave the Strib come comments letting them know you appreciate the article, and hope they do more to cover her antics.

Bachmann on the Colbert Report

27 seconds in... The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Michael Steele Gets Served Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy

Tim Pawlenty: Reagan Aint Da Man Anymore

Bloomberg: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has a message for his fellow Republicans: Get over Ronald Reagan. Like most Republicans, Pawlenty pays homage to the Reagan legacy. At the same time, he is urging his party to get beyond its Reaganite past. Pawlenty, 48, presented his vision of Reagan 2.0 at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington last weekend. Judging by his ninth-place finish in a straw poll, the party may not be ready to move on. The old Republican orthodoxy of limited government, lower taxes and conservative social policies needs an update if the party hopes to challenge Democrats on issues such as health care, energy and education, he said. “We need to develop new Ronald Reagans and new reference points,” Pawlenty said in an interview after addressing CPAC. “It would be as if Barack Obama was going around and constantly talking about Truman or LBJ. It’s just become a reference point that isn’t as relevant for young people.” Does Bachmann feel the same way? This video shows Bachmann getting all choked up about The Gipper in 2005:

St Cloud State Chronicle Has Scathing Editorial on Michele Bachmann

Read it here: Why Michele Bachmann, can't you just keep your mouth shut? Issue date: 2/23/09 Section: Opinions Why does it have to happen again and again? Believe it or not readers, we loathe writing about the woman in our editorials. But we consider it our job, nay, our unavoidable patriotic duty to provide commentary whenever our most remarkably daft representative lets her toxic speech contaminate the airwaves and bring utter humiliation upon the inhabitants of Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. On this occasion, Bachmann was on KTLK's morning radio program The Chris Baker Show when she made several unacceptable statements. Among the things she said: - $5 billion in the stimulus bill will be going to ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) who she said is "under federal indictment for voter fraud." - The stimulus bill contains provisions that say "your doctor will no longer be able to make your health care decisions with you." - Democrat districts will be getting most of the money from the Republican funded districts "the have-nots will be Republican districts that are left pouring money into Washington, D.C., to be redistributed out to the Democrat districts, which will suck up all of the money." All of these statements are completely false. Her most recent oral exhibition that became national news is nowhere near as offensive as previous statements, such as her McCarthyesque accusations about Barack Obama and other members of Congress being "un-American." To provide a list of all of her offenses would too lengthy to print, and pointless since her lunacy is well documented. Bachmann is now viewed by many across the nation and in the news media as a blathering clown, known for the same type comedic shtick that popularized Paris Hilton in "The Simple Life," whose remarkably ignorant statements once provided a temporary moment of bliss in our stressful lives. One wonders whether just as with Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson, Bachmann is in fact mentally ill or just in desperate need of attention. Of course, all of her slanderous prattle would be fine, indeed funny, if Bachmann were elected Supreme Jester of Minnesota's 6th District. However, Michele Bachmann is an elected representative in the United States Congress where her duties involve important matters of legislation that do not entail, contrary to her repeated actions, acting like a circus animal. Possibly the hardest thing to comprehend surrounding Bachmann is how she was still re-elected after her recurrent demonstrations of ineptitude that plagued both her first congressional term and her reelection campaign. What this says about voters in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District is hardly flattering.

Bachmann is Still Worried About Those Rich Folks

Bachmann's Congressional Website: Washington, D.C., Mar 2 - I've got a great article that I came across over the weekend. CNBC did a thorough analysis of where the wealthy folks live whom President Obama is targeting for tax hikes as prescribed by his budget for fiscal year 2010. The President's budget raises tax rates on those couples making over $250,000 a year and individuals making $200,000 a year. The article reports that it will impact about 3% of all U.S. Households. Among those states that will be most affected by the President's tax hikes is Minnesota: 15. Minnesota % of Households Earning $200K : 3.8% Total Households: 2,062,681 Households Earning $200K : 77,772 Median Income: $57,932 Election Results: Obama: 54% McCain: 44% New York Times: WASHINGTON — President Obama will propose further tax increases on the affluent to help pay for his promise to make health care more accessible and affordable...

Bachmann Says She's Worried About "Uncertainty"in the Mortgage Industry.

From the Financial Planning website: Rep. Michele Bachmann said getting rid of the deduction would introduce more uncertainty into mortgage markets. "That's very troubling," the Minnesota Republican said in an interview. "The housing industry — no shocking news — is in a very difficult position right now, and to phase that out at a time when on one hand" Mr. Obama "is trying to stimulate the market and on the other hand he's trying to send a poison dart into the market makes no sense. What we are lacking more than anything in financial markets is certainty." Bachman is likely regurgitating the talking points from an industry that gives her lots of $$$, but her concern for the "certainty" of the mortgage industry is hilarious when you consider that Bachmann wrote a letter to George Bush requesting a pardon for a man convicted of money laundering, drug and gun trafficking because Bachmann thought it was important that he gain greater access to the financial industry: “As a U.S. Representative, I am confident of Mr. Vennes’ successful rehabilitation and that a pardon will be good for the neediest of society,” Bachmann wrote. “Mr. Vennes is seeking a pardon so that he may be further used to help others. As I know from personal experience, Mr. Vennes has used his business position and success to fund hundreds of nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping the neediest in our society. The Fidelis Foundation, backed by Mr. Vennes, has directed over $10.7 million in total gifts in the last three years, and the Fidelis Foundation has ranked #6, #9 and #7 as the largest grant-making foundation in Minnesota over the past three years.” The Fidelis Foundation is a Plymouth, MN-based nonprofit organization “organized to assist Christians in discerning, clarifying and implementing God’s call and direction in their life,” according to the group’s tax filings. Its chairman is G. Craig Howse, Vennes’ lawyer, and the organization leases office space from Howse for $1,300 a month. Howse has donated $5,000 to Bachmann’s campaign committee since 2007. Bachmann notes in her letter that Vennes needs a pardon “so he can help more people than he does. Despite his success, Mr. Vennes still encounters the barriers of his past and especially in the area of finance loan documents. This hinders his ability to expand his business which places limits on the support to the neediest in society … a pardon would release the weights of the past that serve no purpose, as Mr. Vennes has stated his desire to help so many more.” It's a good thing for the financial industry that Vennes didn't get the pardon Bachmann requested. But, my question is given that appalling lack of judgement Bachmann showed in requesting the pardon for Frank Vennes, why would anyone think of her as a go-to gal for an opinion on the financial crisis? It's not like nobody knew that there were wolves trying to get into the mortgage hen house. William K. Black, Associate Professor at the University of Missourt wrote an interesting article at HufPo about the current financial crisis. Black menitons that the FBI had warned as far back as 2004 that there was an "epidemic" of fraud in the mortgage industry. The FBI correctly identified the epidemic of mortgage control fraud at such an early point that the financial crisis could have been averted had the Bush administration acted with even minimal competence. To understand the crisis we have to focus on how the mortgage fraud epidemic produced widespread accounting fraud. Did Michele Bachmann bother to ask the FBI whether it was a good idea to "release the weights of the past " and allow Vennes to access the "area of finance loan documents" without his clients being able to know that he had been convicted of a serious financial crime? I very much doubt the FBI would have approved of this pardon since Vennes insists the FBI framed him. Every time Bachmann pretends she is an expert on the financial crisis, reporters should ask her why she (and Norm Coleman) wrote that pardon letter for Frank Vennes Jr.

Minnesota's Mainstream Media Go Easy on Bachmann

Cable news shows, liberal blogs and talk radio shows have been having a lot of fun with Bachmann's attempt to pass her self off as a jive-talking hipster at CPAC, but what have we heard from Minnesota's legacy media? Crickets. What's worse is when they swallow and regurgitate Bachmann's BS as when the Strib allowed Bachmann to say she supported Northstar even as she planned to vote against funding it. Bachmann has also been pretending to be "green". Eva posted yesterday about an article about Bachmann exploiting another public school for some much-needed good publicity. This time, Bachmann used as a backdrop the Kennedy Elementary School in Sartell, a school built to conserve energy: The school design includes energy and resource-efficient specifications to make it a model for green building in the community. Besides the fact that Bachmann has accepted over $50,000 in campaign contributions from a group called ASSS that wants to abolish public education, the article fails to mention that Bachmann has campaigned against saving energy conservation (remember "Drill here, drill now? and her anti- florescent light bulb campaign?). What kind of light fixtures do they use at Kennedy Elementary? Occupancy sensors in all of these spaces will control dimmable fluorescent fixtures and reduce electrical lighting consumption. Speaking of Bachmann's horrible environmental record... Joel Tracey, a junior at the College of St. Scholastica posted this in his Duluth News Tribune blog: Afterwards, everyone in the conference participating in Lobby Day met in a room with others from his or her home state to strategize for the real day of lobbying yet to unfold today. I was excited to get together with about 250 fellow Minnesotans and to flesh-out our game plan for today. Our first meeting of today with Senator Amy Klobuchar looks to be a full house. Also, individual meetings with representatives from five of the eight Minnesota Congressional districts will take place throughout the day. Rep. Tim Walz of District 1, Rep. Keith Ellison of District 5 and Rep. Michele Bachmann of District 6 were either unable or unwilling to arrange a meeting with their constituents between themselves or their aides. Although Ellison and Walz are both projected to vote in favor of bold climate and energy legislation, the lack of even a meeting with a staffer from Bachmann’s office, a representative projected not to vote in favor of climate and energy legislation, is a sorry indication of the ability for all constituents within Mrs. Bachmann’s district to have their voices heard. UPDATE: From the comments: The new Kennedy Elementary is a mile down the road from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph (the old one is across the street). I wonder why Rep. Bachmann didn't stop by at CSB. Many of the students are concerned about the economic crisis and worried not only about their ability to remain in school, but about job prospects upon graduation. This is the first I've heard about the visit. Why wasn't it publicized? Aubrey Immelman | Homepage | 03.02.09 - 1:54 am | # Aubrey- Print edition is better, she made page 4. 4 color photos included. Make sure you pick one up. Any publicity regarding a planned visit is probably handled as "top secret". There would be no benefit to her to have anyone over the age of 12 asking any questions.

Michele Bachmann Back to Exploiting the Public Schools for Her Campaigning

This is another story that makes me reach for the Michele Bachmann barf bag. Rep. Michele Bachmann tours the area by Dave DeMars Thursday, February 26, 2009 12:31 PM EST She doesn't get a chance to get back to her roots as often as she would like, so when she does get back to Minnesota, she like to meet as many of the folks as she can - and that includes the young folks. So on Feb 19, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann put in a full day of touring and shaking hands with her constitutents. First stop on the tour was Kennedy School in St. Joseph. Kennedy is a state -of-the-art “green” school and that is one reason she wanted to see it first-hand. With the emphasis on going “green” and using the latest technologies to make the school as energy efficient as possible, it was a first-hand learning experience for the congresswoman. While on tour of the school, she took time to sit down and read a story to the students of Valerie Zahara's fourth-grade class. The story was an allegorical explanation of how a bill gets passed in Congress, and Bachmann presented an autographed copy of the book to Zahara's class. Did she talk about the $50,000 worth of support she got from ASSS when she visited this school? Go read about this here. People who live in the St Joseph area might want to contact the school to ask what the school policy is about politicians using schools for press events for their campaigns.

Michele Bachmann: You Be Da Man Mixers and Raps

CNN Situation Room: "You Be da Man"

Ron Christie- GOP Strategist: "I think it's kind of stupid"

Hardball on Bachmann; "You Be Da Man"

Mike Malloy on Bachmann - "You Be Da Man"

H/T Rochester Populist.