Is Bachmann the Next GOP "Shooting Star" to Fall to Earth?

CBS: On "The Early Show Saturday Edition," Rollins, who headed up former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's 2008 White House run, told co-anchor Erica Hill that Palin's Friday news conference "raised a lot more questions than she answered. Usually, at a press conference, you answer questions. I think the bottom line is you saw a shooting star come crashing to Earth. DB reader Wellstone's Ghost asks: Bachmann back rub for Palin? National Joke subheading Where's that clip of Michele groping Sarah's upper backside? Watch that at 6:00: audiovideo Norm Coleman introduces Bachmann at McCain Palin rally B: so how do you feel about pro life mothers of five? Welcome to the 5th congressional district of MN three years ago Obama was busy with his second autobiography boo because goodness knows one just wasn't enough three years ago McCain stood in the well of the US Senate warning his colleagues and the American people of an impending economic collapse like we have seen in this last week his democrat colleagues did everything they could to block John McCain and stood strong and fought for reform What did Barack Obama do? He hired the man towards the head of corrupt who backed the mortgages. what did he hire him to do, he hired him to head up his vice presidetnial search committee. hows that working for you, Barack? I think we know how soon to be president McCain's vice presidential search committee worked out. pretty good deal huh? Sarah Palin back to me two months ago when I was up in ANWR, the most perfect place on the planet to drill (cheers) when I was with Sarah Palin two months ago we had a lot in common we'd both been married a long time mothers of five strong fiscal conservative both believed in American energy independence beginning with ANWR cheers and we believed first always and last the United States of America about God and country i can tell you from first hand experience Sarah Palin is the real deal and she and John McCain are wearing the white hat they're on their horses they're coming over the horizon and we've just got to walk them in to the victory. (Palin hug at around 6:00)

The Triumph of Billius Prendergastius (in celebration of victory over the Local Media.)

It is the Fourth of the July, a great American holiday—a time for celebration of the republic. And thus I adjudged this the perfect day for celebrating my triumph over the Star Tribune. The triumph is a victory parade of the kind that the Romans gave to a conqueror. I am giving this one to myself, since you could wait around this blog for five more years scratching your balls before anyone else suggested giving you one. Remember that this particular triumph is a triumph of the Republican period—not of the Empire, because I hate that. The celebration is recounted in this excerpt from: THE ANNALS OF DUMP BACHMANN …This was accounted a signal victory, in light of the disproportion of the battling forces and the unfairness of things—Prendergastius, with no budget, no troops, and grumbling colleagues, had finally defeated the chief tribe of the Local Media despite these odds against him. For it had been decided by the commanders, many years before at the very outset of the campaign, that a chief obstacle to the removal of Queen Bachmannia was the complacency, venality and cowardice of the Local Media—the barbarian tribes who styled themselves “the professional journalists of Minnesota.” These fancied themselves very highly because they collected small salaries, pittances, to report the news—or rather, not to report it, when it reflected poorly on Queen Bachmannia. In return for their silence, their masters allowed them to keep their pitiable paid positions; though every so often there was a bloodbath ( or “layoff,” in their language.) The terrified survivors of such a bloodbath emerged even more compliant than before in their willingness to suppress the news of Queen Bachmannia’s madness, for that would upset their masters and contacts. Thus the commanders came to understand that the cowardly and deliberate silence of the Local Media was one of the chief reasons for the mad queen’s rise to power. The commanders decided that if the queen was ever to fall, the Local Media must first be driven into admitting her madness to the public. And this spurred a campaign of no less than four years (actually many more) to force the greatest tribe of the Local Media (the Star Tribunicum, or “Stribici” as they were called) to acknowledge the extremism and paranoia of the queen, and proclaim it to the people. For it was understood that if the Stribici, the greatest of the paper tribes, was to yield on this, the lesser media could do naught but follow. Many actions were fought by the generals; media contacts were made and truths were told and lies were exposed and many engagements with the enemy were fought. But the Local Media would not give ground; they refused to yield or even to acknowledge the small forces the generals could raise against them. There were many small victories against the Local Media, but they were of little strategic value and small consequence in the province. Though few understood it at the time, the tide of the war turned when foreign kings—Olbermann, Maddow, and Matthews—finally got a look at Queen Bachmannia and proclaimed her madness to the world. Media from the greater world outside the province saw what the queen was as soon as she stepped forth from the cold wasteland of Minnesota and into the hot spotlight of television; they saw that she was nuts. Of its own accord, a small but daily tribe, the Sanctus Cloudius Tempii, proclaimed the extremism of the queen to the people—their voices were brave but counted for little with the other print media and broadcasters. And still the Stribici held fast, and would not admit of her extremism. And so, Prendergastius, without consulting his fellow commanders, built an engine to lay siege to the Stribici: a marvelous work of art to be mounted in the Citius Pagius, designed to charge the Stribici and other Local Media with cowardice and suppression of the facts and the newsworthy over the years. Against all expectation, the plan of Prendergastius worked. Less than forty days after he mounted his attack, the Star Tribunicum announced its humiliating surrender to the truth in the very editorial pages of its dying empire. Their surrender read as if it had been drawn from the text of Prendergastius’ own comic engine in Citius Pagius: chastened, the editors of the Stribici admitted the queen was a panic monger and demagogue who saw conspiracies where none existed, and that she had been thus since the earliest days of her rise. And so the Stribici capitulated after years of struggling against all that was newsworthy in Minnesota politics. Prendergastius decided that he was to be rewarded with a triumph. And it was in triumph he brought much booty before him into the City. This was the order of the procession: First, elephants weighted down with chains, symbolic of the mad queen’s party. Then, trumpeters; drawn from the ranks of Dump Bachmann readers. Maidens of both sexual preferences followed, dancing, playing flutes and strewing rose petals to prepare the way for the conqueror and his allies. Carts with the spoils of war followed, overflowing with vast piles of Strib puff pieces about Bachmannia-- ostensibly political pieces written by former fashion and weather reporters who had failed to proclaim her extremism and lies to the public; printouts of Strib emails documenting their refusal to run corrections, demands by Strib editors to keep their answers to charges of error out of the public eye. These were the arms of the enemies of the people, captured and stripped of their efficacy, now put on display for all the citizens to see. Then came bulls for sacrifice, representing the bullshit that the Stribici and other “professional local news organizations” had printed instead of news over the year. The death of the bulls would represent an end to the bullshit they had printed about Bachmann’s footwear, etc. in place of the real news that they had avoided printing for nine years: the news, never before printed in the pages but now printed nine years later, that a mad conspiracy nut had been placed in a position of public trust with their knowledge and complicity. After that: slaves bearing an oversize depiction of the Stribici “surrender to reality” editorial and their editorial masthead: the arms and insignia of the conquered enemy. And then the enemy leaders themselves, the editors and reporters and paid bloggers and other captives. They pass before the jeering crowd, sullen and defeated, for now they know the majesty of the Internet and the power of the political cartoon. They include D.J. Ticius, conservative political team editor. Alongside him trudges Kevinus Diaz, the Washington correspondent of the Stribici who printed stories of Bachmannia’s photo ops with pop stars in place of news, and printed her lies as though these were truths, and hailed her as a “populist” when she was in fact a dangerous nut. And here is Ericus Blackus, former senior political correspondent for the Stribici, weighed down with the riches of his buy-out package. On his head is strapped the huge spike he used to spike the evidence of Bachmannia’s cruelty and conspiracy madness just before her first election to national power. Following him on shivering donkey with its tongue cut out, is Kim Odious, who labored to produce a front page puff piece on Bachmannia that said much about her high heels and 23 foster children, but nothing of her extremism and slavish obedience to the national theocratic right. The shivering, tongueless donkey represents “a trembling dumb ass”--the editor who commissioned the puff piece and refused to run corrections. The lictors of the imperator, their standards wreathed with laurel. These are the hundreds of purchasers, drawn from every state in the union except Hawaii (so far) of Prendergastius’ new comic book political biography of Bachmann, available (with footnotes) at www.biasedliberalmedia.com And now the imperator himself, Bilius Prendergastius, in a chariot drawn by four white horses. He raises his hand to salute the crowd as he passes, receiving their ovation. His face is painted red, to symbolize humility. And next to him in the chariot stands his wife, suspending the golden crown of oak leaves over his head and whispering in his ear “Momento mori”—“remember that you are only a mortal.” (The whispering becomes annoying to Prendergastius after a while, but he cannot bring himself to behead her.) After the imperator, his colleagues in arms, given a place of honor at his wishes, though these two share a smaller, more inexpensive looking chariot. First come Eva Youngia and Karlus Bremerius, taking the applause of the crowd. They fought bravely at Prendergastius’ side through the years, though they questioned his judgment and people skills and told him that the Local Media was to be courted, and not alienated. Indeed Karlus had told the troops publicly that Prendergastius would “never have a career in media relations,” but such slights are forgotten on this joyous day. Then, carried on a litter owing to his ill health and saluting the crowd, Marcus Hansonius, a brave veteran of the struggle. Behind him, riding a white stallion—no, it is his own device, a bicycle—the brave general Avidorus, who advised Prendergastius to contact the editors of the Citius Pagius. Then the editors of the Citius Pagius, who ran the Prendergastius piece that finally forced the hand of the Stribici, and put it on the front page. They are borne aloft on the shields of the troops, for theirs was “the media platform” from which the crucial attack was launched. Though they gave Prendergastius no funds (for they had none), their aid was indispensible. Finally, the allied army of Bachmann foes, now millions nationwide. They march without weapons or armor, but clad in togas of citizens and wearing wreaths. With one hand they point to Bachmannia’s portrait, with the other they point at the sides of their heads and swivel their index fingers to signal her madness. Exotic animals, musicians and slaves carrying pictures of conquered lies, and signs with names of remaining local media that must fall, now that the Stribici have finally been overcome. Together with a painting of the surrender of the Stribici editorial board, catapults, ballistae and all the other engines of the print media are carried along, as well as the ornaments of a peace of long duration and of democratic opulence. Plate of skillfully wrought silver and bronze, inscribed with the phrase “Yep, she’s a lying demagogue, alright,” other household furniture, precious garments and many renowned statues of journalists past and present who had actually lost their jobs by virtue of their commitment to telling the public the truth. Finally, eight more captured elephants, because, what the hell, it’s a parade, and I’m feeling good this week, ladies and gentlemen, very good indeed. Finally, here's a picture, because dare2sayit asked for pictures. It's short, but it gives you an idea of what I'm going for here. (That's not my wife in the chariot with me, that's just an extra. My wife is shy.) And here's some footage sent in by jonerik (who is a loyal comrade in arms and really should get a place of honor on the reviewing stand.) It's from Ben Hur and it has the girls scattering rose petals, but I hesitate to provide it because Charlton Heston is in the chariot with me instead of my wife (there's apparently no way to edit him out of these things.) And there's some old queen in this clip pretending to be emperor, which I think is kind of stuck up.

Michele Bachmann: National Joke

Everyone is laughing at Michele Bachmann: Daily Kos"Overheard in Michele Bachmann's office" Headzup: Liz Winstead on the Ed Schultz show:

VIDEO: Guardian's Michael Tomasky Talks About Bachmann's Census Paranoia

See it at Michael Tomasky's blog at the Guardian website: Tomasky talk: Michele Bachmann and her senseless census boycottAmerican editor-at-large, Michael Tomasky, looks at congresswoman Michele Bachmann's planned census boycott "Eats Wombats" left us this comment: "The people of Minnesota are to be congratulated on providing such truly world class entertainment!"

Is Tarryl Clark Getting in the CD 6 Race?

MN Publius claims she is making calls. Rumors are in fact so fierce that it’s like playing a game of “telephone”. Tarryl has been contacting folks about a run for Congress, and it is believed that, while we do think she was once eyeing the Gov seat, she is now angling for the US House. Sorry for the confusion and the misspeak.

Bachmann on KKMS Today

Bachmann has a new tin-foil hat crusade. Bachmann is calling for an investigation to see if the EPA suppressed a report by economist Alan Carlin. That report was described by NASA Climate researcher Gavin Schmidt this way: “a ragbag collection of un-peer reviewed web pages, an unhealthy dose of sunstroke, a dash of astrology and more cherries than you can poke a cocktail stick at.” Listen: In this excerpt, Bachmann questions the decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court that Al Franken won the election. She also talks about her Census crusade. Bachmann: "I think there's a point where we need to just say 'no' to our government" Listen: audiovideo, first KKMS clip: J: aware of Alan Carlin and the study the EPA decided to suppress didn't come out until after you voted on the bill B: Lisa Jackson is the head of EPA she made a big statement science this was going to be an ultra-accountable transparent would drive the results and not ideology--well just the opposite Phd graduate of MIT that showed our environment was not endangered by C02 . As a matter of fact we've cooled for the last eleven years. He just completely refutes. Well, the EPA in the emails that came out show that they intentionally suppresesd , they did not want this to come out before the vote. because if there's no problem with global warming, why have this radical solution which is a 2 trillion dollar tax increase. they censored it so that members of the congress couldn't see it. it was appalling and we need to have an investigation about why this happened. audiovideo, second KKMS clip: was in St. Cloud on everyone's mind is this subject of cap and trade they are scared to death and they have every reason to be Al Franken it was 5-0 decision. I actually believed that we would see Bush v Gore applied. I haven't read the decision. the US supreme ct has ruled under Bush v Gore whatever the election law is, is should be applied equally and fairly in each precinct in the state. That's why 4000 ballots were not allowed. unfortunately, MN sup ct allowed that to stand. it is isn't really about which politician wins, it's about how the law is applied. I don't see how the law could have possibly been applied. census go to my website or bachmann.com petition online that ACORN should not be receiving federal funds, should not be involved as a national partner in census taking. I have a copy of actual census questions, short form and long form. Do they want the fed gov to know their name, race, telephone, etc. do they feel secure that the federal government will keep their info safe J: is it inaccurate that the law says we are required to fill it out? MB: the federal law says that you need to fill out entire survey--should the federal govt ask about people's mental capacity, etc. If wealthy and do not want to fill out census just pay fine. if you're not wealthy, you are in a difficult situation. The purpose of the census is to count the people in the country. The one question they don't ask on the census is if your an American citizen. L: I always cross out everything when they ask your ethnic background and write that I'm an American. B: You can get a 500 dollar fine (sic)if you don't answer the question. We had census people in our office, asked them what if we don't fill out census. We'll have six contacts with you, if you don't fill out they go to neighbors. I think there's a point where we need to just say 'no' to our government. Our government is taking over and nationalizing one area of our economy after another. They've just taken away 3400 dealerships from privately owned people. L: How do they keep adding question to census? who gets to decide what they are, and how can we rein that in. MB: that's my point. I'm not telling any of your listeners that they should not fill out the census. For my comfort level, for myself and my family, I don't trust a national partner like ACORN with my private information. Members of Congress have their computers tapped into,I do not feel comfortable giving all my info to the federal govt and have them keep it private.

Celebrate the 4th of July with e-cards from Michele

From the Democratic Governor's Association: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Thursday, July 2, 2009 Emily DeRose, [redacted] Celebrate the Fourth with Michele Bachmann Washington, D.C. – This Fourth of July, celebrate our freedom with Michele Bachmann’s unique brand of patriotism! From the woman who said that President Obama may have “anti-American views” and that reporters should investigate which elected officials are “pro-America,” comes news that she is considering a run for governor of Minnesota. If Michele Bachmann knows anything, it's that out-dated ideas — like helping the middle class — are ruining this country. And in a year when hospitals are struggling, teachers are being laid off and road repairs are delayed, Bachmann's ideas are exactly what we need if we are going to truly protect our billionaires. As Bachmann weighs her gubernatorial options, the Democratic Governors Association is helping Minnesotans remind their friends and family about how she would celebrate. Visit DraftBachmann.com to send your very own Fourth of July e-card to your friends and family.

Press Release from 3 Conservative Republicans Calling Out Michele Bachmann for Her Kooky Census Comments

Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 1, 2009 Republicans Encourage Bachmann to End Census Boycott WASHINGTON – Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA-3), and Congressman John Mica (FL-7), Republican members of the Census Oversight Subcommittee, released the following statement regarding Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's boycott of the 2010 Decennial Census. "We share Ms. Bachmann's concerns about ACORN’s involvement in the 2010 Census and will continue pressuring the Bureau to follow their own guidelines for partnering organizations and dump ACORN. However, we can not emphasize enough how important it is for every individual to fill out their census forms. "Every elected representative in this country should feel a responsibility to encourage full participation in the census. To do otherwise is to advocate for a smaller share of federal funding for our constituents. Boycotting the constitutionally-mandated census is illogical, illegal and not in the best interest of our country. “The unfortunate irony is that Ms. Bachmann's boycott only increases the likelihood that ACORN-recruited census takers will be dispatched to her constituents' homes. Anyone who completes and returns their census form will remove any need for a census taker to visit their residence. "Furthermore, a boycott opens the door for partisans to statistically adjust census results. The partisan manipulation of census data would irreparably transform the census from being the baseline of our entire statistical system into a tool used to wield political power in Washington. "NOTE: The 2010 Decennial Census, not to be confused with the American Community Survey, will strictly utilize a short-form questionnaire for the first time ever. Under Sections 9 and 24 of Title 13, information collected by the Census Bureau is confidential and not shared with any other federal agency. Only an act of Congress could alter this statute. ### Avidor pointed out the Roll Call article. Politico has also picked this up. Liberals aren't the only ones grousing about Michele Bachmann's jihad against ACORN. A trio of House Republicans are taking the gunslinging Minnesota conservative to task for saying she'd violate federal law by skipping the census — because the community development group may serve as a subcontractor on the project. Fill out the forms, they say, or run the greater risk of having the bureau use the very kinds of statistical modeling Republicans have railed against for years.

Bachmann's Anti-Census Crusade Too Crazy for House Republicans

Jackie Kucinich at Roll Call: GOP House Trio Urges Bachmann to Reverse Boycott of Census Three House Republicans on the subcommittee overseeing the 2010 Census are asking Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) to reverse her decision to boycott the national population count, fearing others will follow her lead. “Boycotting the constitutionally mandated Census is illogical, illegal and not in the best interest of our country,” Reps. Patrick McHenry (N.C.), Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.) and John Mica (Fla.), members of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Achieves, said in a statement Wednesday. “[A] boycott opens the door for partisans to statistically adjust Census results,” the trio’s statement said. “The partisan manipulation of census data would irreparably transform the Census from being the baseline of our entire statistical system into a tool used to wield political power in Washington.” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), the only other Republican member of the subcommittee, did not sign on to Wednesday’s statement. Sources say the GOP Members approached Bachmann privately over the past few weeks and asked her to stop the boycott. They decided to go public because Bachmann appeared unfazed by their request, according to a GOP aide. Bachmann won't listen to Patrick McHenry? Debbee Keller, a spokeswoman for Bachmann, said in an e-mail: “Congresswoman Bachmann can not be reached, but we appreciate their views and hope to be able to work with them to keep ACORN — which has earned public mistrust through its repeated voter registration fraud — out of the Census.” Cannot be reached by her staff? Is Bachmann hiking the Lake Wobegon Trail?

Bachmann Ridiculed on MSNBC for Her Anti-Census Crusade

SC Times: Bachmann Submitted Earmark Requests

Larry Schumacher in the SC Times: Bachmann, who submitted five earmark requests for the transportation bill — including $6.4 million for a new interchange at Minnesota Highway 15 and 33rd Street South in St. Cloud and $500,000 to expand St. Cloud's University Bridge — said she was personally supportive of Northstar but couldn't put an earmark request in for it unless it received priority ranking from MnDOT and the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization. An earmark is an earmark is an earmark... no matter what Bachmann calls it (High Priority Project). In the same article, Bachmann admitted she requested earmarks: "If the APO and everybody signs off and it meets the criteria, I can include it," she said. "I'm making an exception to my earmark rule for the transportation bill, because that's the only way these projects can get funded. But they have to meet the criteria." That should answer Andy Aplikowski's question about Bachmann flip-flopping on earmarks: This is all about Bachmann and trying to destroy her. If she didn’t request any projects, they’d say she is just trying to make a name for herself, but if she does, they’ll call her a hypocrite. She's a hypocrite, remember this? H/T Lady. audiovideo MSNBC program: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. David Shuster's Hypocrisy watch. March 20, 2009. Anchor: Congress approved a bill stuffed with pet projects and earmarks. About ten days ago MB denied taking any earmarks B: I think it is possible, I took a pledge in my own district, I have not taken earmarks in the last three years that I've been in Congress because the system is so corrupt. A: Actually MB requested seven earmarks in 2008, costing taxpayers a total of 3.7 million dollars. The projects included for a 94000 dollars for a sheriff's youth program, 335000 dollars for equipment acquistion for Northland Medical Center and $803,000 for the replacement of small buses in St. Cloud. B was interviewed on another cable channel. B: well the average earmark for the state of Minnesota for the members of congress is somewhere around 70 million dollars, so mine is very very small on that level. A: That is wrong. according to Legistorm, the average earmark for MN members was not 70 million dollar but 2.1 million dollars which is less than the 3.7 million dollars MB requested.

The "Tele-Town Hall" Thing, Again.

You know that Michele doesn't believe in taking live, unscreened questions in public from her constituents anymore. (She doesn't believe in taking live, unscreened questions from non-partisan *reporters* anymore, either, apparently.) I sent in my story about my own experience of one of her screened-by-her-operatives question and answer sessions. Karl Bremer sent in his account. Here's one more history of someone trying to ask their Congresswoman a question, with the same unhappy result. This a piece from the Stillwater Gazette written by someone who has no connection with this blog. All she is, is a poor little Bachmann constituent, God help her: About six months ago when I was home on winter break from college, I answered a phone call from Representative Michele Bachmann. The call was a "tele-town hall," in which Representative Bachmann conducts a town hall meeting over the phone with her constituents... ...I wanted to ask Representative Bachmann to consider renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, as part of her energy policy, which mainly consists of dependence on drilling in ANWR and offshore. Unfortunately, the call ended before I was able to ask my own question, but Representative Bachmann instructed listeners to leave a message with their unanswered questions and promised to have a staff member call back. I left a detailed message about renewable energy, but I was never contacted by one of Representative Bachmann's staff members. Well, that's tough, kid. But if it makes you feel any better, Karl and I had the same experience, a year apart. You stay on the line, listening to the calls they *do* take (mostly from callers praising Bachmann's performance) and then--what do you know, they've run out of time, sorry about that, she won't be taking your question (which the screener asks for in advance.) But this kid was a political science major, she wasn't giving up so easy. She went back for more: Now I'm home from my spring semester of college, and just this past week I received a second tele-town hall phone call from Representative Bachmann. I decided to give her another chance. This time a staff member came on the phone right away and asked my name and question. She said I would be one of the next callers to speak to Representative Bachmann. My question was about public transportation policy. I wanted to know why Representative Bachmann has opposed the Hiawatha Light-Rail Transit project and what role she sees public transportation playing in Minnesota's future. I remained on the line, eager to finally talk directly to my representative. I waited patiently while many other constituents asked questions, but I was never put through. Once again, I left a detailed message with my question, and once again, my message was never returned and my question was never answered. If you're paying attention, you can see a "pattern" developing here. The Bachmann staffers must think it's pretty funny, keeping constituents waiting on the line twenty minutes, an hour, whatever--waiting to ask questions that Bachmann has no intention of answering. It's not that she doesn't take questions. If she *likes* the question the caller wants to ask, she may take it. But if she doesn't like the questions...well, I was on the phone waiting a long time, and I didn't hear any questions from constiuents who were critical of MB's performance as a representative--and we know from the last election that more than fifty per cent of the voters are unhappy with her. So that's quite a coincidence, that no critical questions made it on the air. Of course this isn't "a town hall meeting" at all--it seems to be patterned on conservative talk radio, where the host takes only the questions that he feels like answering. And we know the process is expensive. Who is paying for this shit? Is this coming out of our tax dollars, this talk radio show she's running in place of live town meetings? That's the way to bet. I'd ask her about that, but she won't take my questions. This writer doesn't know it, but she's *lucky.* There was one constituent that wrote in to a local paper that he actually flew out to Washington to ask her his question, after her office failed to respond. She wouldn't even see him! The poor bastard got stopped cold outside her office by staffers. Well, I like to see the bright side of things, so after reading about this political science major's experience, I think: "At least she did *learn* something about Michele Bachmann." The hard way. Personal note: I, Bill Prendergast, will be using this space to celebrate an old fashioned Roman triumph this weekend. It will be my celebration of my conquest of the Star Tribune, after a four year campaign to get them to change their editorial policy re: covering Bachmann. There will be elephants, dancing slave girls, etc. It will be a long article, so I am running it on the weekend. Everyone is invited; be sure to show up to yell "Ave, Prender!" BYOB Here's the link to the Stillwater Gazette story. It was mentioned in the comments, so thanks to you (you know who you are): http://www.stillwatergazette.com/articles/2009/06/30/opinion/opinion410.txt

Bachmann Rants About the Census With Sean Hannity

Think Progress posted this audio clip and fact-checked Bachmann's lies: The complete Hannity interview - part one and part two. audiovideo H: you said I'm only going to give certain constitutional information as it relates to the census. B: The anti-ACORN petition at her website. My family and I are not comfortable telling the administration every intricate detail of our lives. The federal government says unless you answer every question, you will be subject to a fine. lists intrusive questions (age, weight, etc.) the one question they don't ask they don't ask whether you're an American citizen, We have no real idea how many illegal aliens are in this country. they don't bother to ask for that. People need to read this census for themselves they can go to my website to read it. the White House politicized the census because this data is the motherload of all personal information and who did BO want to put in charge of this? they want their national partner to be ACORN. they have been indicted, just this year alone in over 12 states. that's criminal! they should not be partners. And that's why I'm asking listeners to sign my ACORN petition H: apparently democrats have been instructed not to talk to republicans about important items like nationalized health care B: doesn't prevent me from going to them with thousands of names on a petition saying we don't trust ACORN maybe that will persuade them. H: bottom line is that you are not gonna fill out that form and you're willing to withstand whatever fine you get. B: I am, because I'm not telling people that they should or should not fill out the census. But for my family, we do not have a comfort level that we trust that information with organizations like ACORN.

Bachmann's Census Conspiracy Theory Mentioned on Colbert Report

Bill noted this in his excellent post preceding this post. Bachmann is mentioned about 3:30 into "The Word": The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c The Word - Noncensus www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford H/T Erick

Have we reached "the truth about Bachmann" tipping point?

You know; the tipping point, the point where *everyone in the country* starts talking about the opinion of Bachmann we've been maintaining and promoting here for the past five years and more. Up til last year, the description of Michele Bachmann that could be offered by people familiar with her name would be "attractive social conservative rising star, an outspoken Reagan mom of faith who wants to cut your taxes." That was the image that Bachmann and the right wanted to present, and almost every piece of professional media in this state accepted that definition of Bachmann at face value. We didn't. We were convinced almost from the beginning that Bachmann was a nut, a liar and bigot. And a political extremist and stealth theocrat posing a member of the conservative right in order to remain electable. We were also convinced that she was potentially dangerous--that the success of such a person in politics might lead to the election of more "stealth bigots posing as Reagan Republicans." At Dump Bachmann, we have no perceptible budget, no reliable media connections or influence, and no political influence. All we had was this space, and the truth about Bachmann--as drawn from her own remarks before audiences of conservatives and conservative evangelicals. And the truth, by itself, is never enough. You have to have a media that will present the truth--to a very large number of people--or the truth "does not count." Just because we were first with truth about Bachmann doesn't mean that we broke the story. You *can't* break the story unless you have a serious media platform to break the story. And we didn't have one--no magazine, no broadcast station, no radio show, no newspaper--just this blog, where we continued to print evidence (out of her own mouth) indicating that she was a nut, a liar, and a bigot. But until some serious media platform picked up the truths we were telling about Bachmann--we were kept on the margins. We were dismissed as one-issue cranks, or "unhealthily obsessed." Indeed, conservatives leveled those charges at us regularly. For example, Craig Westover of the Pioneer Press famously used his column to question the mental health of a Dump Bachmann contributor, because that contributor had dared to print a piece documenting Bachmann's lies in the newspaper. We got shit like that all the time from conservatives. What did we get from liberals and Democrats here in Minnesota? Nothing that I could ever see. Mostly we got ignored. The supposedly "liberal" Minnesota press ignored the stuff we sent them about Bachmann's most insane moments. They ignored the fact that we had collected her most insane moments over the years--documented and sourced these, with the dates they occurred--and made them available to any reporter or editor absolutely free, available twenty-four/seven on the web on this site and at The Bachmann Record (www.thebachmannrecord.com) It was all right there for them to print, all along--it still is. But the supposedly "liberal" Minnesota press didn't or wouldn't print the facts we had gathered--the facts indicating that a lying extremist nut had entered the halls of elected government in America. No one in their right mind would deny that the entry of a lying extremist nut into the halls of elected government in America is "news." It's the classic "man bites dog" definition of a news story. A man is not supposed to bite a dog, so when one does, that's "news"; you print it. And a lying extremist nut is not supposed to gain admittance to the halls of elected government in America--when one does (or tries to) the press is supposed to print *that*, because that is news; very important news. But they just wouldn't print it. We laid that fact in their lap for them, did all the research, all the fact checking, handed it to them on a silver platter--and...they...just...refused...to...print it. All these years! All these salaries! All these careers in journalism! And no one would do it; no one in Minnesota would print that this particular empress had no clothes. So we struggled on anyway, because the contributors to this blog have one thing and one thing only that brought them together--only one thing that they can all agree on: that an extremist hatemonger and demagogue does not belong in government, that one of the first duties of the press is to keep such people out of elected government by exposing them for what they are. When did things start to tip in our favor? Sadly, when it began it had little to do with our efforts here. Our attempts to shame the local media into identifying MB as a nut, liar, and bigot had little effect here in Minnesota. We had some small victories, but no local paper or broadcast outlet ever signed on to our definition of Michele Bachmann until this year. And when they did so, it wasn't because of the pressure we had been putting on them--it was because there was enormous pressure coming from *outside the state,* in the out-of-state media. It was shortly after MB began making national appearances in the out of state media that those media outlets began to recognize her for what she was. It took nine years for local Minnesota media to tell the truth about her, but the out-of-state media caught on to the fact that she was a nut, liar, and bigot within mere months of her entry into Congress. And by the end of her first term, the nuttiness was generally acknowledged in non-conservative press outlets everywhere: after her appearance on Chris Matthews' Hardball, where she suggested that the media investigate Congress for anti-Americanism. That's when it began to tip. Around the same time she was becoming a semi-regular feature on Keith Olbermann's Countdown program; Olbermann would expose her latest lie, her latest nutty charge. The liberal netroots, always in search of conservative craziness, glommed on to Bachmann quickly--but it was the TV that began the tipping process; the redefining of "who Michele Bachmann really is." Back in Minnesota, publishers and editors and professional political journalists became uneasy. It was becoming obvious to everyone "what Bachmann was"--how could they continue to justify their longstanding policy of silence on the issue of her kookiness and extremism? How can they justify their careers and reputations and salaries, if they had missed out on reporting one of the biggest political stories in Minnesota, their home turf? And they'd missed it *deliberately*; I'd talked to reporters over the years who knew she was a nut, but would never print that in their venue. Now we see veteran Minnesota reporters who claim that they spotted her as "an ultraconservative" early on--but if that's the case, it raises a question: why didn't they print that fact when they became aware of it? So that the voters would know, too? Bachmann's national reputation as an irresponsible kook and demagogue was growing at the end of last year, and it continued to grow as her pronouncements and accusations continued to be reported to the nation. Earlier this year, it finally became too much for one Minnesota daily to ignore, and the St. Cloud Times officially identified her as an "extremist." The fact that she was an extremist would have been news--a scoop--back in, say, 2001. (It was a documented fact, even at that time.) In 2009, the news story was the fact that a Minnesota paper was finally willing to identify her as such. So the scales continued to tip. This week, the Star Tribune finally ended its decade long policy of ignoring or suppressing Bachmann's conspiracy nut thinking; its editors acknowledged that she was in fact a conspiracy nut and had been since her earliest days in politics. (I did that, me and the City Pages, with a front page story that identified her as an unrepentant conspiracy nut and lying demagogue. The Strib editorial virtually mirrors the City Pages story in viewpoint and message. I am going to throw myself an old-fashioned Roman triumph on this blog, this weekend; I hope you can all attend.) That Strib surrender, in an editorial, is a big tip of the scales here in Minnesota, and it's going to have a lot of consequences here in Minnesota. From now on, it's not just "a bunch of cranks" on Dump Bachmann that have I.D.'d her as a nut; it's the biggest paper in the state. From now on, *the* story about Bachmann is not how "she's such an uncompromising conservative voice" or "she's cute on TV" or "she's a populist." From now on, because the Strib has signed on to our definition of her as a nut--"the Bachmann story here in Minnesota" is going to be "what has that nut done now?" At least I hope that's the case. If it is, that's going to hurt the Republican Party and Minnesota conservatives. But they deserve it for allowing a nut and liar and hatemonger to serve as their spokesman and hero. If Bachmann is the best they can produce in the way of "a hero," they deserve to remain in the minority, on the margins of the state's political process. But the real tipping point may have occurred tonight. I didn't see it, but one of the commenters wrote in and reported that she made the Colbert show this evening. Erick wrote the following: Stephen Colbert just nailed Bachmann on his show. When commenting on her census remarks about only entering the number of people in her house, Colbert said that number would be a high number because she will be including all the voices in her head! Thus I conclude that we at Dump Bachmann may finally have arrived at *the* tipping point: the point where *the country* has arrived at the same conclusion about Michele Bachmann that we arrived at oh-so-many years ago, and have been documenting ever since. Why do I say that? Look at the joke the way an archaeologist would, and see what it reveals about the way that this country and culture now views this particular political figure. 1) A national comedy show tells this kind of joke only when it can assume that the audience "will get it." The very same joke would have gotten a big laugh from Dump Bachmann contributors and readers three years ago, but practically no one else would have gotten it--Bachmann still had credibility with most of the voters and press back then. (*We* were the ones who were portrayed as cranks, when we were noticed at all.) But now: Bachmann's reputation as a kook is so widespread that Stephen Colbert--who mocks world-famous luminaries like Bush, Cheney--is confident that *his* national audience will be familiar enough with Bachmann's nuttiness to "get this joke." (And he's right! They laugh!) 2) The premise of the joke is: she's nuts. The joke doesn't make sense and is not funny unless the audience knows she's nuts. Just as Bill Clinton jokes depend on his reputation as a womanizer, a Michele Bachmann joke now depends on the premise that she's nuts. That's it: that's our story here on Dump Bachmann for years; it's now part of the national psyche, wherever people are familiar with her at all. 3) Once a politician has been defined to and accepted by the public as a nut--that's an incredibly hard reputation for that politician to shake. Michele will have to move mountains in the legislature to shake that reputation--and nothing in her career suggests that Michele is capable of a genuinely creative political act. She's never generated *any* significant achievement in a legislature or government, she's all talk and much of the talk is nuts. So it is likely that she will have to live with the "nut" definition of Michele Bachmann, and fight it every day of her career from now on. If this was the tipping point, it still may not make much of a difference in the next 6th District election. Elections are arithmetic, and there may still be enough fellow nuts and desperate Republicans in the 6th District to re-elect Michele, no matter how the rest of the world defines her. But if this is the tipping point, I'm sure glad I didn't take Karl Bremer's offer of a hundred dollar on Michele's prospects of winning governor, next time around. I still think that is her dream, but very few careerist Republicans will want to work for a person who has been identified to the public at large as an out-and-out nut--no matter how conservative her rhetoric. (I expect more personnel shake-ups in Bachmann's legion of press representatives and more refusals to do interviews with non-partisan media.) And it's not just her reputation or the jokes that will discourage capable people from supporting her efforts to go higher in politics: it's the unalterable fact that the charge is true.

Bachmann Census Controversy Continues: Kent Kaiser in Strib & Tinklenberg in Kos Diary

The Strib published a Counterpoint editorial to their criticism of Bachmann's Census paranoia. The author is Kent Kaiser: Kent Kaiser is a professor of communications at Northwestern College in Roseville. He worked part time as an enumerator during the 2000 census in St. Paul and full time in the Census Bureau's Duluth regional office in 1990. He was also the Minnesota secretary of state's liaison to the census in 2000. That Secretary of State was Mary Kiffmeyer. Northwestern College is a Bible college. A search for Kent Kaiser on this blog reveals some hilarious stuff. Elwyn Tinklenberg has a Daily Kos diary entry titled "Unlike Michele Bachmann, I Look Forward to Participating in the Census".

Bachmann Grandstanding on Auto Dealerships

This video was uploaded today to her Bachmann for Congress You Tube channel: audio deconstruction of America's free market way of life. strong arm Automoblie task force and car czar's are crushing the dreams of so many I've spoken to many targeted for closure been given no reason They were given no reason or recourse to challenge the closure owner was fed-exed a closure agreement It's as if someone threw a dart at a dartboard. if they chose GM would not offer a warranty on any of the cars on their lot. pay their own legal fees but GM's as well to the tune of 1500 an hour for legal fees. Obligated to send customer list and customer service list. It was a lose lose deal for the owners. Tactics like this are not the America they know. Columnist Michael Barone likened to the tactics of a gangster government and I couldn't agree more. are being based on political considerations instead of on sound business principles. with Barack Obama as CeO and congress as board of directors. Government is simiply not equipped to do this. Members of Congresscalling Obama appointed car czar. That's waht Congressmen do, nothing wrong with that, but if Congress is in the board will probably benefit big government rather than privately owned and run businesses. some in congress speaking up against this automobile task force. especially those in the Dem majorities control every lever of power I'm co-sponsoring legislation that will hopefully from having to accept an offer they can't refuse. But standing up against this legislation is GM itself. Now GM is against my legislation, officially pitting dealers against each other, giving viable dealers talking points and a telephone script to use to talk to Congress. This is simply wrong. the American dream is I'm urging you to contact your member of Congress demand that Pres. Obama Please forward this message.

Star Tribune Uploads Video to You Tube "a Trap Was Laid"

Remember when Bachmann denied she questioned Obama's patriotism?: Rep. Michele Bachmann, speaking to the Rotary Club of St. Cloud, stated strongly that her comments regarding Barack Obama's patriotism were misunderstood, and that MSNBC's "Hardball" host Chris Matthews had laid a trap during his interview with her. The Star Tribune performed a public service by posting this video to their You Tube channel today: audiovideo St. Cloud Rotary Club "never saw Hardball before last week, I do believe firmly that a trap was laid I made misstatement and I said a comment that I would take back. Because I want you all to know that I never did make a statement,it was reported that I questioned Barack Obama's patriotism. I did not, nor do I question Barack Obama's patriotism. He is a patriot and he loves his country just the way everyone in this room does." talking to press "I did not, nor do I question Barack Obama's patriotism. The word was never even used during the interview. Reporter reads Bachmann's words on Hardball back to her: and your reply was "Absolutely, I'm very concerned he may have anti-American views." Yes, I did say that, I shouldn't have said that. I regret saying that. Reporter: So why did you say that? "I was talking about Barack Obama's liberal views, his radical views and Chris Matthews continued to use the word anti-American, anti-American, anti-American...Because Chris Matthews kept asking is he anti-American, and I answered Chris Matthews in the way that he was asking the question. I shouldn't have. But I do question his views (lists some Obama views). And also I had brought up Joe the Plumber and the redistribution of wealth idea--that's not a view that's good for America. Not that Barack Obama is anti-American, because he's not, but his views will not be good for America. ...What I told Chris Matthews on Hardball was if John McCain had the kind of associations that Obama had, you'd be all over it. I was calling on Chris Matthews and the national media to do their job vetting Barack Obama's views. And he was asking me about members of Congress and if they were pro-America or anti-America, if they were pro-America or anti-America I'm not going to say whether members of Congress are pro-American or anti-American, that's not for me to say."

Bachmann Spokester: "No Plans" to Go on the Alex Jones Show

Emily Kaiser at the City Pages blotter: Well we checked in with Bachmann's office in D.C. to get a definite date for her appearance and found out it's all just a rumor. Here is the clip that got this crazy rumor started: When we contacted Bachmann spokesman Dave Dziok, he was not even aware of the comment and said she has no plans to go on the show. "I can tell you unequivocally that she is not scheduled, nor ever was," he said in an email response. UPDATE: Her fans over at Prison Planet will be disapointed: AntonioSosa says: Thank you, Rep. Michele Bachmamn, for having the courage to defend the American people from Obama’s Ponzy scheme in spite of the lies, manipulation, intimidation and bribes used by Obama and his accomplices to force the House to pass Obama’s jobs killing, economy killing bill! The administration’s corruption and coercion have reached levels previously seen only in Marxist dictatorships like those of Cuba or Venezuela. Obama’s Cap and trade is another giant step towards Marxism — and the corruption, poverty, enslavement, destruction and despair that Marxism entails. Obama is working much faster than Hugo Chavez at destroying the economy and imposing Marxism. No wonder the Russians are gloating: From Pravda: “…the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people…” http://english.pravda.ru/opini.....pitalism-0 We are NOT hapless sheeple! We must do whatever is necessary to defend ourselves and our children from the Marxist dictatorship that’s being set up in Washington.

Politics in Minnesota Reviews "False Witness"

Dan Feidt reviews "False Witness" at Politics In Minnesota: The larger-than-life electoral avatar of the Sixth Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN6), gets a full-blown cartoon critique in "False Witness! The Michele Bachmann Story," a 2000-copy run of what's hoped to be the first in a series of political comic books. The cover price is a reasonable $4, and can be obtained online for $4.95 (via BiasedLiberalMedia.com) including shipping. Bookstore distribution is in the works... Read the entire review.

TPMDC - "Bachmann Raising Money Off "Liberty Or Tyranny" Speech "

Eric Kleefeld at Talking Points Memo has Bachmann's hysterical fundraising appeal.

PolitiFact gives her TWO MORE 'liar, liar pants on fire' awards

Hat tip to MPR/Polinaut for this one: Bachmann earns two more Pants on Fires By Robert Farley Published on Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 3:45 p.m. Michele Bachmann, Wednesday, June 17th, 2009. Ruling: Pants on Fire! Says the Constitution only requires her to tell the census "how many people are in our home." Michele Bachmann, Wednesday, June 17th, 2009. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., is no stranger to the Truth-O-Meter. So far, her comments have decidedly bent the needle to the left and, on one occasion, set the meter on fire. We swear we're not trying to pick on her, but we just couldn't let this latest one go... ...There's a lot wrong in her statement, so we divided it into two Truth-O-Meter items. You can read the one on ACORN's involvement here. And in this item, we'll address Bachmann's claim that she's only constitutionally obligated to provide the number of people in her household. (Then what happens, is you scroll back up to the upper right hand of the very same PolitiFact web page and see the two "flaming" graphics--click on the first one and you'll see this kind of thing:) ...let's count the ways Bachmann is wrong: ACORN will not be "in charge" of going door-to-door and collecting data from the American public, as Bachmann said. The U.S. Census will be in charge of that. Some of the 1.4 million people who get Census-taking jobs may learn about the job through ACORN. Workers who apply to the Census through ACORN have no better shot at the job than those who apply through any of the 30,000 other partners. That's it. And despite Bachmann's claim, ACORN gets no money for signing on as a partner. Once again, she is making a scaremongering claim about ACORN with facts that are ridiculously wrong. So we have to set the meter on fire once again. She earns another Pants on Fire. (Click on the second one (about her claim that Congress has no constitutional authority to ask about more than the number of people in her house) and you'll see this:) ...We draw your attention to the last clause (in the "census" portion of the Constitution:) "in such a manner as they shall by law direct." The "they" in that sentence refers to members of Congress. They write laws about the content of the census and require that people answer the questions. Even the very first census in 1790 included more than just the question of how many people lived in the household... ...Congress' use of the Census to ask questions well beyond just the number of people has been upheld several times by the Supreme Court, (Census spokeswoman Stacy Gimbel) said, citing several cases. (Editor's note: Those court rulings mean that it IS constitutional for Congress to ask more questions on the Census than the kind specifically mentioned in the original Constitution document. Because federal court rulings on constitutionality and on how the Constitution should be understood and interpreted--ARE law, the law of the land, the law of the Constitution itself. That's the way it is, and the way it has been for at least two hundred years in the United States. And if Bachmann is telling conservatives that *their* understanding of the plain reading of the original Constitution document somehow trumps a federal court's understanding and rulings on that document...well, that's just another Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire piece that PolitiFact can do on her. Such a piece would serve the public very well, since so few conservatives seem to understand this "constitutional/unconstitutional" stuff.) ...What's more, a law passed by Congress requires people to answer "any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census" from the U.S. Census... ...Bachmann's claims that the Constitution only requires people to say how many people live in their household is "completely baseless," Gimbel said. ...Bachmann is not only wrong here, she is engaging in fearmongering that encourages people to break the law. And in doing so, she's falsely telling people that the Constitution would support them. In fact, the Washington Times reporter followed her answer by saying, "Well, I'm going to take your hint then and that'll save me some time." And so we feel it's necessary to rate this one Pants on Fire. PolitFact's only mistake here is including the mealy-mouth thing about "how they're not trying to pick on her or anything." Because you see, this is *exactly* what a press operation is supposed to be doing, once they know that they're dealing with a politician who's also an habitual liar and conspiracy monger. Once a journalist knows that, his or her *job* is to fact-check every single claim about any controversial issue that that politician makes. Once you know that a politician is in the habit of lying about the obvious and important issues--you should be checking all the controversial statements that that politician makes, and printing the lies so the public knows that this or that politician *is* an habitual liar, basing important public policy decisions on lies. Don't be sheepish about doing that, Politifact, that's like a fireman being sheepish about putting out fires by an arsonist! ("Gee, we don't mean to be picking on Mr. Pyro, or anything, but...") Reporting, explaining and documenting outright lies is one of the tools the media is supposed to use to keep the public from being misled, to keep nuts and rogues *out* of political office. And here they are, making mealy mouth noises about how they swear they're not picking on her or nothin'! They write a column reporting obvious lies by politicians, for God's sake--Michele Bachmann's bound to show up as a regular. The basis of her entire political career has been deceit, she's even lied to evangelicals while testifying for Christ! If PolitiFact's job is to fill inches of column space exposing lies and untruths every week, they could save themselves a hell of a lot of trouble. All they would have to do is simply assign someone to a regular Bachmann beat--to examine all the statements she makes before conservative audiences, all week. If you're mining for ridiculous lies--she's a gold mine.

Dramatic Bachmann

While we're waiting to find out if Bachmann will tell Alex Jones she is a 9/11 "truther"... The "dramatic" internet meme.

Michele Bachmann on Alex Jones Show This Week?

That's what Alex Jones says (about 1:20 into this video clip): Complete video HERE. The Star Tribune editorial on Saturday criticized Bachmann for seeing "threats that few other elected officials perceive". Here's a You Tube featuring Alex Jones... does Michele Bachmann agree with Alex Jones' theory that 9/11 was an "inside job"? I hope Alex Jones asks Bachmann about that.