Both major newspapers in Minnesota are running articles today (Sun., Oct. 19) about how Rep. Michele Bachmann's comments on MSNBC' Hardball with Chris Matthews triggered an avalanche of donations to Elwin Tinklenberg's campaign. The Minneapolis StarTribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press each cite $450,000 in donations made to Tinklenberg's campaign since Bachmann's comments about Sen. Barack Obama's "anti-American views." Bachmann's comments also called into question the patriotism of other members of Congress, by calling for a media investigation into whether members of Congress were pro- or anti-America.
In the StarTribune article, Daily Kos also drew a mention.
The StarTribune article stated:
A spokesman for DFLer Elwyn Tinklenberg's congressional campaign said a "fire" had been lit after his opponent criticized Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
John Wodele said Saturday night that 9,000 people nationwide have donated roughly $450,000 in the 24 hours since Rep. Michele Bachmann told Chris Matthews of MSNBC that Obama "may have anti-American views."
"Momentum has been going our way, but her appearance and what she said on "Hardball" just sort of accelerated this fire that has been lit under our campaign already," Wodele said.
Tinklenberg's thank-you comments on Daily Kos were also cited:
Tinklenberg, on the website "Daily Kos," said the past few hours have been "nothing short of astounding."
"Since Congresswoman Michele Bachmann appeared on MSNBC's "Hardball" earlier tonight, there's been a deluge of support unlike anything we have seen ... our phones haven't stopped ringing," he wrote.
The Pioneer Press article cited the enormous uptick in donations to Tinklenberg's campaign caused by Bachmann's comments:
Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann's comment on MSNBC that she was concerned Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "may have anti-American views" is giving her opponent's campaign coffers a huge boost.
A spokesman for Democratic challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg's campaign said today about 9,000 people from across the country had donated at least $450,000 online since about 6 p.m. Friday, just after Bachman appeared on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews.
For comparison, Tinklenberg's campaign finance filings show he raised about $313,000 in donations in a period of about five weeks beginning Aug. 21.
Tinklenberg's campaign responded in the Pioneer Press:
John Wodele, campaign spokesman for Tinklenberg, said Bachmann's comments and insinuations went too far.
"There was a spark already. But she poured fuel on that spark and it just exploded," Wodele said. "It struck people as inappropriate."
Bachmann's campaign office was unapologetic. However, when describing the key issues in the campaign, Bachmann's spokesperson Michelle Marston, quoted in the Pioneer Press, wisely did not reiterate any of the incendiary language used by Bachmann herself:
Marston, spokeswoman for Bachmann's re-election campaign, said she encourages people to watch the whole interview and not just listen to clips or read online reactions to it. Bachmann did not call all liberals anti-American, Marston said, but asked people to take a closer look at Obama's relationships.
"We have real, legitimate questions that need to be answered," Marston said. What does (Obama) really mean when he talks about change? What kind of policies and views will he bring to the White House if elected? That's what she was talking about."
Incidentally, as of this posting time, $251,833 has been raised on the ActBlue Tinklenberg fundraising site. The remainder was apparently raised in direct donations to Tinklenberg's campaign. Tinklenberg's most recent update on Daily Kos cites $488,127 raised during this time period.