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Apr 11th, 2009


Probably not. I have yet to see a high-ranking member of the Minnesota or national Republican leadership stand up and say, “Enough. No more. Michele Bachmann is not my kind of Republican.” Until then, there is no thin red line that Bachmann cannot cross.

Analysts Weigh in on National and Minnesota Politics

Larger view
MPR political analysts Todd Rapp and Tom Horner.
(Photo credit: MPR photo courtesy of Himle Horner)

Minnesota Public Radio
“Midday” with Gary Eichten
April 10, 2009, 11:00 a.m.

St. Paul, Minn. — A look back at the first three months of the Barack Obama presidency and his relations with Congress. MPR’s partisan political analysts also talk about the national and local political scene, including the 2009 legislative session and the ongoing U.S. Senate contest.

Tom Horner: MPR’s Republican political analyst
Todd Rapp: MPR’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor political analyst

——

4/27/10 Sidebar

Independence Party’s Tom Horner dreaming of a governor’s race that leaves him alone in the middle (Doug Grow, MinnPost, April 27, 2010)

——

MPR listener Anna, commenting on Dump Bachmann, offers an analysis of the above MPR “Midday” program, which suggests many Republicans may be ready to give Minnesota 6th District U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann the boot. An edited version of that analysis is reproduced below.

Is the MN GOP Ready to Throw Bachmann Under the Bus?

Posted by Avidor on April 10, 2009

“Midday” on MPR did a political analysis today (with a Democratic and a Republican analyst) and they mentioned that they think Bachmann is making some big political mistakes. …

At 33:30 into the broadcast, the MPR analysts respond to a listener’s call-in question, “Is Michele Bachmann an embarrassment to the Republicans?”

Republican analyst Tom Horner says Bachmann is an embarrassment to some Republicans, himself included.

He notes, “What she does, moves away from being an opposition member who is going to elevate principles and issues. … [She has decided] her chance for the limelight is to be intentionally provocative, and I think she does it in a way that is designed to exploit fears, to exploit mistrust in government, to do all of the kinds of things that America does not need right now … and unfortunately, she taps into a sentiment of mistrust and cycnicism that is very very strong and runs deep. I don’t think that’s what the Republicans ought to be doing and I don’t think it’s how we ought to be defined. And I do think we need some leadership in this party who is willing to stand up and say ‘Michele Bachmann is not my kind of Republican’.”

Democratic analyst Todd Rapp responds, “If Michele Bachmann wants to be the voice of the Republican Party I think most Democrats would say ‘that would be just great!’.” …

Host Gary Eichten then asks about the decision to expand the AmeriCorps service program, and Bachmann’s assertion that “ultimately young people are going to be forced to participate in this program and that they will be sent off to what amounts to political reeducation camps to be indoctrinated into liberal philosophy.”

Horner, the Republican, responds that he sits on the oversight panel for AmericaCorps in Minnesota and that what Bachmann said is not true. “There is nothing even vaguely resembling what she is charging and I think it not only is appalling, but offensive to all of those people who are giving back great service. … For her to undermine that … is not only a huge disservice but I think an appalling exercise of leadership.” …

At 41:00 into the broadcast, the MPR political analysts respond to a call-in question about Bachmann’s fear mongering.

The Republican analyst berates Bachmann: “She’s creating a premise based on information that is factually wrong. She is creating issues that do not exist, solely for the purpose of dividing people. … She oftentimes does it in a way that is a personal attack, I mean going back to calling candidate Barack Obama anti-American. I think that kind of rhetoric has no place in politics.”

In concluding her analysis, Anna observes that Bachmann seriously offended Republican Tom Horner (who sits on a panel that oversees AmeriCorps in Minnesota), adding that Bachmann may not realize it, but AmeriCorps volunteers are Democrats and Republicans, and AmeriCorps is not a partisan organization. Anna concludes that Bachmann is losing support with moderate Republicans in Minnesota and that she has only extremists left on her side now.

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Related report

GOP analyst: Bachmann’s a liability to Republicans (Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent, April 13, 2009)

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Bachmann Fear-Mongering on the Radio in San Francisco

Dump Bachmann reports: “Bachmann goes way, way into the tin-foil-hat wingnut ozone in this interview on the Morning Show on KSFO 560 AM (San Francisco). President Obama is handing over the country to foreigners, ‘unilateral’ nuclear disarmament, and a long segment about Muslims in Minnesota …”

Go to the link to hear the complete interview.

The Minnesota Independent is on the story . . .

Bachmann: Obama ‘bowing before the king of Saudi Arabia’ … and then lying about it

Chris Steller
The Minnesota Independent
April 11, 2009

President Obama is “bowing before the king of Saudi Arabia … and then lying about it,” says U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. “It was shameful,” she told KSFO-AM in San Francisco Thursday. “He was apologetic about our country.” Bachmann also warned that “we’re still finding out what happened during that G-20 summit. I think that there may have been agreements made behind closed doors that we aren’t even aware of, that could be ceding American sovereignty.” …

Here are more transcribed excerpts.

On Obama’s “apologizing for America” in Europe and denying America is a Christian nation:

I thought it was shameful. I thought it was a very sad reflection and perhaps a true reflection about what our president feels about these issues. He was apologetic about our country. … To see the specter [sic] of our president apologizing for American activity, bowing before the king of Saudi Arabia — which to me was highly symbolic that he did that — and then now denying it, and then lying about it. And then also our president is saying to the world that we are not a Christian nation during Holy Week. Saying we are not a Christian nation, that we are merely citizens with shared values. That is not true. … Our founders said clearly that our Constitution was meant for a religious people. They were not ashamed of their faith.

On Obama appointees who oppose American sovereignty:

Harold Koh, who’s being appointed now to the Department of State, who is a transnationalist, who does not believe in American sovereignty. He’s very scary. … If we love America and if we love American sovereignty, we don’t want these types in these positions. Because their goal is to give away our sovereignty — as we saw just last week at the G-20. I think we’re still finding out what happened during that G-20 summit. I think that there may have been agreements made behind closed doors that we aren’t even aware of, that could be ceding American sovereignty over currency valuations of the United States dollar. That would be very frightening.

On the first “openly avowed Muslim” in Congress, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, acting as a “talent scout” to place Muslims in federal government jobs:

Our news media hasn’t put that message out.

(Bachmann must have missed this Minnesota Independent post.)

H/T to Minnesota Independent for the transcription.

Follow this link to comment or to read comments.





10 Responses to “MN GOP Ready to Ditch Bachmann?”
  1. Aubrey Immelman Says:

    Cross-posted from The Minnesota Independent at http://minnesotaindependent.com/40096/bachmann-paulsen-most-vulnerable-2010

    IceNine in Maryland: It’s understandable that you would see Rep. Bachmann as a “National Joke” from your vantage point back East, but as someone who has observed Bachmann up close (as her Republican primary opponent last year and as a volunteer for Democrat Patty Wetterling against Bachmann in 2006), please bear with me.

    I find it deeply disturbing when observers dismiss Bachmann as a mere embarrassment, cheap entertainment, a stealth weapon to relegate the GOP to permanent minority status, or a fundraising magnet for Democrats.

    In my opinion, that is a grave mistake.

    The message I’m trying to convey to 6th District constituents in my campaign against Bachmann is that the situation we face is deadly serious — especially in a time of economic uncertainty (such as the German people faced in the years preceding World War II).

    As defenders of democracy and our American way of life, we cannot allow Bachmann to remain in a position where political power amplifies her voice and animates a large and growing national audience.

    Make no mistake: people like Bachmann are dangerous in positions of political power.

    Bachmann is *not* a buffoon (though she might appear that way to the casual observer). Bachmann does *not* misspeak nor make careless gaffes. And she’s not an entertainer. Like the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, Rep. Michele Bachmann is a member of the United States Congress.

    What Bachmann says is what she truly believes. Her demagoguery, fear-mongering, and incendiary rhetoric energizes and mobilizes political extremists, some of whom may lack the clarity of judgment and self-restraint on which we rely for a civil society and a nation of laws.

    Always Remember: “Never Again”

    Comprehensive summary and documentation of reports on U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s extremist rhetoric, incendiary demagoguery, and misrepresentation since her reelection in 2008:

    http://www.immelman.us/news/bachmanns-march-of-folly/

    More information:

    http://www.immelman.us/news/how-to-beat-bachmann/

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