Posted on 05/05/2006 5:27:27 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
On Saturday, Thompson and 324 other party delegates will narrow the field of four to one.
State Sen. Michele Bachmann is leading in a hard-fought race that also includes businessman Jay Esmay and state Reps. Jim Knoblach and Phil Krinkie. But the endorsing convention at Monticello High School could get unpredictable if Bachmann doesn't clear the 60 percent threshold needed for an endorsement early on.
(Excerpt) Read more at duluthsuperior.com ...
In the legislature, state Senator Michele Bachman is best known for proposing a statewide vote on a gay marriage ban and increasing local control of schools. She is backed by the Susan B. Anthony Group, a PAC which helps raise funds for pro-life women running for Federal office.
Michelle Bachmann would make an excellent Congresswoman, and I think it would be very difficult for the RAT Wetterling to defeat her in November. My one concern is that the Club for Growth has endorsed Phil Krinkie and may run negative ads against the other Republicans. I'm a member of the Club for Growth, but I don't think they should criticize GOP candidates who are reasonably good on taxes and government spending even if there is another candidate who is better on those issues, especially in a district in which Wetterling could beat a Republican who has been weakened by negative ads.
Senator Michele Bachman sounds good on paper but can she beat Elwyn Tinklenberg?
Elwyn Tinklenberg is a good candidate, but first he must defeat 2004 nominee Patty Watterling to be the nominee, which I'm not sure he can do.
I have little doubt that Bachman will defeat Watterling.
I'm hoping that the Club for Growth has better sense than that. Speaking for myself, absent a Bachman victory, I'd prefer Jim Knoblach, as we need more CPA's in Congress.
I hope the MN-06 doesn't turn into another OH-02 conflict.
Michele Bachman reminds me of Mean Jean, a social conservative, who did not get the backing of the Club for Growth.
All 4 GOP candidates vying for the Republican party endorsement have said that they would abide by the endorsement and not run in the primary if they didn't get it.
I don't think you'll have to worry about the Club for Growth running ads against other GOP candidates in this district.
On a side note, I don't think Bachmann would defeat Wetterling (aka Mother Minnesota)in November. Bachmann is a polarizing figure in Minnesota politics. She's nice, she's intelligent - but she's polarizing.
I don't live in the Sixth District (I'm in the Fifth) but if I were a delegate for tomorrow's convention, my first choice would be Phil Krinkie and then Jim Knoblauch.
"On a side note, I don't think Bachmann would defeat Wetterling (aka Mother Minnesota)in November. Bachmann is a polarizing figure in Minnesota politics. She's nice, she's intelligent - but she's polarizing."
Bachmann easily bests GOP rivals
BY PATRICK SWEENEY
Pioneer Press
Michele Bachmann, a fiery social conservative, easily won endorsement Saturday as the Republican candidate in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District.
Republican convention delegates meeting at Monticello High School gave Bachmann their endorsement on the third ballot.
Bachman, a state senator from Stillwater, had 61 percent of the vote, just over the number required for endorsement. But she was not strongly challenged by any of her three opponents.
"We are a coalition on a mission," Bachmann said after her opponents conceded and delegates voted to make her endorsement unanimous. "And our mission is to kick some serious tail between now and November."
The endorsement was a tribute to Bachmann's charismatic personality, her high-profile but so far unsuccessful effort to win Senate passage of a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and her leadership in a successful campaign to rewrite Minnesota high school graduation standards.
The endorsement also was a demonstration that, for many of Minnesota's most active Republicans, social values trump fiscal values.
"All four candidates — yes, they're good — but she just stands out," said Gary Baran, a convention delegate and Bachmann supporter from Woodbury. "It's a Christian perspective that I feel she comes from. And I don't care if it's politically incorrect to say that — I just believe it."
Barring any change of heart by her opponents — all three promised in writing last month to abide by the endorsement and repeated their promises Saturday — the win assures Bachmann of receiving the Republican nomination in September.
And it puts her on course to face one of two Democrats, Patty Wetterling or Elwyn Tinklenberg, in the November general election.
John Binkowski of St. Mary's Point is the Independence Party's endorsed candidate.
In speeches Saturday, Bachmann's opponents, especially state Rep. Jim Knoblach, who finished second in balloting, suggested Bachmann is a narrow, potentially polarizing candidate, who could have a difficult time winning independent voters in November.
After Bachmann's win, Knoblach said his argument that he was more electable than Bachmann did not sell with delegates.
"Michele's a charismatic person who has brought a lot of people out with energy to support her," Knoblach said. "And I think there will also be a good number of people opposing her."
The Washington-based Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Saturday accused Bachmann of pursuing an "extremist" agenda.
"Families in Minnesota deserve someone who will stand up for Minnesota's interests in Congress, not (their) own ideological interests," the Democratic group said.
Next Saturday, Democratic-Farmer-Labor delegates, who also are scheduled to meet in Monticello, will choose between Tinklenberg and Wetterling.
The 6th District, which tilts Republican, stretches through the eastern and northern Twin Cities suburbs, running from Afton to west of St. Cloud. Mark Kennedy, the Republican incumbent, is leaving the 6th District seat to run for the U.S. Senate.
Bachmann stressed her conservatism at the convention on a range of political issues.
She talked about lowering taxes and simplifying tax laws, she emphasized her commitment to fighting abortion and she got applause when she said she has a permit to carry a gun.
In a nominating speech, Bachmann's son Lucas alluded to gay marriage as the "biggest moral issue our country faces today." But Bachmann did not talk about her opposition to gay marriage, the issue she has come to symbolize at the state Capitol. Later, when questioned by reporters, she said the omission was not intentional
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