“Basically, after all that’s gone on, and with Michele Bachmann now stepping down, I’ve been talking to my friends and family and frankly, the feeling is, ‘Mission Accomplished.’ She wasn’t representing the people of the 6th District appropriately, and now she won’t be representing them. There’s no way anyone could run and win who would be worse than Michele Bachmann. So we accomplished that task.”
I asked Graves if he was claiming credit for ending Bachmann’s political career, but he demurred. “I don’t know everything that went into her decision,” he said. “Clearly, it was going to be a competitive race. All through Memorial Day weekend, she was in the district, working the crowds. Obviously something happened to cause her to believe that she shouldn’t run again. We’re very happy she dropped out. The country can do better.”
And so now, there suddenly aren’t any Democrats or Republicans running to represent Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. This will change, of course, but it’s not every day that both candidates in the most highly-watched congressional race in the country drop out within 48 hours of one another. source
The announcement that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is not seeking reelection will leave the Capitol a much less interesting place to fact check. As one of our colleagues put it, ‘The entire fact checking industry may have to hold a national day of mourning.’Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler • Offering a lament for Michele Bachmann’s retirement, which means that he’ll be able to pull out the “Four Pinocchios”—the Post’s version of a pants-on-fire lie—a little less often. “Bachmann is not just fast and loose with the facts; she is consistently and unapologetically so,” he continues.
You guys, Michele Bachmann won’t be returning to Congress next term. She’s going home to spend more time with her ethics scandals.
Great. Now she has her time freed up to replace Sarah Palin on Fox News.
Google found the one person who might look saner while wearing Google Glass.
Photo via @LukeRussert
Paging Best Roof Talk Ever.
The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) is currently investigating Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 2012 presidential campaign, on suspicion of improper usage of campaign funds, according to a new report from The Daily Beast. While Rep. Bachmann is not believed to have personally committed any criminal actions, investigators are trying to ascertain whether or not Bachmann was aware of under-the-table payments to several advisers and, if so, when she became aware of the cash transfers. While OCE has no real enforcement powers of any kind, the board does make direct recommendations to the House Ethics Committee, though we don’t suspect the threat of censure (a.k.a a stern talking to from Congress) particularly frightens Rep. Bachmann. (Photo via Gage Skidmore) source
Frankly, Brett exercised Rasputin-like control over Michele. More than one staffer was grateful to God that she didn’t win the nomination because of the influence that Brett had over her. …Once she asked me to ride on the bus with her to pray. Brett’s objection was so intense that for the good of the order, I followed the bus in my personal vehicle. On one occasion, she whispered to me, ‘Peter, don’t get off the bus no matter who tells you to get off.’ Another time, her personal assistant told me, ‘Peter, Michele does not want to you leave. Stay on the bus. Please pray for us.’Peter Waldron, former aide to Rep. Michele Bachmann • In an email to BuzzFeed, in which he alleges that Michele Bachmann’s debate coach during her presidential run, Brett O’Donnell, maintained an irregular level of control over the candidate. Waldron claims that O’Donnell prohibited Rep. Bachmann’s husband Marcus from sleeping in the same room with her while on the trail, refused to grant debate prep access to campaign consultants Ed Rollins and Ed Goeas, and “held her captive” in the back of her campaign bus during a 99-county tour, leaving her emotionally and mentally “broken.” O’Donnell strenuously denies Waldron’s surprising allegations: “Your source for your outrageous claim is a disgruntled campaign employee who has little knowledge of reality. Why is this news now anyway? The story is completely false.” source
Leaders have to be active in stepping in and sending messages about protecting the diversity within their countries. We did see some of that in our own country. We saw Republicans stepping up and standing up against the kind of assaults that really have no place in our politics.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • Defending Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin, from recent allegations that she has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, while speaking to reporters at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Clinton’s comments followed a speech coinciding with the release of the State Department’s annual report on religious freedom, after a member of the press asked for her thoughts on the allegations leveled by Rep. Michele Bachmann and four other members of Congress. source (via • follow)
The Muslim Brotherhood can’t even penetrate the Egyptian government.Ibrahim Ali Iraqi, Muslim Brotherhood leader from Egypt’s Daqheleya province • Denying allegations, brought forward by Rep. Michele Bachmann and four other members of Congress, that Hillary Clinton’s deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin has infiltrated the U.S. government on behalf of the Brotherhood. Bachmann stands by her questioning of Abedin’s connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, even after top members of the Republican Party spoke out against her. The New York Post also reports that Mrs. Abedin has been placed under federal protection following a death threat from a New Jersey resident. source (via • follow)
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In letters sent to several top-level government agencies, Representative Michele Bachmann claims that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated multiple branches of the United States government. Bachmann goes on to claim that the organization has successfully placed individuals in high-ranking Obama Administration positions, and lists Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin as one such example. She also claims that the group has infiltrated the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and “potentially even in the National Intelligence Agency.” (Photos via Gage Skidmore, zennie62) source
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Congresswoman Bachmann’s husband is of Swiss descent, so she has been eligible for dual-citizenship since they got married in 1978. However, recently some of their children wanted to exercise their eligibility for dual-citizenship so they went through the process as a family.Michele Bachmann spokesperson Becky Rogness • Explaining the news today that her boss, the congresswoman and former GOP presidential candidate, received dual-citizenship from Switzerland on March 19th. As it turns out, her husband, Marcus Bachmann, has been eligible due to his parent’s nationality, and that applies to Michele and their children as well. This means Bachmann is now eligible to run for office in Switzerland, which seems like a stretch, though she made it clear she isn’t immune to the charm of the western european state: “It’s tough to find a place not to like in Switzerland,” she said. source (via • follow)
» Reminder: None of these candidates are running for the Republican nomination anymore.
In full disclosure, I did win a polka dancing competition when I was in the tenth grade at my alma mater, Anoka High School in Anoka, Minn. But, despite my tenth grade polka success and my lifelong love of ballroom dancing, the recent rumors are false. I will not be joining ‘Dancing with the Stars.’Michele Bachmann • Revealing that, like Herman Cain before her, she’s passing on “Dancing With the Stars”. Odds they get Tim Pawlenty: Even. (ht imwithkanye, who is totally owning the political DWTS beat)
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