Bachmann has a new contender, while DFL opponent is being given money faster than he can count it.
Mmmm, schadenfreude-y.
Michele Bachmann's comments fuel surge in Tinklenberg campaign donations
By Megan Boldt
mboldt@pioneerpress.com
Article Last Updated: 10/18/2008 08:34:10 PM CDT
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.
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 also said that Obama's past associations with Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor, and Bill Ayers, who belonged to the radical anti-war group Weather Underground in the late 1960s and early 1970s, make her suspicious.
She said liberals like Wright and Ayers are "over the top anti-American."
"Remember it was Michele Obama who said she's only recently proud of her country. These are really anti-American views," Bachmann said. "That's not the way most Americans feel about their country."
Wodele said the Tinklenberg campaign had received about 600 e-mails since Bachmann's appearance.
Michelle 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."
Marston said Bachmann's campaign office in Woodbury has received about 40 phone calls since the interview. Some were positive; most callers who were upset were from outside the district or state, Marston said.
The voicemail boxes at Bachmann's congressional offices in St. Cloud and Woodbury were full when calls were made to each around 3:30 p.m. today.
Nick Kimball, spokesman for Obama's campaign in Minnesota, said Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his allies like Bachman have decided to use "scare tactics and false attacks."
Kimball said Minnesotans, like people across the country, are worried about their jobs, paychecks and healthcare. The response to Bachmann's comments shows that people "don't have the patience for these sort of dishonest tactics from campaigns," he said.
Source. Another article, with a quote from Tinklenberg's campaign manager.
Elwyn Tinklenberg himself was feeding a post on DailyKos with a running tally. $488,127.30 was donated to his campaign in the first 24 hours after her appearance on Hardball. The ActBlue page for Tinklenberg has contributions listed in excess of $104K by 2200 people in response to her appearance, but it's unclear if that is included in the numbers released by his campaign.
In addition, a Republican who attempted to challenge Bachmann during the primary has entered the race as a write-in.
Immelman registers as 6th District write-in
October 18, 2008
By Lawrence Schumacher
lschumacher@stcloudtimes.com
Aubrey Immelman, who mounted an unsuccessful Republican primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, said today he will file to run as a write-in candidate for the 6th Congressional District in the Nov. 4 election.
Immelman, a professor of political psychology at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, said he decided to run a write-in campaign after becoming upset at Bachmann’s comments on a cable talk show Friday.
Immelman said he sent an application to the office of Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie allowing write-in votes cast in his name to count as valid votes in the race.
He said he intends to offer himself as an "alternative for disillusioned Republicans" who cannot bring themselves to vote for DFL- and Independence Party-endorsed candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg or for Bob Anderson, the titular Independence Party candidate.
"The Republican Party needs to rebuild its image, and this cannot be done when its elected representatives say these kinds of things," he said. He referred to Bachmann's comment that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "may have anti-American views" and her call for a media investigation of whether members of Congress are "pro-American or anti-American."
Source.
The new candidate is in the article comments as StandintheDoor.
Also, the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) has pledged to help out Tinklenberg.
Tinklenberg will get cash infusion in 6th District fight against Bachmann
Millions already spent in 3rd District
By Dennis Lien and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 10/16/2008 12:08:50 PM CDT
As Minnesota political campaigns head into the home stretch, Democrat El Tinklenberg is getting some new help in the 6th Congressional District.
Tinklenberg recently passed the $1 million fundraising mark for the 2007-08 election cycle, prompting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to signal it will pump more money into the race on his behalf.
Lots will be needed, however, to catch the Republican incumbent, Rep. Michele Bachmann, who had $1.4 million in cash on hand as recently as August. Tinklenberg's filings this week to the Federal Election Commission for the Aug. 21 to Sept. 30 reporting period show him with $356,721 on hand.
Those House fundraising numbers, however, are dwarfed by money flowing to the Minnesota Senate race.
Democratic candidate Al Franken and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman have amassed the eye-popping combined total of $34 million in a race that has been leading the nation in number of television ads, money raised and money spent. The Independence Party's Dean Barkley has raised $75,000 for his campaign since he's been in the race, with $24,000 raised during the latest period.
In the most recent period, Franken outraised Coleman. The Democrat brought in $3 million, bringing his total to $16 million so far, and spent $2.6 million; the Republican raised $1.6 million, for a total of $18 million so far, and spent $3.2 million.
Coleman still had more money in the bank at the end of the period, however. Coleman has $4 million in cash to Franken's $2.8 million.
While the 6th District will see a burst of spending, millions of dollars already have been spent in the tightly contested 3rd District in the western Twin Cities.
There, Democrat Ashwin Madia and state Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Eden Prairie, said they entered the final weeks with about $1 million in cash apiece. Madia, however, is getting help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in his quest to succeed outgoing Rep. Jim Ramstad. David Dillon, the Independence Party candidate, reported almost $100,000 to spend.
In the most recent period, Madia raised $645,471 and Paulsen raised $523,831.
In the 2nd District, U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., holds an advantage over Democratic challenger Steve Sarvi. In the latest period, he raised $145,820 to Sarvi's $103,398. He also has considerably more cash on hand - $675,599 to $136,411 for Sarvi.
In the 6th, the DCCC announced Tuesday that it's adding Tinklenberg to its Red to Blue program, a category reserved for stronger candidates who are proven fundraisers. Two years ago, candidates who got its help received an average of $400,000 each.
Earlier this week, the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report still listed the 6th District as Republican-favored. It wraps around the northern Twin Cities suburbs and extends to the St. Cloud area.
In the 1st District in southern Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz announced he has more than $1 million to spend in his race against Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis, a Republican.
In the 4th District, which includes St. Paul, Democratic incumbent Rep. Betty McCollum has a big advantage over Republican Ed Matthews, who has $39,361 to spend compared with her $202,764.
In the 5th District, Rep. Keith Ellison, a first-term Democrat from Minneapolis, has $304,428 cash on hand. Numbers for his Republican opponent, Barb Davis White, weren't available.
Democratic incumbent Reps. Collin Peterson and Jim Oberstar in the 7th and 8th districts reported large cash balances and face nominal opposition.
Source.
The important part to note on this article is that the DCCC was planning to swoop in before Bachmann went on MSNBC.
Bachmann will be appearing on a local news show tomorrow morning.
Tivo alert! Bachmann to appear on Sunday morning show
Posted at 7:25 PM on October 18, 2008 by Tom Scheck
GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann will be on WCCO's Sunday Morning show at 10 AM. Esme Murphy's blog says Bachmann, GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and I-P Senate candidate Dean Barkley will be on her show.
How will Bachmann handle the events of the last 36 hours?
Source.
Should be...interesting. Coleman is another Bush crony buddy up for re-election, and Barkley has had quite the career. He was appointed to Paul Wellstone's Senate seat by Ventura after Wellstone died, but before Coleman took the seat, and worked on Arianna Huffington's campaign during the CA Recall election. He's running this year for US Senate against Coleman and Franken. For those of you who are not local, I would imagine it'll be up on YouTube within hours of airing.
As Dump Bachmann has reported on for years, this is not new crazy for her. Just more high-profile than usual.
PS - To those in MN, take a look at this. You're entitled to a refund from the state when you donate $50 ($100 for a couple) to a state party. You don't have to wait for April 15 to file, either. It's an individual form. That page says donations to a candidate are OK, but the ActBlue and Tinklenberg page both say donations are not tax-deductible. I would recommend calling or e-mailing his office first, or else donating directly to the DFL. If you do that, you can ask that 50% of your donation be put toward the 6th Congressional District race.
Sorry this is so long! I just really can't stand Bachmann, and I love that she tripped over her mouth where national bloggers could see it.
Michele Bachmann's comments fuel surge in Tinklenberg campaign donations
By Megan Boldt
mboldt@pioneerpress.com
Article Last Updated: 10/18/2008 08:34:10 PM CDT
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.
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 also said that Obama's past associations with Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor, and Bill Ayers, who belonged to the radical anti-war group Weather Underground in the late 1960s and early 1970s, make her suspicious.
She said liberals like Wright and Ayers are "over the top anti-American."
"Remember it was Michele Obama who said she's only recently proud of her country. These are really anti-American views," Bachmann said. "That's not the way most Americans feel about their country."
Wodele said the Tinklenberg campaign had received about 600 e-mails since Bachmann's appearance.
Michelle 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."
Marston said Bachmann's campaign office in Woodbury has received about 40 phone calls since the interview. Some were positive; most callers who were upset were from outside the district or state, Marston said.
The voicemail boxes at Bachmann's congressional offices in St. Cloud and Woodbury were full when calls were made to each around 3:30 p.m. today.
Nick Kimball, spokesman for Obama's campaign in Minnesota, said Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his allies like Bachman have decided to use "scare tactics and false attacks."
Kimball said Minnesotans, like people across the country, are worried about their jobs, paychecks and healthcare. The response to Bachmann's comments shows that people "don't have the patience for these sort of dishonest tactics from campaigns," he said.
Source. Another article, with a quote from Tinklenberg's campaign manager.
Elwyn Tinklenberg himself was feeding a post on DailyKos with a running tally. $488,127.30 was donated to his campaign in the first 24 hours after her appearance on Hardball. The ActBlue page for Tinklenberg has contributions listed in excess of $104K by 2200 people in response to her appearance, but it's unclear if that is included in the numbers released by his campaign.
In addition, a Republican who attempted to challenge Bachmann during the primary has entered the race as a write-in.
Immelman registers as 6th District write-in
October 18, 2008
By Lawrence Schumacher
lschumacher@stcloudtimes.com
Aubrey Immelman, who mounted an unsuccessful Republican primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, said today he will file to run as a write-in candidate for the 6th Congressional District in the Nov. 4 election.
Immelman, a professor of political psychology at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, said he decided to run a write-in campaign after becoming upset at Bachmann’s comments on a cable talk show Friday.
Immelman said he sent an application to the office of Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie allowing write-in votes cast in his name to count as valid votes in the race.
He said he intends to offer himself as an "alternative for disillusioned Republicans" who cannot bring themselves to vote for DFL- and Independence Party-endorsed candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg or for Bob Anderson, the titular Independence Party candidate.
"The Republican Party needs to rebuild its image, and this cannot be done when its elected representatives say these kinds of things," he said. He referred to Bachmann's comment that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "may have anti-American views" and her call for a media investigation of whether members of Congress are "pro-American or anti-American."
Source.
The new candidate is in the article comments as StandintheDoor.
Also, the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) has pledged to help out Tinklenberg.
Tinklenberg will get cash infusion in 6th District fight against Bachmann
Millions already spent in 3rd District
By Dennis Lien and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 10/16/2008 12:08:50 PM CDT
As Minnesota political campaigns head into the home stretch, Democrat El Tinklenberg is getting some new help in the 6th Congressional District.
Tinklenberg recently passed the $1 million fundraising mark for the 2007-08 election cycle, prompting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to signal it will pump more money into the race on his behalf.
Lots will be needed, however, to catch the Republican incumbent, Rep. Michele Bachmann, who had $1.4 million in cash on hand as recently as August. Tinklenberg's filings this week to the Federal Election Commission for the Aug. 21 to Sept. 30 reporting period show him with $356,721 on hand.
Those House fundraising numbers, however, are dwarfed by money flowing to the Minnesota Senate race.
Democratic candidate Al Franken and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman have amassed the eye-popping combined total of $34 million in a race that has been leading the nation in number of television ads, money raised and money spent. The Independence Party's Dean Barkley has raised $75,000 for his campaign since he's been in the race, with $24,000 raised during the latest period.
In the most recent period, Franken outraised Coleman. The Democrat brought in $3 million, bringing his total to $16 million so far, and spent $2.6 million; the Republican raised $1.6 million, for a total of $18 million so far, and spent $3.2 million.
Coleman still had more money in the bank at the end of the period, however. Coleman has $4 million in cash to Franken's $2.8 million.
While the 6th District will see a burst of spending, millions of dollars already have been spent in the tightly contested 3rd District in the western Twin Cities.
There, Democrat Ashwin Madia and state Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Eden Prairie, said they entered the final weeks with about $1 million in cash apiece. Madia, however, is getting help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in his quest to succeed outgoing Rep. Jim Ramstad. David Dillon, the Independence Party candidate, reported almost $100,000 to spend.
In the most recent period, Madia raised $645,471 and Paulsen raised $523,831.
In the 2nd District, U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., holds an advantage over Democratic challenger Steve Sarvi. In the latest period, he raised $145,820 to Sarvi's $103,398. He also has considerably more cash on hand - $675,599 to $136,411 for Sarvi.
In the 6th, the DCCC announced Tuesday that it's adding Tinklenberg to its Red to Blue program, a category reserved for stronger candidates who are proven fundraisers. Two years ago, candidates who got its help received an average of $400,000 each.
Earlier this week, the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report still listed the 6th District as Republican-favored. It wraps around the northern Twin Cities suburbs and extends to the St. Cloud area.
In the 1st District in southern Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz announced he has more than $1 million to spend in his race against Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis, a Republican.
In the 4th District, which includes St. Paul, Democratic incumbent Rep. Betty McCollum has a big advantage over Republican Ed Matthews, who has $39,361 to spend compared with her $202,764.
In the 5th District, Rep. Keith Ellison, a first-term Democrat from Minneapolis, has $304,428 cash on hand. Numbers for his Republican opponent, Barb Davis White, weren't available.
Democratic incumbent Reps. Collin Peterson and Jim Oberstar in the 7th and 8th districts reported large cash balances and face nominal opposition.
Source.
The important part to note on this article is that the DCCC was planning to swoop in before Bachmann went on MSNBC.
Bachmann will be appearing on a local news show tomorrow morning.
Tivo alert! Bachmann to appear on Sunday morning show
Posted at 7:25 PM on October 18, 2008 by Tom Scheck
GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann will be on WCCO's Sunday Morning show at 10 AM. Esme Murphy's blog says Bachmann, GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and I-P Senate candidate Dean Barkley will be on her show.
How will Bachmann handle the events of the last 36 hours?
Source.
Should be...interesting. Coleman is another Bush crony buddy up for re-election, and Barkley has had quite the career. He was appointed to Paul Wellstone's Senate seat by Ventura after Wellstone died, but before Coleman took the seat, and worked on Arianna Huffington's campaign during the CA Recall election. He's running this year for US Senate against Coleman and Franken. For those of you who are not local, I would imagine it'll be up on YouTube within hours of airing.
As Dump Bachmann has reported on for years, this is not new crazy for her. Just more high-profile than usual.
PS - To those in MN, take a look at this. You're entitled to a refund from the state when you donate $50 ($100 for a couple) to a state party. You don't have to wait for April 15 to file, either. It's an individual form. That page says donations to a candidate are OK, but the ActBlue and Tinklenberg page both say donations are not tax-deductible. I would recommend calling or e-mailing his office first, or else donating directly to the DFL. If you do that, you can ask that 50% of your donation be put toward the 6th Congressional District race.
Sorry this is so long! I just really can't stand Bachmann, and I love that she tripped over her mouth where national bloggers could see it.