Are Michele Bachmann and Allen Quist Peas in a Pod?

City Pages has the scoop.

Money Quote from City Page's Feature on Michele Bachmann

But more importantly, many worry that those and similar remarks are detrimental to the national Republican Party's credibility, which is why not everyone inside the GOP is thrilled at the prospect of Bachmann becoming the face of their party. One senior Republican strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity, concedes that there's some trepidation within the GOP establishment. * "I can tell you she has a few quiet detractors within the Republican Party," says the strategist. "Put it this way: There've been some who've raised an eyebrow over the things she's said." Nevertheless, GOP higher-ups have shown no effort to muzzle Bachmann, which suggests she fills an important role. Looking on the other side of the political aisle, the DFL, for all its squawking about Bachmann, has benefitted financially from her ravings as well. "There are certainly people inside the DFL who think she's good for the party," says Jeremy Powers, a DFL chair in Bachmann's district. "Some think fighting for the Sixth District isn't worth it, because the sum advantage of having her around is better than ousting her." It's a point DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez concedes but doesn't endorse. "While obviously I like being able to raise money against Republican candidates, and while I like for there to be a convenient boogeyman like her, the price of having an ineffective representative for an entire congressional district is just too high."

More News About Michele Bachmann's Unhinged Followers

This time a touching story in Michigan.

City Pages Feature Article on Michele Bachmann

Read it here.

CREW Calls for Investigation of Michele Bachmann's Latest Ethical Violation

The St Cloud Times has the story. Fallout over a health care reform protest rally continues to rain on Rep. Michele Bachmann, as a government watchdog group on Tuesday called for an ethics probe of the congresswoman. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether Bachmann, R-Minn., violated House rules when she used her Web site to urge people to come to Washington on Nov. 5 “and tell their representatives to vote no” on the House health care reform bill. The watchdog group also wants the OCE to rule on whether Bachmann and other Republican House members skirted rules by failing to get a permit to hold a rally and “falsely” calling the event a press conference. The group points out no questions were taken at the event, which drew thousands of conservatives, many of them tea party activists. “Whoever heard of a press conference without questions?” asked Melanie Sloan, CREW’s director. “Calling a rally a press conference to circumvent congressional rules is like calling a Hummer a Prius to meet fuel efficiency standards.” Sloan said House rules prohibit members from using their taxpayer-funded Web sites to lobby or seek support for their position on any legislation. The Office of Congressional Ethics does not comment on requests for probes, director Leo Wise said. Bachmann’s office said the complaint was orchestrated by political opponents. “Unfortunately, members of the media have taken allegations from the (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) and spread these rumors without even checking with the House Administration Committee,” spokeswoman Debbee Keller said. Kyle Anderson, a spokesman for the Administration Committee, said the event appears to have met the guidelines to qualify as a press conference. “Initial review of the information provided indicates that the event held by Rep. Bachmann meets the necessary criteria to qualify as a press event,” Anderson said. Actually the reason they called it a "press event", is they failed to pull a permit for the rally. This is typical for Michele Bachmann. The rules never apply to her. The rally has provided fodder for Bachmann’s challengers, who contend it shows she has motives beyond representing Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. “In her effort to court the spotlight, Michele Bachmann may have failed to follow the letter of the law,” said Jason Isaacson, a spokesman for Maureen Reed, who is seeking Bachmann’s seat in the 2010 election. “This is what happens when ideology and zealotry replaces good, thoughtful debate.” Sloan said her group wants the ethics panel to approve sanctions that should include a public reprimand if Bachmann broke the rules. “If nothing is done, it’s a tacit approval,” Sloan said. If that’s the case, she added, “then why have rules?” The Nov. 5 rally, dubbed a “House Call,” also drew an angry demand from Rep. Steve Israel, a Jewish Democrat from New York, that Bachmann apologize for messages that compared the health care reform bill to the Holocaust.

Michele Bachmann's Pattern of Ethical Lapses

DFL Press Release: Representative Bachmann’s Latest House Ethics Misstep St. Paul (November 11, 2009) —The DFL Party released this statement from Chair Brian Melendez on Representative Michele Bachmann’s most recent bending of the rules and guidance of the U.S. House of Representatives: “Representative Michele Bachmann operates as if rules that aren’t convenient just don’t apply to her. She has repeatedly flouted House ethics rules in order to promote her extremist, partisan stunts. Her anti-health-care rally at the Capitol last week is just the latest in a mounting series of infractions. “Representative Bachmann has a lot to say about the important legislation that the President and congressional leadership are advancing, even though her comments suggest that she hasn’t read the legislation. But even if she doesn’t have time to read each bill that she talks about, she should at least read the four House ethics documents that govern her communications in her official capacity as an elected representative. As citizens in a constitutional democracy, we live under the rule of law, and we can’t just ignore the laws that we don’t like. Representative Bachmann is no exception.” BACHMANN CONSISTENTLY CHOOSES TO STICK TO HARD-LINE POLITICAL SLOGANS RATHER THAN RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW Bachmann’s anti-health-insurance reform rally at the Capitol last week used official resources to lobby for her partisan position. “The Committee on House Administration rules on the use of official resources seem pretty explicit on prohibiting precisely this kind of announcement, presumably because it blurs the line between members' right to publicize constituent town halls and their use of the franking [or Webbing] privilege for party- or movement-building purposes.” [Politico, 11/11/09] Michele Bachmann Violated Ethics Rules and Used Taxpayer Dollars to Advertise for a Partisan Agenda. “Michele Bachmann’s office violated House Franking Rules by using taxpayer resources to tell constituents to call the National Automobile Dealer’s Association. House offices can’t even encourage people to donate blood, let alone ask them to call a national organization to get legal representation. Unsurprisingly, Bachmann has received $13,000 from that very same organization in 2006 and 2008.” [MN Publius, 7/29/2009] · Representative Bachmann inappropriately linked to a partisan third-party website. “Bachmann is improperly linking from her federally-funded house.gov site to the highly-partisan Townhall.com. It is deceptive as it is integrated as part of the navigation of the page and with the use of the RSS icon, a symbol used to indicate a feed related to the page you’re currently on.” [MN Publius, 7/29/2009] Michele Bachmann broke the law by refusing to answer questions on the 2010 U.S. Census survey. “Shelly Lowe, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Census Bureau, said Mrs. Bachmann is "misreading" the law. She [cited] a portion of the U.S. legal code that says anyone over 18 years of age who refuses to answer "any of the questions" on the census can be fined up to $5,000.” [The Washington Times, 6/17/2009] · Even Rep. Bachmann’s colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives would not support her disregard for the law in boycotting the Census. “But in Washington, as well as in the land of Minnesota nice, Bachmann’s unwavering stance against completing the entire census form -- and not just the parts she wants to fill out -- has folks fuming. Three of her fellow GOP lawmakers -- Reps. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, John Mica from Florida and Patrick McHenry of North Carolina -- have slammed Bachmann for her stance, saying in a statement that her boycott is illogical and illegal.” [Los Angeles Times, 7/23/2009]

Michele Bachmann Shows Up at Northstar Opening

She really has some nerve. Tarryl Clark calls her out: Today, the new Northstar train is rolling down the tracks from Big Lake to Minneapolis, carrying thousands of commuters from the 6th district to their jobs in the Cities - saving them hundreds of dollars in gas money and taking nearly a lane-and-a half of traffic off our congested roads. It's a glimpse into our transportation future - a future we may never see if Michele Bachmann stays in Congress. Because Michele Bachmann's answer to any opportunity to invest in our transportation future is always one simple word: No. No to Northstar - a project she has opposed since her days in the State Senate and won't help complete to St. Cloud. No to federal funds for repairing our roads and bridges, like the Highway 23 bridge when it was closed as unsafe. No to transit in the I-94 corridor, stretching across the 6th District between the Cities and Wisconsin. Time and again, when our communities need investments to modernize our infrastructure or grow our businesses, her answer is no. With Michele Bachmann in Congress, we may as well be on a train to nowhere. On Friday, many of the passengers on the Northstar's inaugural journey were the partners who helped build the Northstar train - local, state, and federal officials, Republicans and DFLers, business leaders, Chamber of Commerce members, and citizens from the surrounding communities were all there to take the inaugural ride from Big Lake to Minneapolis. It was "a big group project," as I like to say - one I was proud to be a part of. But once again, Michele Bachmann showed up for television cameras at the opening celebrations this weekend having done nothing to help build Northstar. Time and again, Michele does everything to advance her own personal agenda while doing nothing to advance the needs of the 6th Congressional District. As your Congresswoman, you'll always know where to find me - standing up for you. Just as I have in the Senate, I'll fight to ensure we're investing in our transportation future - ensuring we have safe roads for our families, a strong infrastructure network for our businesses, and reduce congestion for all of us. Read about Michele Bachmann's transportation record in the state senate here. Money quote from Michele Bachmann's State Senate campaign website: "As your District 52 State Senator, I will work hard to add capacity to Minnesota highways.... This is my personal commitment to you." "Michele believes a successful transportation policy must put an end to the diversion of scarce funds to impractical and expensive rail transit programs that will have no direct benefit for area residents and will cost millions of dollars in the future for operating subsidies. She has called for dedicating 100 percent of the sales tax on vehicles to road construction." -- Michele Bachmann http://www.michelebachmann.com/issues.htm (From Bachmann's old campaign web site)

Bradlee Dean Talks About the Fundraising Event that Michele Bachmann Bravely Ran Away From

Andy Birkey from Minnesota Independent covers the event here and here. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who says such a separation is a “myth,” will be headlining a fundraiser for the group in November. “We’ve made complaints about them in the past,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “And there are similar groups out there that use assembly subterfuges to gain access to a captive audience of school children.” She said it’s incumbent on schools to research YCRBYCH before booking them for school activities. “It is hard to believe schools don’t know what they’re getting into; all they have to do is a cursory check of the websites,” she said. “School Districts often pay exorbitant honoraria as well, so it adds economic injury to constitutional insult.” She added that by not being honest about their evangelical mission such ministries are effectively turning public schools into evangelical recruitment centers. “This is a devious strategy, used also by many ‘pizza evangelists.’” she said. That term refers to evangelical ministries that seek to gain access to public school students by offering incentives not of a Christian nature, such as extreme sports, contests to win a car or pizza parties. The most common cases include these incentives along with a “secular” anti-drug assemblies, much like YCRBYCH does. “Usually they don’t mention God or Jesus per se in the mandatory assemblies but they hand out invites to an after-hours event, often held at schools, which is open soul-winning,” said Gaylor. “It amounts to the public schools — whether officials are duped or not — recruiting for evangelists.” While YCRBYCH admits that its public school program is designed to save souls, Gaylor says she’d doubt it’s effectiveness even if it was completely secular. “It’s dishonest and unethical, and we also question the value of the so-called secular program itself, which is often alarmist and painted in broad strokes, and can plant ideas, such as suicide, in immature minds.” Alex Luchenitser, a senior litigator for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, has concerns about the group’s activities — and those of similar organizations, like Power Team, a well-known evangelical ministry that uses martial arts to engage kids. “They’d put on a secular program in the schools and then would invite kids to a separate religious event,” he said. When asked if religion is part of YCRBYCH assemblies, the group’s front man, Bradlee Dean, was less than clear. “Morality is, which is the fruit of religion,” he said. “Our testimony of Christ is spoken of if someone asks us ‘what changed you?’” But in public, YCRBYCH has admitted on several occasions that it’s trying to win souls in public schools. On the ministry’s radio show, one member of the ministry — talking with Dean — said they share with public school children “our own testimony of how Christ turned our lives around in public schools so we can get the light into kids hands in public schools.” That doesn’t sit well with Luchenitser. “That this group is doing this is quite outrageous and a very clear violation of the separation of church and state,” he said. “And the fact that they seem to be intentionally misleading the schools is very disturbing to say the least.” YCRBYCH’s “Principal Packet,” a pamphlet sent to school administrators about the ministry, doesn’t mention that it’s a ministry or that the program is religious in nature; it doesn’t mention God or Jesus Christ. Luchenitser said that if the group is actually misleading the schools, it’s schools that could find themselves in legal trouble. “I think that because of the misrepresentations, it could subject the schools to legal liability,” he said. “Parents could turn around and sue the school.” If the schools can prove they were mislead, they in turn could sue the ministry, he said. I hope a school district does sue this ministry. I listened to some of Bradlee Dean's drivel Saturday, and he went on his usual rant about the homos.

It appears that Bachmann broke House rules with her rally (oops -- "press event") stunt:

Commenter Anna notes: It appears that Bachmann broke House rules with her rally (oops -- "press event") stunt: The highly offensive signs have shown up time and again at Bachmann's rallies, starting back in her state senate days (as Mark mentioned) with the "Kill the Homos" stuff. And she allows it to continue. I don't buy the "geez, we have no control over it" BS. She knows it is going to happen. Since these astroturf events are highly orchestrated, how much would it take for her to direct her staff to screen the signs and remove those that are offensive? I mean, really. She has staff at other events making sure that signs don't get in AT ALL (a good example would be her cap and trade "forum", where her staffers stood outside and yelled, "no signs, no signs allowed!"). They can manage that, but they can't screen signs going into other events? Yeah, right. Hey, even the guys over at the right wing blog ("Let Freedom Ring") are getting it. Here's what they say today: " I’d say to the activists attending TEA Parties that such signage is repulsive and doesn’t belong in any setting. It gives Democrats a legitimate argument about our behavior. This must stop ASAP. Our job is to persuade, not insult. That sign can’t persuade people because thoughtful people are repulsed by it."

Michele Bachmann Bravely Runs Away from Her Live Appearance at the Bradlee Dean Fundraiser

She sends a videotaped message instead. Kudos to Andy Birkey from Minnesota Independent for attending and reporting on this event.