Citing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Sept. 16 directive to the state government to stop all state funding to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) – in response to which the Management and Budget office released initial findings showing that Minnesota currently has no dealings with ACORN — the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party released a statement from party chair Brian Melendez, which reads in part:

“It’s bad enough that Governor Pawlenty has begun moving closer and closer to Representative Michele Bachmann’s extreme right-wing ideology. But now he is even adopting her tactic of making politically expedient claims without any factual basis. If the Governor continues to abandon Minnesotans to pursue his national ambitions, and keeps jumping at every nonsensical chance for political opportunism, then he will share yet another trait with Representative Bachmann — total ineffectiveness.”

As I wrote a couple of days ago, elements within the GOP are concerned that the “bomb-throwing Bachmann may be inflicting damage on the party’s reputation with her incessant incendiary rhetoric.”

Appearing with Rep. Bachmann may ingratiate Gov. Pawlenty with some evangelical voters and social conservatives — though former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee currently appears to be their favorite — but it will hurt him in the general election, should he become the Republican nominee in 2012.

Related reports

Pawlenty, Bachmann to Share Stage in Washington

By Bob Von Sternberg
Star Tribune
September 16, 2009

Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann will share the stage this weekend with a host of conservative activists and likely Republican presidential candidates.

Pawlenty’s appearance at the annual Values Voter Summit will be his most recent appearance in what is widely seen as a test drive for a presidential run in 2012. …

For her part, Bachmann has raised her national profile within the party with regular talk show appearances and said last month she would run for president if “that’s what the Lord was calling me to do.”

During the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Family Research Council and other conservative organizations, a presidential straw poll will be conducted.

In addition to Pawlenty, potential candidates on the ballot will include Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Mike Pence, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. …

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A Toned-Down Bachmann Speaks at Values Voter Summit

By Cynthia Dizikes
MinnPost
September 18, 2009

Excerpts

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Michele Bachmann, one of the GOP’s most outspoken Republicans with a penchant for making extreme claims [link added], toned down the rhetoric today during an annual gathering of conservative political activists in Washington, D.C.

The event, known as the Values Voter Summit, which is an annual conference that brings together members of the GOP’s conservative Christian base, took place in the wake of reports that members of Republican leadership in Congress are struggling to moderate the party’s language [link added].

While Bachmann touched on several hot-button issues for Republicans, such as funding for ACORN [link added] and the Democrat-led health care reform legislation, she seemed to steer clear of making any headline-grabbing statements. Gone, for instance, were the rallying cries to make a covenant and slit our wrists or to rip the guts out of freedom [link added].

Instead, Bachmann kept her message fairly simple and short, and for those who were waiting to hear something sensational, slightly boring. …

Full story

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Pawlenty’s Attacks on Obama Delight Audience at Values Voter Summit

Gov. Tim Pawlenty speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington on Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 (Photo: Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times)

By Bernie Becker
The Caucus (Politics and Government blog of the New York Times)
September 18, 2009

Excerpts

It may have taken a little while, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota eventually hit directly at President Obama and the Democratic Party on Friday night — much to the delight of the crowd that gathered to see him at the Values Voter Summit.

After warming up by discussing his record back home and the importance of faith and values, Mr. Pawlenty, a Republican in his second term as governor, struck at the Democrats attempts to overhaul the health care system.

“This proposal needs to get killed,” Mr. Pawlenty said. “It is a bad idea.”

“With all due respect, Mr. President, if we’re out of money, stop spending it,” he also said. …

Earlier in the speech, Mr. Pawlenty had stressed his pro-life bona fides, an important topic in a conference sponsored by, among others, the socially conservative Family Research Council.

And he touted his record in Minnesota, where he said he turned a “left-of-center state into a fiscally responsible state.”

If that can be done in a state that produced well-known liberals like Hubert H. Humphrey and Walter Mondale, he said, it can be done anywhere. …

The Democratic National Committee quickly responded to Mr. Pawlenty’s speech: “It looks like Tim Pawlenty isn’t even going to offer the pretense of being anything but an extreme right wing radical anymore. At least it’s honest, and if you’ve seen what he’s said on health care lately you know that’s a rare feat,” said Hari Sevugan, a D.N.C. spokesman. …

Full story

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — September 20, 2008

After the Primary Election: Day 11

Pakistani police carry an injured person from the scene of a huge explosion that ripped through part of the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan’s capital on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008, killing at least 40 and injuring about 250 people. (Photo credit: B. K. Bangash / AP)

J. O’Connell / AP

One year ago today, on the 11th day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in line with my focus on national security, I reported on the release of a new Al-Qaida tape marking the 7th anniversary of 9/11, threatening attacks in Afghanistan; a huge suicide truck bombing that devastated the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad; and a speech by Pakistan’s new president, Asif Ali Zardari, in which he said Pakistan will not tolerate violations of its sovereignty in the name of fighting terrorism — a clear signal to the United States to avoid controversial cross-border strikes against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Postscript

Almost exactly one year after the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing, extremists attacked another Pakistani hotel:

At Least 29 Die as Blast Hits Pakistan Hotel

September 18, 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Scores of bloodied and bandaged victims in shock filled hospital beds after a suicide car bomber destroyed a two-story hotel Friday, killing at least 29 people and underscoring the relentless threat to security in Pakistan’s northwestern region that is home to the Taliban and al-Qaida.

The blast on the outskirts of rough-and-tumble Kohat town wounded 55 others — the second attack in two days in the area not far from the Afghan border. …

Reuters reported that 33 people had been killed and about 80 wounded, citing a police report. …

The violence underscored the relentless insecurity in Pakistan’s northwestern region.

Pakistan has launched several offensives against extremist groups in the area over the past year, but attacks persist. The U.S. is particularly anxious for Pakistan to clamp down on insurgents it says are behind attacks on American and NATO troops across the border in Afghanistan. …

Despite Friday’s attack, Pakistan’s military has made gains in the region over the past year. A four-month-old army offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley has — according to the military — killed more than 1,800 alleged militants, while at least three top leaders of the Swat Taliban have been arrested.

Suspected U.S. missile attacks have also played a significant role in neutralizing the insurgency, including the Aug. 5 CIA drone strike that killed Taliban chieftain Baitullah Mehsud.

Officials said Thursday they believed the al-Qaida operations chief for Pakistan and a top Uzbek militant were killed in missile attacks in the northwest earlier this month. …

Full story