With the recent purity surge by the right wing, including recent challenges to Dede Scozzafava, Charlie Crist, John McCain, who voted with Bush 95% of the time, and one South Carolina county GOP censuring Lindsey Graham, it was only a matter of time until Michelle Bachmann faced a challenger. Local talk radio host George Nutwing has announced a primary challenge to Bachmann, and is being backed by the club for growth. Bachmann could be in the fight of her political life.
As Nutwing announced his challenge to Bachmann, he held nothing back:
Right now we are in dangerous times. A Muslim Kenyan is in the white house and we are plummeting head first into a socialist fascist dictatorship! If we are to stem the tide and fight back, we will need strong leadership adhering to traditional conservative values such as preventing people in love from getting married and controlling women's bodies. Bachmann has not been a strong enough advocate for such values, even claiming that abortion is acceptable in cases of rape and insest. Clearly, she's way too far to the left. and has let fellow socialists run wild. We need true conservatives, and that's why I'm running for congress in Minnesota's 6th district!
Club for Growth President, Chris Chocola made this endorsement:
If we are to live in a country that promotes economic freedom, we can not have wishy washy representatives. It is unacceptable that in such a Republican district, we can have the likes of Bachmann as the 6th's representative. Sure, Bachmann has advocated against the government take over of health care and even medicare, but why hasn't she called for ending public education, or getting rid of the socialist wastes that are the fire departments? These are all causes George Nutwing supports. Therefore, I am honored to support this proud defender of our liberty for congress!
Nutwing has quickly garnered the support of key Republican leaders, such as Rush Limbaugh:
So called conservatives, like Michelle Bachmann represent everything that's wrong with the Republican party. They will only go half steps but not the whole way. Take Bachmann's resent comments on re-education camps. She claimed that there was a "strong chance" that provisions in a community service bill could lead to re-education camps. Why did she have to sugar coat her language like that? Bachman should have come out and said what we all know, the Kennedy Serve America Act WILL lead to re-education camps that will be worse than the holocaust. We know it to be true just as we know ACORN stole 9.5 million votes for Bachmann's idol, Barack Hussein Obama! It's just like Bachmann to try and play all sides. Well Bachmann is not going back to congress if the true Americans, my listeners, have anything to say about it. Nutwing is a real conservative who's not afraid to say Obama is worse than Hitler. He will be a breath of fresh air in congress.
Nutwing has hinted that if he loses to Bachmann, he could run as an independent; when asked about this possibility RNC chairman Michael Steele had this to say:
I'm not going to pick a side one way or the other. Both of these candidates are Republicans and represent everything the Republican party is about. if either one of them wins, it is a win for the Republican and conservative values, baby.
Rasmussen has come out with an early poll of the primary and shows Nutwing already in the lead by 5 points. Since his visibility is still lower than Bachmann's it is likely he will win the primary by a sizable margin. With a Nutwing victory likely, the question everyone seems to be asking is whether Nutwing will be conservative enough in congress, if he wins to the general, to avoid a primary challenge in 2012.