Bachmann's `Anti-American' Jab Roils Republican Races (Update1)

By Nicholas Johnston

Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Michele Bachmann was cruising toward re-election when the Minnesota Republican congresswoman torpedoed her own campaign, and may take other Republicans down with her.

During an Oct. 17 appearance on MSNBC, Bachmann said Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama ``may have anti- American views'' and urged reporters to investigate whether other Democrats may be ``anti-America.''

Since then, Democratic challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg has been flooded with more than $1.3 million of contributions, congressional Democrats promised an additional $1 million worth of advertising, and House Republicans dropped plans for their own ads. A House seat considered safely Republican a week ago is leaning toward the Democrat in a new poll.

``She may have finally cooked herself,'' said Democrat Alan Ciesielczyk, a 62-year-old teacher from Blaine, Minnesota.

While Bachmann, 52, has said she'd like to ``take back'' her comments, aftershocks are shaking up races outside her district, northwest of Minneapolis. Republican nominee John McCain trails Obama in Minnesota polls, and incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman is locked in a tough re-election fight.

Bachmann's ``self-inflicted'' damage may drag down Republicans all over the ballot, University of Minnesota professor Lawrence Jacobs said. ``It will not take much of a dip in turnout to have a cataclysmic effect on the races in Minnesota,'' said Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.

`New Brand of McCarthyism'

In Washington, former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell mentioned Bachmann's statement as one reason he decided to endorse Obama. And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee mounted a fundraising appeal seeking donations to combat ``this new brand of McCarthyism.'' The committee has already received ``hundreds of thousands of dollars,'' spokeswoman Carrie James said.

The trouble started when Bachmann, on national television, said she was ``very concerned'' that Obama ``may have anti- American views.'' She went on to suggest that ``the American media'' should ``take a great look at the views of people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?''

Tinklenberg, 58, a former Methodist minister and state transportation commissioner, had about $350,000 in his campaign accounts on Sept. 30, when Bachmann had almost $1.4 million to spend. In the week since Bachmann's MSNBC interview, about 23,000 contributors have sent money to Tinklenberg. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report reclassified the race as a ``toss-up'' from ``likely Republican.''

`Incredible' Momentum

A poll conducted Monday and Tuesday by SurveyUSA showed Tinklenberg leading Bachmann 47 percent to 44 percent, with a plus-or-minus 4 percentage point margin of error.

At a town hall meeting in Blaine on Oct. 21, Tinklenberg said his opponent had sparked an ``incredible sense of momentum'' in his campaign. ``It's changed a lot just in the last -- oh, let's see -- the last three or four days,'' he said.

The following day in Stillwater, Bachmann said her comments about Obama's viewpoints were ``outrageously misinterpreted'' and weren't aimed at the Illinois senator as a person.

``Nowhere in the interview did I question Barack Obama's patriotism, nowhere did I say that Barack Obama is anti- American,'' she said in an interview. ``I don't believe he is.''

Bachmann also said she was challenging the press to better vet lawmakers, not calling for ``Joe McCarthy-like'' investigations of Congress.

Don't Back Down

As Bachmann talked at The Main Café, supporter Andy DuPlessis chimed in: ``Don't ever back down from those guys,'' he said. ``Somebody had to ask those questions.''

``Aren't you marvelous?'' Bachmann replied. ``I'm glad you came in.''

Bachmann's musings about pro- or anti-American Democrats added to increasingly angry rhetoric in the 2008 campaign's closing days. The day before Bachmann's televised comments, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin told North Carolina supporters that she enjoyed being in ``pro-America areas of this great nation.'' Palin apologized, saying she didn't mean that parts of the U.S. are more patriotic than others.

At an Oct. 18 rally in North Carolina, Republican Representative Robin Hayes told a crowd that ``liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God.'' Hayes also apologized, saying his statement ``came out completely the wrong way.''

Internet Video

Videos of Bachmann's remarks have been viewed tens of thousands of times on the Web, reminiscent of reaction to Virginia Republican Senator George Allen's stumble in 2006, when he called a rival campaign worker ``macaca'' -- a word Allen said he made up, but which others described as a racial slur. Allen, who had been described as a possible presidential candidate, lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jim Webb.

Bachmann's comments prompted former Minnesota Republican Governor Arne Carlson to announce yesterday that he is supporting Obama.

Carlson criticized Republicans for a mean-spirited campaign that has ``been going down all these side roads'' and said Obama offers the best hope for dealing with the economic crisis, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

The flap over Bachmann's remarks lengthens odds that McCain can overtake Obama, and hurts Coleman in a neck-and-neck race. ``Coleman is going to need every living, breathing Republican to turn out and vote, and Michele Bachmann's comment is kind of piling on in a bad year,'' Jacobs said.

Conservative District

Working in Bachmann's favor, her district has supported Republicans. Bachmann beat her Democratic opponent by 8 percentage points in a three-person race two years ago. Republican President George W. Bush carried the district twice while losing the statewide Minnesota vote in 2000 and 2004.

``Certainly, it's a conservative district,'' Tinklenberg said, after the town hall meeting in Blaine.

Democrats say they hope Bachmann is at the end of her political career. ``There are a lot of Republicans who are not going to be voting for her,'' said Jeanne Evenson, a 69-year-old retiree from Blaine.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Blaine, Minnesota, at njohnston3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 24, 2008 11:58 EDT

		Email this article Printer friendly format