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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (428792)	10/21/2008 8:20:16 AM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1570477

And Obama shouldn't have a security clearance PERIOD.

To: steve harris who wrote (428792)	10/21/2008 12:39:49 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1570477

Self-inflicted Wound Puts Bachmann in Jeopardy By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff If Rep. Michele Bachmann limps to the finish line on Election Day — either ahead or behind — it is because she shot herself in the foot. The freshman Republican from Minnesota’s 6th District is suddenly in danger of losing her seat after she questioned whether Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama harbors “anti-American views” and called for an investigation into whether members of Congress are “pro-America or anti-America” in an interview last Friday on MSNBC’s program “Hardball.” Bachmann’s remarks infuriated Democrats and turned the campaign of her opponent, Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg, into an overnight cause celebre. Tinklenberg, a former state Transportation secretary, had collected more than $810,000 between Friday night and Monday afternoon, after raising $1 million for the entire election cycle through the end of September. “It’s hard to give a completely accurate number because the money keeps rolling in,” said Tinklenberg spokeswoman Kate Monson. “We’re in the middle of a political earthquake here,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar , a Minnesota Democrat, said on Hardball Monday evening. CQ Politics is moving its rating of the contest from Republican Favored to Leans Republican, a more competitive category. Tinklenberg had shown signs of competitiveness before Friday, but Bachmann’s Hardball appearance transformed the dynamics of the race in a district she won 50 percent to 42 percent in 2006 with a third-party candidate taking 8 percent of the vote. There is no strong third party candidate running this year. Asked by Hardball host Chris Matthews whether she thinks Obama has anti-American beliefs, Bachmann said “Absolutely . . . I’m very concerned that he may have anti-American views.” Pressed about whether members of Congress other than Obama, who is a senator from Illinois, should be put in that category, Bachmann called for a media probe into the question. “The news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out are they pro-America or anti-America. I think people would love to see an expose like that,” she said. That has Democrats comparing her to Joseph McCarthy, the demagogic late senator who was eventually censured for the tactics he used in the 1950s investigating communism in the United States. High-profile Republicans, including Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman , have distanced themselves from Bachmann’s comments, and GOP strategists concede that the race has been fundamentally altered. “The race remains very winnable but has become a much steeper climb,” said one Republican strategist. “She effectively put the race into play by herself.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is poised to flood the suburbs north and east of Minneapolis and St. Paul with advertising to help Tinklenberg. “We’re going up on TV this week and next week and we’re spending over a million dollars,” said DCCC spokesman Doug Thornell. “She’s made herself the issue,” Thornell said. “It altered the race almost instantaneously.” In just two years in Congress, Bachmann’s spirited delivery of conservative orthodoxy has made her a popular guest on the television talk-show circuit on issues ranging from energy independence to the presidential campaign. But comments like those made on Friday have sometimes alienated Republicans, and GOP sources said they were not surprised that Bachmann had put herself in political jeopardy. “She’s always been viewed as a potential liability,” the Republican strategist said. “It was bound to happen.” Monson suggested the newly flush Tinklenberg war chest would not be used to point to Bachmann’s remarks but to enunciate the Democrat’s platform. “It’s a very positive development and we’re going to deploy it in a very positive manner,” Monson said. “The message we are delivering is a positive message on El’s plan to rebuild our economy.” Bachmann could be saved by the district’s strong Republican tilt. It gave President Bush his strongest performance — 57 percent — in the state in 2004, and it was the best district for Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2006. Page: 1 2 \| Next >> cqpolitics.com