After all, wouldn’t Nick Coleman have bemoaned the racially insensitive arrest of Henry Louis Gates, tying it in with a local angle?  Check for Tevlin.

Or tentatively celebrate the economic woes of the once-wealthly?  Check.

Wring tears from the “trauma” of illegal immigration arrests?  Check.

Write a snickering-laced criticism of the media’s favorite local barnside door of a target, Michele Bachmann?  Doubly checked today:

Here’s what Bachmann said about President Obama’s plan to expand AmeriCorps, a program that puts young adults to work making the world a better place by teaching disadvantaged kids and helping the poor:

“[It's] under the guise of quote, volunteerism, but it’s not volunteers at all,” she said on the Sue Jeffers radio show in April. “It’s paying people to do work on behalf of government…

“As a parent, I would have a very, very difficult time seeing my children do this.”

You’ve probably guessed by now that Bachmann’s son, Harrison Bachmann, recently joined Teach for America (TFA), one of the programs under the AmeriCorps umbrella.

Not exactly Morgan Grams material – so why bother focusing on the career choice of an 18-year-old offspring of a gaffe-prone, media hungry politico parent?  Short of committing felonies, I thought what little remained of a political armistice was reserved for the families of politicians and candidates, especially children.  Indeed, Tevlin’s article comes on the same day that the White House denounced the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s latest mailer that invokes President Obama’s daughters (not by picture or name). 

Many Tevlin didn’t get the memo.  He continues:

The last application deadline was in February, and successful candidates were notified within two months, according to Kerci Marcello Stroud, national communications director of TFA.

So when Bachmann issued her screed, her son might have already been accepted, and certainly would have applied. Ouch.

Rumors of his defection started recently on a couple of blogs, and the diligent folks at www.dumpbachmann.blogspot.com…

Say what you will of the “Dump Bachmann” folks – they’re committed, or perhaps need to be.  Citing a stalker blog as a reasonable source of information might win a few kudos in some corners of the journalistic world, but writing of a ballyhooed “defection” of a kid making a private decision to go into a volunteer program isn’t exactly Pultizer Prize winning stuff.  So actually Tevlin fits right in at the Strib.

Siblings, sons and daughters have often made the political news – although almost always because they sought out the political spotlight.  Ron Reagan addressed the 2004 Democratic convention.  Candace Gingrich appeared on several programs to highlight her lifestyle differences with her brother.  Billy Carter…eh…pitched beer.  The very concept of a “defection” suggests that Harrison Bachmann has crossed his mother, meaning he agreed with his mother’s politics to start or is using his post to publically rebuke her.  Even Tevlin knows Harrison can’t use his newly acquired position to engage in anything political and hasn’t sought any attention for his move.  If Harrison is crossing his mother, it’s at a shallow, shallow ford.

Those giddy at Rep. Bachmann’s penchent for verbal face-planting don’t need to rope her children into this childish game of gotcha.  If Harrison Bachmann isn’t seeking to become a pawn for his mother’s critics, he shouldn’t be included in their moves.

A Star is Torn

National Democrats join their Minnesota counterparts to go into Bachmann Turner Overdrive.

For better or worse, this has been Michele Bachmann’s summer.  Having narrowly survived her own “Macaca” moment last fall, Minnesota’s Sixth District Congresswoman has seen her name bandied about for Governor, her re-election race attract massive attention among the punditry and one of the DFL’s rising stars, and now become – according to Politico – the national Democratic Party’s “public enemy No. 1″:

“She is so principally and diametrically opposed to the core principles that we have,” Donald McFarland, a Minnesota-based Democratic strategist, said of Bachmann. “She is further to the right than Attila the Hun.”

“She’s the poster girl for the radical fringe element,” added Brian Smoot, who served as political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last campaign cycle…

The DCCC and the Minnesota DFL denied to POLITICO this week that they were working behind the scenes to clear the field for Clark, but strategists for both parties say there is little question the national Democratic Party will take an active role in the 2010 effort to oust Bachmann.

And Bachmann probably loves it.

For a woman that has been a walking political controversy since defeating incumbent GOP St. Sen. Gary Laidig for endorsement in 2000, Michele Bachmann seems to be constantly testing whether or not one can get sunburned from bathing too long in the political limelight.  The most high-profile Congressional representative the state has had since Vin Weber, Bachmann seems to match Weber’s nationally respected intellectual gravtias with philosophical infamy.  The juxtaposition is more than a little strange.  While Weber did as much as any Congressman to lay the groundwork for the 1994 “Republican Revolution”, the six-term rep generated little ire across the aisle.  By contrast, a two-term backbencher for the minority has supposedly earned the distinction of being the Democratic Party’s most villified opponent.

All which begs the question of who is making the bigger mistake – Bachmann or the DNC?

While targeting an actual office-holder is a far better strategy for Democrats than continuing to insist, as Harry Reid did just days ago, that the GOP is “run by a talk show host”, giving increased national prominance to an outspoken member of the minority who holds no ranking positions in the House seems a pretty thinly veiled attempt to distract voters and reporters from the Pelosi/Reid/Obama nexus’ inability to pass certain legislation.  Much like the furor over the supposed size and influence of “the birthers” movement who question Barack Obama’s citizenship, Democrats hope to gain wary independents and rally their increasingly demoralized base by turning an ultra minority into the representation of the GOP’s majority.  Such a tactic cannot hide a struggling economy but between a supportive media and actions like death threats against Congressmen, can successfully change the subject…for a while.

Despite the passion of her supporters leading Bachmann to outraise some of the other members of the State’s House delegation in their own districts, Bachmann’s shoot-from-the-lip style still has made her a bigger lightning rod than Lee Travino.  But to what end?  Bachmann’s style often overrides her substance and despite being one of the most media-sought after members of the House, Bachmann’s issues have largely languished.  And despite representing the District with the highest Republican advantage CPVI at +7, Bachmann’s high-water mark remains 49%, helping reinforce Democratic daydreams of winning the seat.  Thus Bachmann’s love-hate relationship with the media may be driving up her name ID outside of her district, but at the same time driving up her statewide negatives – limiting her chances for advancement in the future. 

So what should any of this matter?  In her own district, as Smart Politics even demonstrated this winter, Bachmann likely has a solid hold of her seat regardless of what the DCCC or others attempt.  National Republicans might even be thankful to see Democrats waste millions in a uphill climb for 2010, leaving fewer funds for vulernable House Dems elsewhere.  But in a State where the GOP has been shrunk and is needing potential statewide leaders, having the most prominent member of the House GOP delegation (and an oft-rumored 2012 U.S. Senate candidate) be distrusted by independent and moderate voters is hardly the recipe for success.  The same would be true if Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison continued to push hard for charges to be brought against former Bush administration officials while appearing weekly on the cable TV circuit.

But neither Bachmann nor the DNC seem likely to change their current tactics.  Meaning whether you think either side’s strategy has any merit or not, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

MinnPost:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It looks like the Democratic Congressional Committee is having a little fun with Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The committee has created a website called “Bachmann Watch — Michele Bachmann vs. The Truth” where it takes on claims that the Minnesota’s 6th district Republican congresswoman has made.

We are stunned at the DCC’s use of the word “Truth”, particularly the capital-T variety which is laden with all sorts of unfashionable antiquated Western/bourgeois notions of moral absolutes.

Happen to miss it?  So did everyone else who was actually listening to the “First Hour” of the Northern Alliance Radio Network.  Fortunately those intrepid journalists over at Politico, recycling a University of Minnesota blog post, have recast Rep. Michele Bachmann’s off-the-cuff comments on “climate change” so now we all know that we missed the moment where “Bachmann urges “armed” revolt over climate plan.”

“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people – we the people – are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.”

Patrick Henry, it ain’t.  Nor is it Bachmann’s sic semper tyrannis to the Administration.

Never at a loss for hyperbole, Bachmann has toe-tickled her tonsils plenty of times in her brief tenure in the U.S. House, but these comments are hardly provocative – even by her standards.  “Armed and dangerous” on the energy tax issue isn’t exactly a call to the ramparts or for the storming of the Climateologists’ Bastille.  It’s a fairly tame – and lame – metaphor for pushing back against global warming “science.”  If that equates to calling for armed revolt, then Doug Williams needs to be among the first rounded up for domestic terrorism.

Bachmann dug this hole with her “anti-American” comments about Barack Obama last fall, meaning that every press outlet and left-of-center opponent will assume the worst when she opens her mouth.

The new poll (crosstabs here) has Tink “up” 47% to 44%, which is a statistical tie. The party ID in this poll was 40% Republican, 32% Democrat, and 25% Independent.

Now, here is a summary of all the CD6 polls from 2006, along with party affiliation from those polls.

The 40% Republican is not out of line with what was seen in 2006. Neither is the 32% Democrat, though that may be a tick lower than 2006. The Independent numbers were all over the map in 2006, but the 25% number this year is interesting. That is higher than what the SurveyUSA polls found in 2006.

I don’t think Bob Anderson has near the appeal that John Binkowski had, especially with younger voters, so I don’t see him pulling a lot of votes from the DFL candidate. Put another way, I think Binkowski’s presence in the race helped Bachmann more than Anderson will help this time around.

Bottom line, I don’t think you can dismiss this poll simply by claiming the demographics are out of whack.

Now, I’m a polls-as-trend kind of guy, but I haven’t been following the polls this time around to see how this poll fits in with others. I will say I don’t think it’s wise to point to one poll at one moment in time and say, yup, that’s how things are.

You’ll see in 2006 that the polls were close around the time of the whole Mark Foley mess. (That MN Poll was laughable.) But, in an awful year, Bachmann pulled away at the end. So, while this poll is a bit of a warning bell, there’s no need yet for red lights and blaring klaxons.

The anti-American thing is going to hurt, but it’s a conservative district and Tink and Anderson running as Anti-Bachmanns shouldn’t be enough to woo conservative voters. McCain should have some appeal to these Independents, and I think he’ll win this district, and I still think the odds are good that voters in the 6th District who will vote for McCain won’t split their vote and vote against Bachmann.

The one concession I’ve made to maintain some form of sanity is that I’ve taken to censoring my news, just like the old Soviet Union. The citizenry (me) only gets to read and listen to what I deem appropriate for its health and well-being. Sure, there are times when the system breaks down. Michele Bachmann got through my radar this week, right before bedtime. That’s not supposed to happen. That was a lapse in security, and I’ve had to make some adjustments.

H/T to the beloved aunts at Dump Bachmann.

At least we don’t do that these days. Though, I’d pay good money to see Harry Reid trying to shoot a bow and arrow from the back of a galloping horse.

This hasn’t been a particularly inspiring campaign, though how many ever are. I was excited about George Bush’s first run, and Ronald Reagan, but I’d be jiggered if I could think of many more than that.

I do get a quadrennial chuckle, though, over the usual military-wannabe talk of “attacking” such and such, or “defending” states a party took before, etc…, as if voters were battalions that could be moved around and influenced by brute force.

Voter are much more influenced by emotion, which is why Rep. Bachmann truly stepped in it. Her weakness has always been to charge into a fray without the kind of governor on her statements that a wise politician must have.

Look, she flat out said she thought Obama had anti-American views, and you just can’t do that, certainly not without granite-hard evidence to back it up. Yes, the conversation started about Obama’s association with Ayers and Wright, and Wifey’s statement about not being proud of her country before. All fair game, and yes, Matthews (who is an idiot, but who is no idiot, if you know what I mean) led her right down the garden path. But, well, here’s part of the transcript:

REP. BACHMANN: It’s a fair comment, because Barack Obama does have a close association with Bill Ayers. It’s one that the American people have a right to have some answers to. And Barack Obama still hasn’t come clean on his relationship with Bill Ayers. It’s been under the radar, and only recently has it been coming out. And people need to know.

MR. MATTHEWS: So this is a character issue. You believe that Barack Obama may — you’re suspicious because of this relationship — may have anti-American views. Otherwise it’s probably irrelevant to this discussion.

REP. BACHMANN: Absolutely.

MR. MATTHEWS: So you believe it brings into –

REP. BACHMANN: I absolutely –

MR. MATTHEWS: So you believe that Barack Obama may have anti- American views.

REP. BACHMANN: Absolutely. I’m very concerned that he may have anti-American views. That’s what the American people are concerned about. That’s why they want to know what his answers are. That’s why Joe the plumber has figured so highly in the last few days

Matthews was no doubt about it trying to set her up. But, there is no political universe in which the answer to Matthews’ last unqualified question/statement is “Absolutely.”

Trying to claim her words were misinterpreted is not the way out, either. She handed her opponents a club with which they could beat her, and now even the NRCC feels a political need to at least distance themselves. It was a self-inflicted wound, but I’m with Mitch,

First things first: I support Rep. Bachmann.  No two ways about it; she is one of Minnesota’s very best congressional representatives.  She is vastly more qualified (to say nothing, at this point, of experienced) than her challenger, Elwin “E-Tink” Tinklenberg.  She is a lighting rod for all the usual constituencies that find an uppity, articulate conservative woman to be a huge threat, of course – but any woman that breaks from the mushy-left, pro-”choice” pack is going to be. Would I have picked a different word to describe this idea than “anti-American”?  Probably. Do I wish Rep. Bachmann had?  Perhaps.

A conservative is going to get zero breaks from the media, so we need to minimize unforced errors. I’m eternally glad Bachmann is in Congress voting on the side of angels, and I hope it stays that way for a long time. Hopefully this, too, will fade, like so many other campaign flaps before it.

In fact, trust in our elected officials is suffering badly. Incredibly, our citizenry has become so cynical that 4 of 5 people in the United States look unfavorably at the job Congress is doing.

This has to change.

Let’s make note of five things…first, that Mr. Tinklenberg is correct in recognizing the record low esteem the public holds for Congress. Second, this unprecedented drop in esteem has occurred while Congress has been under the leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Third, Both Pelosi and Reid are Democrats leading Democrat majorities. Fourth, Mr. Tinklenberg is running for Congress on the Democrat ticket. Fifth, the flier paints Republican Michelle Bachmann as the ‘bad guy’ in this scenario.

While it’s understandable that Mr. Tinklenberg wishes to displace Congresswoman Bachmann, it is not logical to blame Congress’ low ratings on the party out of power (way out of power, in fact). Does Mr. Tinklenberg hold Pelosi accountable for any of these low ratings? If not, he isn’t running on ‘principle’ as his flier states, but politics, the very thing he says we need less of.

Jay Stephenson has an article

Here’s an excerpt…

“My congresswoman in Minnesota is a fundamentalist GOP nut,” reads one blog. Another asks for conservatives to donate to Rep. Michele Bachmann’s campaign: “The list of stalkerazzi and biased media coverage is endless…she needs your help.”

Love her or hate her, 6th District Rep. Michele Bach-mann (R-Minn) is one of Minnesota’s most controversial political figures. Since her days in the state Senate, the blog world has been lit up on both sides of the spectrum: detractors have referred to her as an extreme right-wing theocrat while  defenders say she’s a principled conservative who’s not afraid to stand her ground.

To date, Bachmann’s name pulls up 181,000 results when entered into a search on Google. She’s served in Congress for a little over one year. In comparison, the name of Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn), who has been in Congress for more than 33 years, pulls up 164,000 results.

Bachmann has also become a growing celebrity on YouTube with 136 clips posted — more than any other Minnesota representative excluding Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress.

You can watch the segment here. Here is the text.

The Congresswoman has introduced a bill called the “Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act.” The conservative, first-term Republican wants all this business about government regulation just to stop.

If this light bulb thing isn’t nipped in the bud, what’s next? Federal air and water quality regulations?

She says the new bulbs have mercury in them. She’s right — a little, and recycling is the answer. In fact, Xcel will reimburse you if you recycle.

What the Congresswoman fails to mention is that the bulbs last four times as long, and use one-fourth the energy of the old kind of bulbs. The less electricity used, the lower the amount of mercury spewed up a smokestack of a coal-fired power plant and the fewer fish will be killed by mercury.

But she may be right about the creeping influence of government. Before you know it, somebody is going to make a law that we put on our seat belts.

Please do not operate heavy machinery while you read/watch this.

(Before we dive in, note the reference to “conservative” first-term Republican. For 100 points and the win, please find me references where Shelby refers to “liberal” government officials.)

There is concern about the mercury in the bulbs. This was in the Bangor News a month ago,

Maine environmental officials have revised their recommendations for cleaning up shattered compact fluorescent lights based on new studies that examined the amount of mercury released when the popular energy-saving bulbs break.

From the Business and Media Institute in December,

But while Davidson mentioned one drawback of CFLs – that their “yellowish tints” are annoying to some eyes – he failed to mention the major flaw of the new technology: mercury. Mercury, a toxic metal famously found in thermometers, helps create the increased efficiency of a CFL bulb. If the bulb breaks, the small amount of mercury can contaminate the area.

The Financial Post reported in April that a broken CFL bulb cost a Maine woman more than $2,000 to clean when the state Department of Environmental Protection referred her to a cleanup company. At $5 in energy savings per bulb per month (as Davidson reported), one broken bulb could eat up 33 years’ worth of savings!

The federal EPA doesn’t recommend professional cleanup for a broken bulb. It recommends you open a window, leave the room for 15 minutes, then put on some rubber gloves, scoop up the broken bits and seal them in a plastic bag, then put that bag in another plastic bag before throwing it out. Then wash your hands. But don’t worry, Tree Hugger – which calls itself the “leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream” – says the bulbs aren’t dangerous despite those recommended measures.

(Here’s a Canada.com story about that woman in Maine.)

Timothy Carney wrote in December,

As reported previously in this column, the energy bill was loaded up with all sorts of favors for energy companies, manufacturers and other corporate bigwigs. The light bulb law follows the same pattern: A regulation touted as an environmental boon that will have dubious benefits to the planet, real costs to consumers and guaranteed profits for a handful of well-connected corporations.
…
Today, the clear successor to Thomas Edison’s incandescent bulb is the compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). CFLs are more expensive, but they last longer and use less electricity. They have real downsides, however.

First, the light is not as attractive to many consumers — a problem with which the industry has struggled for years. Second, they take a little time after you flip the switch to reach full brightness.

Third, most CFLs can’t be used with dimmer switches or three-way fixtures. Fourth, the bulbs contain mercury, creating a potential health hazard in case of breakage and an environmental hazard for disposal.
….
These companies will get rich thanks to energy bill, but it’s not clear the public or the environment will share the windfall GE and Philips will experience. GE makes its CFLs and other fancy light bulbs in China, while it makes its incandescents in the United States.

The light bulb law will ship more American jobs offshore, shift manufacturing to China’s dirtier and less efficient factories, and increase shipping distances. Add in the mercury, and it’s not clear how good this law is for the environment. Its clearest benefit is to the companies who lobbied for it.

But, never mind all that. I’m sure Shelby was truly attempting an objective look at all facets of this issue, rather than just snarking about the “conservative” Representative.

Update: I suppose I should note another of Bachmann’s bete noires, the Strib’s Blog House column, today takes a swipe at her, too.

After more than a year in the U.S. House, Rep. Michele Bachmann has finally found an issue worth her time and effort: The defense of traditional light bulbs.

Back in the 2006 election, the Blog House and WCCO teamed up to give Bachmann a one-two punch in the WCCO debate.

And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you…

-Leviticus 11:7

Here’s a list of House members that have sworn off earmarks. Right-minded Minnesotans will appreciate the first (and thirteenth) name on the list.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)
Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA)
Rep. John Campbell (R-CA)
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Rep. Louie Gohmert, (R-TX)
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, (R-TX)
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC)
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Rep. John Kline (R-MN)
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA)
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA)
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ)
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)

You can listen by clicking here.

Iraq war veteran and former Watertown Mayor Steve Sarvi just began his campaign against Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) on Thursday, but he’s already talking about not only his own victory in 13 months, but three others for the state’s Democrats as well.

“We’re talking about the whole state turning blue,” Sarvi said. “It’s going to be an exciting time.”

The entry of a trio of top Democratic candidates into races in the state’s three GOP-held House districts in the past 10 days has spurred talk of turning Minnesota into the Massachusetts of the Midwest, electing a congressional delegation that could mirror the all-Democratic slate representing arguably the most liberal state in the Union.

Good God I hope not. This article needs to be routed amongst the local conservative masses. The thought makes me shudder and want to write a check out to someone immeadiately.

Our friends, the kids over at MNPublis are giddy about the prospect.

Bob Hill, who was one of three DFL candidates running for Congress in the 6th District, has dropped out of the race.

Hill, a Stillwater trial lawyer, said Thursday he decided to drop out after learning that former state transportation commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg intends to run.

“Now that El is in, I’ve decided it makes more sense for me … to not have any kind of contentious fight for the nomination in a seat that’s tough anyway,” Hill said.

Bob Olson, a tax lawyer now living in St. Cloud, also is seeking to be the DFL candidate against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Republican.