As the 2012 Presidential campaign season begins to heat up, there has been much talk about Michele Bachmann (R – MN) and her potential entry into the fray. The problem it seems is Bachmann comes with a lot of baggage, maybe too much.
A recent article in the Daily Caller points out these potential traps. Most of them appear to go against her "Tea Party" philosophy of fiscal responsibility. In both her state legislative career and her time in the US Congress, she has supported earmarks, over $3.7 million dollars in the US Congress alone. For someone who claims to be the "Tea Party" candidate, this type of spending is unacceptable to true believers of the tea party movement.
While Michele Bachmann can surely justify her earmarks, as all politicians can, this only shows she is becoming like many others, who preach one thing but don't follow their own rules. We already hear so much criticism of the tea party movement from its opponents, someone who represents herself as being a leader in the movement should not do this, it only brings more ammunition to tea party opponents.
There are enough hypocrites already in the race or almost in the race, we don't need another. People like Mitt Romney who changes positions on issues like some change socks, will have to explain such things as his stand on abortion which has changed and his stand of healthcare. Newt Gingrich who recently announced his candidacy will have to explain his recent remarks about agreeing with the individual healthcare mandate section of Obamacare. And if Donald Trump actually runs, who knows where to start?
Ron Paul is another candidate who has claimed he is the father of the tea party movement, but he also has some controversial issues, such as when he recently stated he would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act, which he will need to explain.
If Michele Bachman runs, the primary season will certainly be one where there will be plenty to talk about. It may come down to which candidate has the least baggage, and then would there still be enough left to ensure Barack Obama a win?
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Comments: 13
1) She continuosly misquotes articles and/or the meaning of the U.S. Constitution,
2) She has on several occasions referred to passages from the Bill of Rights which do not even exist.
3) She openly accused, but failed to name, fellow congressman of being un-American and called for an independent federal investigation to "Out" the guilty persons
4) She has called for the repeal of the Obama Healthcare Bill, while steadfastly refusing to call for the repeal of the same health care plan which is paid for by the U.S. taxpayers and covers both her and her family
5) She often states that she is the founder of the Tea Party movement within halls of Congress, which is a real surprise since once in her early political career, she not only supported Jimmy Carter's bid for the presidency, she actually worked on/for his Presidential Campaign.
6) She also spent personal time working in a Kibbuz in Israel, which is even farther left in political ideology than working for Jimmy Carter
7) She has been accepting federal farm subsidies amounting to more than a quarter of a million dollars per year, for a non working farm which she inherited, even though she claims to be against all federal handouts.
8 She also has voted for millions of taxpayer dollars in earmarks attached to various house bills for those pet "Bridge to Nowhere" projects as requested by fellow politicians for their congressional home districts (as also reported above by the author of this article)
Now, I know that people from time to time, change their position on one issue or another, but, please, this is not simply Congresswoman Bachmann changing her stance,views and/or ideology on a particular issue, these are 360 degree turn arounds which brings into question her true honesty as a politician as well as her real political ideology.
Michelle Bachmann is the classic "old battleaxe".
There's a lot of them in the population, Scott. 'Strong women', derisively ... they get no respect - from any quarter. I think there is a large, and largely under-recognized subpopulation of such females.
Therefore, Michele will have an unusual core constituency. It could give her compaign-prospects more legs than her baggage & liabilities - by themselves - might otherwise suggest.
Not saying that all the other GOP are quaking in their boots ... but if her downsides really were determinitive, she wouldn't have made it this far.
1. She's not afraid of the mainstream media.
2. She's not afraid to speak her mind.
3. The rabid left needs an Emanuel Goldstein character to vent their bad bile and hatred.
You will really see the Saul Alinksy character assassination in full force.
OR, Not aftraid to speak her miniscule mind?
Either way, saying that there is NO reason to laugh at her stupidity is laughable.
Look at our current President.
The BS he won on, makes Backmann sound like Jefferson.
Obama proved; it's not what you say - it's how you say it.
Backmann should certainly soak up plenty of that limelight wattage.
Gawd!!! As much as I like Bill Clinton, I will never call him monogamous. Yet the Bachman apologist distort their idiot to the point that we question their own mental faculties.
A Humphrey Institute/MPR poll out this morning finds that President Barack Obama could struggle in Minnesota on Election Day 2012.
Maybe. But Minnesotans sound pretty sure that he's a much better bet in the White House than, say, congresswoman Michele Bachmann or Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
If Obama were to face either of them in a presidential race today, the poll finds he'd crush them by 20 percentage points and 9 percentage points respectively. He'd also beat Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney.
Intersting reading
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/09/barack_obama_cr.php
I expect that is a theme we will see repeated often over the next year and a half.
Many of us who would prefer a more-conservative candidate, would also like to see someone who is not-too-onerous to those who would prefer someone more-liberal.
However, there was very little room for that kind of sentiment last time, and when the more-liberal choice won, there was little quarter given.
I guess we should make our peace with the 50% + 1 approach, and not be distracted with gestures.
Obviously, several conservatives seem a better bet to win, than Bachmann ... but that doesn't mean she can't & won't play a meaningful role in the campaign.
Indeed, I'll be surprised if she doesn't.
Folks overall are 'good' with that ... and it has become an especially marked partisan atmosphere.
Unseemly, yes - but that's Democracy. ;)
It would appear to me that she started her yet undeclared campaign by courting the rather extremist segment of the GOP. This in it's self is something that all GOP candidates will need to do if any are to win the majority of the vote for the nomination. However, I believe that Mrs. Bachmann overplayed her hand by leaning to far right, to many times and to loudly. In doing so, she may well have alienated the average GOP voter. Voters which are cautiously afraid that the far right (Tea Party Movement) is attempting to take over the leadership of the party with the agenda to change it's present center to center right ideology.
If my assumption is correct, it will be the loss of a viable candidate for the GOP. Inasmuch as Mrs. Bachmann is a well educated, experienced politician with the fortitude to weather the challenges of what may well turn out to be a hard fought, extended campaign.
On the other hand, it is possible that Mrs. Bachmann may actually be positioning herself to be chosen as a vice presidential running mate. A candidate who will be able to energize and bring the far right of the Republican Party to the polls. Thereby, assuring that the GOP would have both side of the party working in a cohesive effort to win the 2012 presidential election.
Only one man's thoughts.