Free Republic

<p>Congresswoman Bachmann appears to be conveniently forgetting her own views on immigration in order to score political points. During the presidential debate at the Reagan Library on September 7, she said she won't deport all 11 million illegal immigrants here in the United States.</p>

According to House expense reports, Bachmann and three conservative GOP colleagues — Reps. Tom Price (Ga.), Steve King (Iowa) and Todd Akin (Mo.) — each paid $3,407.50 that day, a total of $13,630, to a sound and stage company called National Events, apparently for the sound system used at the rally. The money came from the Members' taxpayer-funded office accounts, despite House rules prohibiting the use of these funds for political activities.

Just happened, very strange! Wolf Blitzer Interview with Michele Bachmann. Blitzer asked Bachmann 5 times do you agree with Tim Pawlenty that Mitt romney is disqualified from being the Republican nominee for president because he supports mandated healthcare.? She kept responding that she's against obamacare/mandates. Blitzer tried again to pin down some kind of answer. She evaded the question at every turn, didn't want to touch it and finally a frustrated Blitzer then says, "You obviously don't want to answer the question?" I know people say that nominees shouldn't attack other nominees yet but if not now, when? because Romney...

Yesterday's column on Tim Pawlenty's feebleness in criticizing Mitt Romney's version of ObamaCare prompted several readers to write with the suggestion that Pawlenty is pursuing the vice presidential nomination. We doubt it. We've met with Pawlenty twice in recent months, and he has a well-considered (if, thus far, not so well-implemented) plan to win the presidential nomination. Further, if he was sucking up to the former Massachusetts governor Monday night with a Romney-Pawlenty ticket in mind, that would represent a one-day change in strategy, since it was only Sunday morning when Pawlenty referred to "ObamneyCare." Furthermore, if Pawlenty were angling...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, an outspoken Republican with close ties to the tea party, announced Monday that she is running for president, a candidacy that could further shake up a volatile fight for the GOP nomination. The first female contender to enter the 2012 race, Bachmann announced her bid during a Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire.

Five reasons to take Michele Bachmann seriously… 1) she’s running, 2) she’ll raise lots of money, 3) she’ll stand out at the debates, 4) she could be the only female in the field, and 5) she can fill the Tea Party void… In the next week, Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, thanks mostly to her decision to participate in next week's Republican primary debate, is going to be getting her first big moment in the national political spotlight. For the last two years, she's been a caricature -- a spoof on "Saturday Night Live," a political lightning rod, and an easy...

The squabble between Sarah Palin’s peeps and those of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is quite entertaining. Not that we didn’t see this coming. Months ago, Bachmann bumped Palin as Tea Party queen. But now that Bachmann is this close to jumping into the race for the Republican nomination for president — and Palin is pretending to think about doing same but we all know she won’t — the gloves are coming off in earnest. Jennifer Rubin raises some good points about the wisdom of Bachmann hiring Ed Rollins. “She’s fresh; he’s not,” Rubin writes. “She’s anti-Beltway; he personifies it. She’s...

His hire was also her first real campaign decision. If you’re not up to speed on the story, here’s what’s going on. Rep. Bachmann hired veteran Republican campaign strategist Ed Rollins to manage her campaign. Campaign managers have to carry a few qualities, among them toughness, a bit of ruthlessness, communications and fundraising savvy (and there are many qualities packed into those two qualities), and a certain ability to provide useful leadership and simultaneously blend into the background. That last is because, while they manage the campaign, the campaign isn’t about them. It’s about the candidate. But Ed Rollins tends...

The last thing Congresswoman Michele Bachmann should want as she considers launching a campaign for President is that she get dragged down into the gutter at the outset by a political consultant – Ed Rollins – who makes her look petty because he works for her. President Ronald Reagan, who Republican candidates often quote, frowned upon Republican candidates trashing Republican candidates. What Rollins said that reflects upon Congresswoman Bachmann certainly is not the worst…but it was gratuitous and not responding to an insult. This early tactic (before the candidate even makes it official) is a strong indicator of what is...

An adviser to Rep. Michele Bachmann sends over this fairly ruffles-smoothing statement:   “The Congresswoman has nothing but admiration and respect for Governor Palin. The two enjoy a good friendship, and Rep. Bachmann looks forward to working with the Governor for the common goal of making sure President Obama is a one-term President.”

[snip beginning of article] ... Ed Rollins, dismissed Palin as “not serious” in a radio interview. He suggested in an interview with POLITICO that Bachmann would profit from the contrast. Bachmann will “be so much more substantive,” Rollins said. “People are going to say, ‘I gotta make a choice and go with the intelligent woman who’s every bit as attractive.’” “I’m not afraid of Palin,” he said, adding the strategy would have been the same for Mike Huckabee. Bachmann has been laying the groundwork for this argument for months, stepping away from some of the more dramatic rhetoric that brought...

Today Michele Bachmann’s spokesman, Ed Rollins, whom she recently hired, had some rather nasty things to say about Governor Palin. In order to give Bachmann the benefit of the doubt, we respectfully request that she either affirm her support for the long-time beltway fossil’s idiotic comments…or refudiate them. Update: (h/t Jim R) Via the Star Tribune, another of Bachmann’s employees, Andy Parrish, attempted to rationalize the comments of her newest employee, Ed Rollins: Bachmann aide Andy Parrish said Rollins was not speaking as a Bachmann adviser. “The Congresswoman and Ms. Palin have an excellent relationship,” Parrish said in an e-mail. “Rollins was in his media analyst role.” People can judge for themselves...

Bachmann vs. Palin feud hits Twitter By Matt Lewis A few weeks ago, I pointed out that a prominent Sarah Palin blogger had turned on Michele Bachmann. On Fox News Sunday this week, Palin pointed out that she, unlike Bachmann, had executive experience (though added that Bachmann had strengths, too). The feud was taken to a new level, however, when Bachmann’s new “celebrity” campaign manager, Ed Rollins referred to Palin as “not serious.” This was too much for Palin supporter and talk radio host, Tammy Bruce who took to her Twitter feed. Bruce, who also appears in the new film...