Michelle Bachmann's biggest weakness is not her craziness.

Amen. (0.00 / 0)

I have to wonder, is that what the people of CD 6 really want when they vote for Bachmann: somebody who does nothing but obstruct progress?

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by: Mr Math @ Sat Feb 06, 2010 at 23:28:18 PM CST

I don't know that experience shows that that's (4.00 / 1)

a better line of attack than "the nut, liar, and bigot" stuff.

The fact that she's a do-nothing legislator was the line of attack in Elwyn Tinklenberg's unsuccessful campaign against her. It remained the primary line of attack against her until her "anti-Americans serving in Congress" interview on Hardball.

In my opinion, it was the nut, liar, bigot angle (embodied in the "anti-Americans in Congress" remark) that sent the money flying in at the last minute and made a race that favored Bachmann into a real race.

Everything that Alec writes is true, it's an accurate appraisal of her record to point out that she's a do-nothing for the district legislator. I point that out regularly here and on the Kos.

Unfortunately, her base is composed of people with a political philosophy that says the federal government should not redistribute tax dollars. That same base does not require that their candidates actually deliver on their conservative rhetoric in the form of legislation. Talk, coupled with "no" votes on liberal policies, is enough to satisfy the base.

It might be possible that the "do nothing" line of attack would spur the uncommitted voters outside Bachmann's base--but that wasn't the case last time around, and the last poll numbers I saw do not show Bachmann getting weaker as a result of her non-performance in the district.

I was pushing the home foreclosures issue here, on the Kos and in the City Pages, but unfortunately no one ever picked it up and ran with (except Keith Ellison.)

So even though I write about the "do nothing" aspect of her career (it's covered in my comic book bio of Bachmann)--I think that should be "a" message of a Bachmann challenger, and that the "nut liar bigot" message should be the primary message.

The reason I think that is that I think Bachmann is likely to win again in the next election. The battle now--in my opinion--is to use a challenger's campaign for office to get Michele Bachmann's career-long history of hate and extremism into the media record.

The charges made by a political campaign can't be scrubbed out of news reporting in Minnesota or elsewhere. They would have to be reprinted in the news reporting, and they would have to be fact-checked by the press. Fact-checking would reveal that the charge that Bachmann is an extremist is true, and it would become a matter of public record that Bachmann's an extremist--as opposed to being a charge leveled by her political opponents.

That development--a public acknowledgment of her career-long history of extremist beliefs and political associations--would make it harder for her to become senator or governor or part of a White House ticket in the future. Stopping that, would be a worthy objective for any politician of conscience--and that politician would find gobs of money if they were courageous and self-sacrificing enough to tell that truth, often.  

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by: Bill Prendergast @ Sun Feb 07, 2010 at 15:31:53 PM CST

Yeah, I hope Tarryl goes after both (4.00 / 1)

I hope she exploits the nut,bigot,liar stuff as well as the ineffectiveness part. I knew she was a do nothing, but what boggled my mind was that she didn't even vote on the few successful things she co-sponsored. It's like she is not even there to govern. She uses her seat strictly as a bully pulpit.

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by: Alec @ Sun Feb 07, 2010 at 17:08:31 PM CST

That's it exactly. If a liberal fails to deliver (4.00 / 1)

...he will find that some liberals and progressives walk out on him. Not so the thirty per cent or so of national conservatives that continued to back Bush, failure after failure, hypocrisy after hypocrisy.

The conservative movement is about loyalty to the leader and to the movement--there is no requirement that the leaders of the conservatives have to deliver on their conservative rhetoric, or deliver on their promises of economic prosperity, or deliver on their promises of reform.

That is why people like me describe modern American conservatism as "proto-fascism." A very large number of people will back Bachmann whatever her performance--so long as she continues to smear liberals.

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by: Bill Prendergast @ Sun Feb 07, 2010 at 22:14:44 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Bachmann's love of social programs (0.00 / 0)

I was pleased to learn about Bachmann's huge support of, and participation in government social programs.  Whether it's government paid, Single Payer, healthcare for Congress and federal employees, or foster care payments, Bachmann's love of social programs by our government is to be applauded.  I wonder if there are other social programs she loves?

If I were a candidate running against her, I would emphasize her love of social programs.  With 23 foster kids, I'll bet there are other programs she loves and participates in.  Worth a closer look, I think.

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by: tompoe @ Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 09:43:49 AM CST