Michele Bachmann Again Has Dubious Honor of Highest Number of Missed Votes in Minnesota Congressional Delegation

The Washington Post has the numbers here. At 11 % missed votes, Bachmann leads the way in missed votes. Keith Ellison comes in second, missing 8.7% of the votes. This isn't the first time, Michele Bachmann has gotten this dubious honor.

Keeping Tabs on Michele Bachmann's Voting Record

Commenter Anna points out: This is a good site (Washington Post) to use to look up Bachmann's voting record. She has missed 114 votes during the current Congressional session, for example. Her biographical information lists her as a lawyer in private practice, and former attorney for the US Treasury Department.

El Tinklenberg Supports Tarryl Clark's Campaign to Defeat Michele Bachmann

El Tinklenberg sent out this notice to his supporters: Friends of Elwyn Tinklenberg Dear , Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has long been known for spouting her extreme right-wing views – and now, it's making her a celebrity in conservative circles. At every opportunity, Bachmann puts personal agenda and her pursuit of the national spotlight ahead of her constituents here in Minnesota. And this weekend is no exception. Bachmann will be in Missouri, speaking alongside Glenn Beck and Phyllis Schlafly. It’s just one more stop on Bachmann’s conservative parade around the country. In fact, she skipped the House Republican meeting last week with President Obama to travel to California, rallying TEA Party activists and hobnobbing with the Orange County conservative elite instead of doing her job. Divisive rhetoric and extreme right-wing views have become Michele Bachmann’s calling card -- and it’s paid off for her. The far-right is rallying around it’s darling, Michele Bachmann, filling her campaign coffers – in fact, Bachmann just announced that her campaign raised more than $1 million last year. Now is the time for us to rally around the candidate who will beat her, Tarryl Clark. Join me by making a contribution now. You’ve done it before. When Michele Bachmann spewed her divisive rhetoric: “I'm very concerned that he [Barack Obama] may have anti-American views. That's what the American people are concerned about.” You responded, flooding my website and my mailbox with almost a million in donations. I remain grateful. You’ve shown you can match the Bachmann machine. And now, I need you to do it again. Michele Bachmann’s rhetoric has not only continued, but she’s been emboldened by the media attention she continues to receive for her divisive and often embarrassing rhetoric. The more controversy she creates, the more the far-right adores her. In fact, Bachmann’s good friend Sarah Palin has announced that she will come to Minnesota to campaign for Bachmann in just a few weeks. It’s time we take Congresswoman Bachmann out of that national spotlight and bring and end to her do-nothing career in Congress. I hope you will support Tarryl’s campaign to defeat Michele Bachmann with a donation of $25, $50, or $100 today. Tarryl Clark knows how to win in districts that have been tough for Democrats – she’s already done it. She was elected to the State Senate in a special election to fill a previously Republican seat. Just a year later, she was re-elected with the highest vote totals in her district, and selected by her colleagues to serve as the Senate’s Assistant Majority Leader – the number two position in the Senate. As a Senator and a leader, Tarryl has been a champion for the issues that matter to us – from creating jobs to expanding educational opportunities, from protecting consumers to standing up to insurance companies. Tarryl will go to Congress and be the steadfast advocate for people that Minnesota’s 6th District deserves – and currently lack in Michele Bachmann. Most importantly, Tarryl is already putting together a tremendous campaign. She’s lined up thousands of supporters, countless endorsements, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. She’s building the kind of grassroots campaign it will take to win – with an army of volunteers on the ground and the resources to take Michele Bachmann head-on over the airwaves. The only thing she still needs is you. Will you help us defeat Michele Bachmann by making a donation of $25, $50, or $100 or more to Tarryl Clark’s campaign for Congress today? Sincerely, El El Tinklenberg P.S.: Make no mistake, Michele Bachmann is reaping the benefits of her time in the spotlight - she’s using her endless appearances on FOX News to rally the TEA Party crowd around her. We’re counting on you to help Tarryl match the resources that Bachmann is generating from her conservative cronies. Will you help us match Michele Bachmann’s Tea Party fundraising with a donation today?

Welcome to Dump Bachmann Firedog Lake Readers

Firedog Lake has a good Michele Bachmann week in review post.

Michele Bachmann's Hypocrisy with ACU Fundraising

Commenter Anna notes: You know, the great thing about giving money to the ACU Strikeforce is that your personal information will be sold to many other groups, so you can be called and hounded for even more money. You can see which other groups will call here. You know, for somebody who tells us not to respond to the census (because who knows who they share that data with), you'd think that CU's data privacy policy would be an issue . . . . I guess not.

Reeds Campaign Uses Michele Bachmann's ACU Fundraising Letter Against Bachmann

From the Reed campaign: Bachmann courting conservatives, ignoring her constituents Dear , Recently, a shocking fundraising letter came to light that goes to the heart of Michele Bachmann’s priorities. Writing to raise funds for the American Conservative Union Strikeforce, Bachmann used blatantly false and heated language to instill fear and anger among conservatives to raise a few bucks. Bachmann wrote, “Will you let Barack Obama KILL conservatism?” and claimed that Obama wants to “annihilate” conservatives. Even if you disagree with Obama’s policies, you know that her accusations are blatantly false. Everyone knows that the President has offered to work with both sides of the political aisles and even traveled to Baltimore to meet with GOP members of Congress to let them know he will work with them. Bachmann skipped the opportunity to meet with the President – instead she chose to raise money in California. Even a member of the Republican leadership, Mike Pence, said that he welcomed the dialogue with the President; but Bachmann was too busy with politics to attend the historic event. It’s clear that Bachmann is not interested in working together to get things done. Aren’t you tired of Bachmann’s empty threats and inability to get things done? Please contribute today to help us bring sensible leadership to Congress. Bachmann’s rhetoric tends to get her on Fox news, but it hasn’t done much to create jobs, stop home foreclosures or get affordable health care for her constituents. We need leaders in Congress who will solve problems for their constituents, rather than courting the national spotlight. With Maureen Reed, we will have someone with a lifetime of bringing people together to solve problems. In these hard economic times, Bachmann will continue to deny, delay, and obstruct any Democratic idea not on merits, but simply because the idea came from a Democrat. When elected, Maureen Reed’s only priority will be representing the people of the 6th district. We cannot afford to have a Congresswoman who places raising her national profile before the needs of the district. Whether you can give $100, $50, or $25, please consider a contribution to our campaign today. Sincerely, Jason Isaacson Campaign Manager

Character by Character Transcription of Michele Bachmann's ACU Strikeforce Letter

You can view this here (some formating lost in HTML conversion) or in Word format here. The letter was received in Lakeville, MN on December 22, 2009. Scans of the original mailing are available here. This came from a tip from a Dump Bachmann reader who had gotten this as a stocking stuffer at Christmas. If you get fundraising letters or other mailings from Michele Bachmann, please do send scans to Dumpbachmann@gmail.com, so we can post them here.

Michele Bachmann Turnover in Overdrive

Michele Bachmann has lost another Press Secretary. * Bachmann turnover overdrive Sorry for the headline, but, hey, the turnover parade continues for Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who is burning through staff at a brisk rate. The latest: Debbee Keller, Bachmann's press secretary, who had been on the job for less than a year. Her e-mail: Friends and colleagues, I am excited to announce that starting today I will be serving in a new role as Communications Director for Rep. Paul Broun. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities I had working as Rep. Bachmann’s Press Secretary, and I am excited to use those experiences to take on this new opportunity and responsibility. Bachmann, who was elected in 2006, has had turnover at every major spot in her office, according to news accounts. She has gone through at least three chiefs of staff, with Michelle Marston decamping late last year without providing an explanation.

Michele Bachmann's Bizarre Health Care Claims

Minnesota Independent has the story. From the City Pages transcript of her comments: He said that in Japan, to wait and get health care is almost impossible. You get on a list and you wait and you wait and you wait. But he said this is something people don’t know: in Japan, people have stopped voicing their opinion on health care. There are things that are wrong with Japanese health care, but people are afraid of voicing. ‘Well why is that,’ I asked. [He said], ‘Because they know that would get on a list and they wouldn’t get health care. They wouldn’t get in. They wouldn’t get seen. And so people are afraid. They’re afraid to speak back to government. They’re afraid to say anything.’ Is that what we want for our future? That takes us to gangster government at that point! Strib and Rochester Post-Bulletin have more. This made Hardball. Watch here.

Marcus Bachmann on KKMS Talks About Michele Bachmann - Arlen Specter Argument

Welcome to Dump Bachmann City Pages and Minnesota Independent Readers

Both City Pages and Minnesota Independent picked up on the Dump Bachmann Toilet Paper story.