Dump Bachmann takes note of some startling Bachmann bashing from MSNBC:
Yesterday, Lawrence O'Donnel had three questions on his blog:
1. How ignorant is Michele Bachmann and how did she get that way?
2. Where does she find her shockingly ignorant staff?
3. What explains the rank ignorance of 52% of the voters in Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District?
The third question aside--I don't think it's fair to trash the voters when most of the media in the district carries little political news, while the Twin Cities media, especially the Star Tribune, have given Bachmann a free pass since her days in the state senate--O'Donnel asks where she gets her staff, and snarks a bit that it must be from her district.
To engage in a bit of fact-checking in a barrel: maybe not. Let's take a look at where she gets her communications staff. O'Donnel asked.
Bluestem was first to point out that in early December that Michele Bachmann hired Christine "I am not a witch" O'Donnell's spokester Doug Sachtleben. He's still on staff. Sachtleben doesnt seem to have any roots in Minnesota, having worked for O'Donnell --closely in proximity of being on the staff of the House Republican Conference.
His Facebook page notes he's from New Jersey.
Then there was Sergio Gor, who split work between Bachmann and Steve King's offices. He's from Malta via Los Angeles and has worked in DC for years.
Rebekah M. Breitbarth, who served as press secretary for a bit, is from Minnesota--but not from the Sixth. She's from Fairmont, a graduate of Bethany, and daughter of GOP activist Neil Breitbarth. That's down in Minnesota's First, where people were smart even to elect and re-elect Tim Walz, who has hired pretty smart staff, many from the district.
David Dziok, her longest-serving press secretary, honed his skills as a political operative in Virginia.
Those are congressional staffers, rather than campaign or leadership PAC staff, so perhaps it's unfair of O'Donnel to call out Bachmann's congressional staffers for allowing her ignorance to go unchecked on a partisan, political trip.
However, Sergio Gor did consult with the 2010 campaign.We'll have to wait until the reports are due for campaigns to find out who is working on her campaign side (Q1 due April 15; MICHELE PAC reports monthly).
But it looks like Bachmann isn't drawing any communications staff from her own district. Rather, her communications staff is drawn from the cadre of national Republican operatives. Maligning a whole congressional district simply won't do.
One other thing: Bachmann's snide apology. Victor Tomasky writes at the Guardian:
Now, with this inaccuracy, as I said above, she knows her stuff; knows how to play the game. The surefire remedy for historical ignorance is to insult liberals, to wit:
Soon after the gaffe, Bachmann, who is seriously exploring a 2012 presidential bid, responded on her Facebook page saying, "So I misplaced the battles Concord and Lexington by saying they were in New Hampshire. It was my mistake, Massachusetts is where they happened. New Hampshire is where they are still proud of it!"
I'm not sure if that should be read as a jab at liberals, but at former Massachusetts Governor Romney, also thought to be seeking the endorsement. Republican Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown was also elected with an assist the tea party. Indeed, the comeback looks like more #materialfail.
Here's the video:
The gaffe heard 'round the twitter: challenged by history, Bachmann flubs geography as well
Also not a witch: has Michele Bachmann hired Christine O'Donnell's spokester?
Michele Bachmann to share "sharp operator" press secretary with Iowa Rep. Steve King
It actually is fair to lay blame for Bachmann's campaign gaffes on her congressional staff, since so many of them wear both hats. Just another way Bachmann bends the rules to suit herself. Not unlike Michael Brodkorb's comfortable little arrangement over at the State Senate.
Read more about Bachmann's double-dipping staff here:
http://www.dumpbachmann.com/2010/04/michele-bachmanns-staff-salaries.html
Posted by: Karl Bremer | Mar 16, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Derek Wallbank wrote that her PAC staff accompanied her, so we'll see who that is in the next monthly report or two.
Posted by: Sally Jo Sorensen | Mar 16, 2011 at 10:27 AM