It turns out the gender card isn't just for liberal feminists -- Republicans can play it, too.
McCain surrogates and other prominent Republican commentators are now expressly selling Palin's candidacy on the basis of her gender, and going so far as to rebut critics by accusing them of sexism.
Some of these are fairly mundane, like Laura Bush saying she's always wanted to vote for a Republican woman. And some of them are just bizarre, like Congresswoman Michele Bachmann accusing James Carville -- a prominent former Hillary Clinton supporter -- of insulting women when he says that Palin isn't qualified.
We like to keep track of the, er, intriguing sayings of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, the Christian Right champion from Minnesota. But this latest is really out there -- Bachmann says we don't need pesky environmentalists like Nancy Pelosi around, because Jesus already saved the planet!
"[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she's just trying to save the planet," Bachmann told the right-wing news site OneNewsNow. "We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet -- we didn't need Nancy Pelosi to do that."
Wow.
Other recent Bachmannisms include the claim that there isn't actually any wildlife in the areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where she wants more drilling, and the allegation that Democrats want high gas prices so as to force people to move into "inner cities" and "the urban core."
You already know about the China-Cuba nonsense. And a couple days ago we brought you Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) amazing claim that increased drilling would lower gas prices all the way down to two bucks a gallon. Now Bachmann has also come up with a great new tall tale:
Visiting ANWR also revealed that almost no wildlife exists in the 2,000-acre area. It was flat arctic tundra with absolutely no trees in view. And, caribou and wildlife were nowhere near the possible drilling sites.
That's right: Bachmann would have us believe there are large expanses of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that don't actually have wildlife.
Even John Boehner, who led the Republican delegation's trip to ANWR, argued just the opposite in his own National Review essay, saying that drilling and wildlife can peacefully co-exist, "including in the 10-02 Area."
Late Update: It seems Boehner used to argue that there was no wildlife there, too, but has evolved in his arguments over the last week or so. Apparently Bachmann didn't get the most recent memos.
As you know, we've been posting here regularly about the GOP's frequent pushing of the myth that China is drilling for oil off American shores.
Well here's another outlandish oil-drilling line: If not for the Dems in Congress, gas would cost two bucks a gallon!
Here's what Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota had to say in an op-ed for National Review, promoting drilling in ANWR:
The fact of the matter is that Congress is standing in the way of $2-a-gallon gas. It is Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats who are refusing to let commonsense energy legislation come to the floor.
That's right: Bachmann says that we can cut the price of gas from over four dollars down to two, a change of more than 50%, by just opening up some new drilling. What wonderful news!
The problem, however, is that this just isn't true when you're working on the scale of a vast global marketplace.
House Republicans may end up having to play even more defense in 2008, as freshmen GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann won't escape without a serious challenge: Former Minnesota Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg (D) announced today that he will run against the incumbent.
Tinklenberg began a campaign for the open seat in the last electoral cycle, and was considered a credible candidate, but aborted his bid when activist Patty Wetterling challenged him for the nomination shortly after giving up her Senate campaign. Tinklenberg has a somewhat more socially conservative profile than Wetterling, which locals believe might help the candidate gain traction in the Republican-leaning district.
The low comedy just never stops with Michele Bachman: It's now emerged that the Congresswoman's press secretary is allegedly encouraging constituents to send letters to local newspapers in support of the Congresswoman.
As you may have seen, Michele has been the focus of lots of media lately and most of it not friendly. We want to make sure that the media and others reading the paper get a balanced view of Michele Bachmann. Therefore, if you could take just a moment of your time to write 50-100 words about why your support Michele that would be fantastic and I know how much she would appreciate seeing that in the paper. Below are a couple of suggestions and links to different editors. If you have any questions for me, either on information or looking for a paper's contact info please let me know.
Suggestions:
1) Talk about Michele as a mother (5 biological, 23 foster kids) and wife. Her devotion to her family and making Minnesota a better place.
2) Her strong fiscal conservative roots. She is a sponsor of the Line-item veto and the balanced budget amendment.
3) Her first piece of legislation is the Health Care Freedom of Choice Bill that would make all medical expenses and insurance premiums tax deductible for individuals - why haven't the press reported on that.
4) Her continued commitment to the men and women of our military and not playing politics with the war on terrorism.
5) Any other topic that will share the real Michele Bachmann with other Minnesotans who don't know her personally.
The letter then ends with Fredrickson encouraging the reader to call if they need any other help.
Repeated calls to reach Fredrickson and confirm whether or not she wrote the letter have not been returned.
As you may know, the press and the bloggers are all abuzz today about Rep. Michele Bachmann's schoolgirl-crush moment with President Bush at the State of the Union address. In an encounter with Bush at the address, Bachmann leaned in for her ceremonial kiss on the cheek — and then proceeded to passionately kiss his cheek and then kept holding on to his shoulder, with all the glee of a teenybopper! (See video below.)
But guess what: We're here to report that this is most certainly not an isolated incident, and it seems likely that Bachmann's, um, feelings have been around for quite some time. Back in August, then-Congressional candidate Bachmann posted a blog entry about a campaign event with Bush, and she seemed every bit as smitten with him then. Bachmann wrote (emphasis ours):
President Bush and I did share our custards with Governor Pawlenty, Senator Coleman and Karl Rove. Every bit of custard was gone well before we arrived at the Jundt home!
As we were driving, President Bush was constantly waving to people along the streets. I was struck by the humility he has towards his role as President of the United States. He enjoys connecting with people, even ever so briefly, and having them feel they have made contact with the President of the United States. I turned around and looked out the back window. The expressions on people's faces were priceless. They were just ecstatic when they realized The President had just waved at them.
If they were ecstatic, I can not even put into words the honor and joy I felt from having the support of The President.
The rapture!
Incidentally, Bachmann today referenced a third, shall we say, charged encounter with the President. Commenting on yesterday's embrace, Bachmann told the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "He kissed me in Minnesota, too."
The St. Paul Pioneer Press endorses Dem Patty Wetterling today with some harsh words for GOPer Michelle Bachmann. Here's the key point:
But Bachmann pushes her faith-based politics well past that. In testimony to a Brooklyn Park church congregation this month — also available on YouTube — she spoke of how the Almighty called her to run for the state Senate and the U.S. Congress, and how she followed her husband's career advice because "the Lord says, 'Be submissive, wives — you are to be submissive to your husbands.' "
And, finally, how God has "focused like a laser beam in his reasoning on this race.''
We used to call that the sin of pride.
It pains us, in the middle of a campaign, to have to pry into these private, spiritual moments. The issue is not that she believes. It is that she builds political support by claiming to know which side God is on. We say that's unknowable.
Wetterling, on the other hand, comes by her moral standing the hard way.
Check out the video of Bachmann at the mega-church here.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press endorses Dem Patty Wetterling today with some harsh words for GOPer Michelle Bachmann. Here's the key point:
But Bachmann pushes her faith-based politics well past that. In testimony to a Brooklyn Park church congregation this month — also available on YouTube — she spoke of how the Almighty called her to run for the state Senate and the U.S. Congress, and how she followed her husband's career advice because "the Lord says, 'Be submissive, wives — you are to be submissive to your husbands.' "
And, finally, how God has "focused like a laser beam in his reasoning on this race.''
We used to call that the sin of pride.
It pains us, in the middle of a campaign, to have to pry into these private, spiritual moments. The issue is not that she believes. It is that she builds political support by claiming to know which side God is on. We say that's unknowable.
Wetterling, on the other hand, comes by her moral standing the hard way.
GOP candidate Michele Bachmann, in an effort to cast continued GOP control as critical in today's dangerous world, recently cited reports of a specific terror plot — even though the plot had already been unmasked as a hoax. Bachmann — who once proclaimed that her candidacy was personally suggested to her by the Almighty — was interviewed on Saturday by David Wheaton, the host of The Christian Worldview radio show. Bachmann pointed to reports of dirty-bomb threats allegedly made against NFL stadiums last week. As it happens, however, the FBI had already declared the threat a hoax two days earlier. Bachmann even said that "these people are serious" when discussing the phony threat, even though they were, well, joking. Listen to Bachmann here.
As Election Central reported the other day, the pastor at the Twin Cities-area mega-church Living Word Christian Center, Mac Hammond, may have violated IRS regulations when he endorsed GOP House candidate Michele Bachman during an event at his church. The church has since claimed that the institution didn't understand IRS regs dictating a separation between church and politics. But we looked at the video of the event again — and it seems clear that not only did the pastor know exactly what he was doing, he explicitly told anybody who might support such separation, "you need to get saved." More after the jump.
Much of the coverage of GOP candidate Michele Bachmann's now-notorious event at a megachurch has focused on the potentially-illegal endorsement she received from a pastor. But there's another element of her appearance that has passed unnoticed: She expounded on the extent to which she communicates directly with God about her campaign. Bachmann revealed that she decided to run for Congress after she and her husband got the go-ahead directly from God: "And we said 'Lord, is this what you want? Is this Your will?'" God's answer: Yes. More after the jump.
Did a Michelle Bachmann event at a church violate IRS regs? Several days ago, state Sen. Bachmann, who's battling Dem challenger Patty Wetterling for the open seat, spoke at local megachurch Living Word Christian Center. At the event, Bachmann received the public endorsement of their pastor — in possible violation of IRS regulations. Click here for video of the endorsement. More on the possible violation after the jump.
Did a speech by GOP candidate Michelle Bachmann, a former tax lawyer, endanger the tax status of the church in which she spoke? That's what Keith Olbermann said last night when he named Bachmann the "Worse Person In The World"on Countdown for the speech, in which Bachmann declared "God then called me to run for the United States Congress." Olbermann claims the speech, combined with the pastor's endorsement of Bachmann, may have cost the church it's non-profit tax breaks. Election Central placed a call to the Minnesota Secretary of State's election office earlier today about whether the church's status is in peril, but have yet to hear back. We'll let you know when we do. Here's the Countdown clip. Video of Bachmann in all her unvarnished glory after the jump.
Dem House candidate Patty Wetterling -- the children's advocate whose profile was boosted immeasurably by Foleygate -- has expanded her lead over GOP Rep. Michelle Bachmann to eight points. A new Star Tribune poll finds that Wetterling is leading Bachmann 48%-40%. Previous polls have shown various results, usually finding either a dead heat or small leads for one or the other candidate. Says the Trib: "Those who said they know a lot about the Foley story, and those who said that it was affecting their vote favored Wetterling by a significant margin."
Does GOP House candidate Michelle Bachman's husband "ungay" homosexuals as part of his therapy practice? That's the charge made in a new profile of Bachmann published Wednesday in the Minneapolis City Pages. "Some observers claim that the mission of the practice includes counseling homosexuals in an effort to "ungay" them," the paper says. Marcus Bachmann denies it. But the paper also describes a conference where Marcus Bachmann gave a presentation called "The Truth About the Homosexual Agenda," in which he presented three "ungayed" individuals whom he held up as proof that homosexuality can be "cured." More after the jump.
Dems are clearly determined to keep Foleygate on full boil as long as possible: The national party has just sent out a release announcing that the Dem who'll give the response to the Presidential radio address on Saturday is House candidate Patty Wetterling, who's been a children's advocate ever since her 11-year-old son disappeared 17 years ago. As we reported yesterday, Wettering also has a scorching new ad up about about the Foley scandal.
First ad on Foleygate? Dem House candidate Patty Wetterling -- who's been a children's advocate since her 11-year-old son disappeared 17 years ago -- has just released a tough new ad which says she's "demanding a criminal investigation and the immediate expulsion of any Congressman involved in this crime and cover up." View the ad here. Via Atrios.
Dem House candidate Patty Wetterling is telling the Associated Press that any members of Congress who knew about any inappropriate conduct between GOP Rep Mark Foley and teenage pages and did nothing should step down. Wettering has special credibility on the issue -- she's been a children's advocate ever since her 11-year-old son disappeared 17 years ago. In a slightly morbid twist, Wetterling also told the AP that she'd run into Foley many times at events for missing and exploited children.
Watch out Minnesota, you’ve got a blog-troversy! GOP activist Michael Brodkorb, who blogs at Minnesota Democrats Exposed, has been forthcoming about his paid consultant role for Rep. Mark Kennedy’s Senate campaign, even including a disclaimer with posts relating to the race. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about his relationship with the campaign of another GOP candidate, Michele Bachmann, who is vying with Dem Patty Wetterling to fill Kennedy’s vacated House seat. The liberal blog MN Publius recently uncovered an FEC statement filed by the Bachmann campaign that includes a $5,500 payment to Brodkorb on Aug. 3, 2006. Brodkorb never previously disclosed his financial relationahsip with the Bachmann campaign on his blog, eventhough he has written about the race on multiple occasions. More after the jump.
A new flyer sent out by national Republicans contains demonstrable falsehoods about Patty Wetterling, the Dem House candidate who's trailing GOP opponent Michelle Bachmann in polls. What impresses us about this flyer is how audacious it is -- the claims in it can be exposed as lies with incredible ease. The flyer, which is produced by the National Republican Congressional Committee, says that Wetterling failed to vote in the past three Federal elections. But the Minneapolis Star-Tribunechecked the records in the Secretary of State's Office. And yep, she had in fact voted in the last three elections. Go figure. View flyer here.
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Solid Challenger Emerges to GOP Rep. Bachmann
