Update: See also Stiffa's recommended diary on the Bachmann interview
Those of you watching Hardball tonight on the East Coast just had a chance to see one of the most disgusting interviews you will ever see on a 24-hour news network. Michelle Bachmann has been a longtime McCain surrogate on the cable shows, spewing her special brand of hate and lies for a Party that thrives on them.
But tonight, Bachmann outdid herself. When Matthews played for her clips of McCain's Ayers robocalls and Palin's statement about "pro-America" locations, Congresswoman Bachmann agreed wholeheartedly with every assertion. She claimed that she was very concerned that Obama had anti-American views. She called Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi extreme far leftists and extreme liberals, and equated them with William Ayers as an extreme leftist who hates America. Finally, she demanded that the media investigate every member of Congress to see which ones are "anti-America" and which ones are "pro-America."
For the YouTube impaired, this was the final quote:
"What I would say is that 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 the American people would love to see an expose like that."
But really, the full interview has to be watched. It was indescribably outrageous in its McCarthyesque evil, and the more she talked, the more rope Matthews gave her to hang herself with.
Fortunately, we don't have to fume and scream impotently about this. El Tinklenberg is running against Bachmann, and was just added to the Red-to-Blue list three days ago. We can channel our anger and outrage, and make sure that such a despicable human being never graces the halls of Congress again.
Tinklenberg has the money and the capacity to win:
Blaine, MN – The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced today that El Tinklenberg has been added to their top-tier Red to Blue program as a candidate for change. The announcement follows Tinklenberg’s financial report which shows $469,000 raised in the third quarter and $1,000,065 raised this cycle. Tinklenberg filed with $356,631 cash on hand.
"The candidates for change being named to the DCCC Red to Blue program are running solid campaigns and are committed to making things easier for middle class families in their districts," said Chris Van Hollen, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "El Tinklenberg has worked hard to make his race competitive, and he’s moving into position to win. With a solid campaign organization and strong momentum in the district, El Tinklenberg has proven that he has what it takes to defeat Rep. Michele Bachmann."
The polling shows that we can win, as Bachmann is at only 42% with 15% undecided and an overwhelming majority feeling the country is on the wrong track:
DCCC Poll Shows Bachmann Kissed up to Bush Too Many Times
Tinklenberg Holds Bachmann to 4 point lead; Her Approval Ratings Plummet
Last Friday, Minnesota Public Radio reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee planned to pull its television ads in Minnesota's third congressional district to defend Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in Minnesota's sixth congressional district. They did so with good reason if their polling at all matches a poll the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released today showing Bachmann with only 42 percent of the vote to Elwyn Tinklenberg's 38 percent, and 15 percent are undecided. Elwyn Tinklenberg has won the endorsements of both the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and the powerful Independence Party of Minnesota. The poll was conducted by Grove Insight, from October 10 thru 12, of 400 people with 4.9 margin of error.
The four point spread in the race comes after the Alliance for a Better Minnesota television began running a television ad highlighting Michele Bachmann's close ties to President Bush including her infamous kiss at last year's State of the Union address. According to the DCCC's poll, President Bush's approval rating in the district is at an abysmal 18 percent and Bachmann herself isn't fairing much better with only 34 percent. Additionally, 82 percent of respondents said that the country is "off on the wrong track."
Unfortunately, Tinklenberg hasn't gotten the Netroots love he deserves: he's only raised $2,500 on ActBlue so far. We can do better. Show him some love today. And kick the anti-American, McCarthyist Bachmann out of the Congress she defiles with her bigoted presence. Show her that there's a price to be paid from freedom-loving Americans for using that kind of language on the airwaves.
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