With the race up in CD6 heating up, the excitement surrounding the Tinklenberg is cautiously growing. I think everyone has already heard the conventional wisdom on this race: Michele Bachmann is a total crazy running for reelection in a year that is awful for Republicans and even worse for Bush Republicans (the only person who’s gotten closer to Bush than Michele is Laura) but Bachmann has a hold on the 6th that is tough to beat. It seems counter intuitive to suppose that such a right-wing maniac is secure in her seat in a year like this, but Bachmann, for all her faults, has done a fairly good job of convincing the 6th that she’s their crazy, and sometimes that’s what counts.
This race, however, should not be discounted. Sure, El would probably be a Congressman if he had won the endorsement in ‘06, and it’s tougher running against an incumbent, but this is a worse year for Republicans than even ‘06 was and El’s a strong candidate now for all the same reasons he was then. Plus, as Grow points out on MinnPost.com today:
Recall, Bachmann defeated Patty Wetterling by 8 percentage points, 50 to 42. BUT there was a third candidate in the race, John Binkowski, of the Independence Party, who picked up 7.8 percent of the vote. This time around, the IPs endorsed Tinklenberg.
When you add Wetterling’s 127,144 votes and Binkowski’s 23,557 votes, Bachmann won the district by just 548 votes.
“Surely there are 548 people who have gone beyond the notion that everything is free,” said Tinklenberg.
This is just getting started…
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Crazy, but with money. That’s the key. If Tinklenberg can’t raise more cash then he just can’t make a real race out of this. And with all the other competitive races sucking up donations (Obama, Franken, Madia) that will be very very hard.
There’s one thing I’ll say about Bachmann, though… she makes my job easy. I doubt we’ll catch Tinklenberg predicting things like $2 gasoline.
Ha! Tink’s comm. guy said $1.99 a gallon, Jeff.
I’ll have some better ideas for Elwyn tomorrow morning.
El is a solid candidate. I actually think he is the strongest DFL candidate of the bunch this year. Not the best fundraiser, but the strongest. I’m in the camp who thinks Bachman is very vulnerable. What will she do with her money? Tell her story. That may not help her.
I always love that picture that you posted with this article.
Michelle Bachmann says she is a “fool for Christ”.
It is common knowledge that the picture posted on this thread proves it.
“Sure, El would probably be a Congressman if he had won the endorsement in ‘06, and it’s tougher running against an incumbent, but this is a worse year for Republicans than even ‘06 was and El’s a strong candidate now for all the same reasons he was then.”
EY: Not with the kind of campaign he ran the last time around. He ran as a Bachmann clone on social issues, which is what got people to encourage Wetterling to get into the race in the first place.
He’s taken social issues off the table by taking positions that contrast with Bachmann’s extremism, then focusing on economic issues. The last time, he made a point of noting - during his opening press conference - that he supported the Federal Bachmann amendment. This time, he regularly goes after Bachmann for her extremism. The “tip of the spear” has been unusually silent about the Federal Marriage Amendment - to the point of not even signing on. Why not? Where’s the titanium spine? I asked GOP Party Chair Ron Carey about that at the DFL convention. Carey said I’d have to ask Bachmann.
For the truth about Michele Bachmann, check out the Dump Michele Bachmann blog, which is updated regularly. http://dumpbachmann.blogspot.com/
TFRWG — Normally I just roll my eyes at your posts, but this one was good.
Bachmann’s FOOL FOR CHRIST is a misnomer in that her behavior and voting record is anything but CHRIST-LIKE.
Bachamann’s so called achievements in Congress….
FREEDOM TO KEEP USING INCANDESCENT LIGHTBULBS and $2 GALLON GAS
Bachmann may have raised some bucks in the 2nd Quarter. But over half that was from the extreme Right PAC supporters of the Republican Party .
You do realize that if Queenie Bachman loses her Congressional seat she will be back in State politics. I mean talk about a lose-lose situation. At a Federal level she is worth a few laughs at her expense and at the State level she can actually affect governance with laughs at our expense.
If she really was the Christian Fundamentalist she pretends to be she would be at home birthin’ babies and her husband would be in Washington DC… she could still be the First Wife in a clan of fundies.