A G.O.P. Agitator Not Named Palin

A G.O.P. Agitator Not Named Palin
By MONICA DAVEY
C opyright by The New York Times
Published: October 14, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/us/politics/15bachmann.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1255622658-/1jGqL9CjbDZj6Ps0fkThw


BUFFALO, Minn. — Representative Michele Bachmann will appear in the 2010 calendar of “Great American Conservative Women” (she will be November). Her likeness has been transformed into an action figure. And, so far in 2009, she has been interviewed on a national cable news show every nine days, on average, an analysis by Smart Politics, a nonpartisan blog affiliated with the University of Minnesota shows.

Not bad for someone less than three years on the job.

Here in Ms. Bachmann’s district, and in much of the country, that outsized celebrity has boiled down to this: They adore her or they loathe her.

As the health care overhaul moves closer to a full debate in Congress, Ms. Bachmann is under attack from the Democratic National Committee for spreading “reckless lies” about the overhaul, one of a handful of Republicans singled out as part of the committee’s “Call ’Em Out” campaign. Back home, two Democrats already say they are seeking Ms. Bachmann’s seat in next year’s election, and are raising a lot of money to do so.

“People are struggling to stay in their homes, and she’s off trying to be on Fox News,” said one of those Democrats, Tarryl L. Clark, a state senator.

Some of Ms. Bachmann’s fellow Republicans, meanwhile, are drawing glowing comparisons between her and Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican candidate for vice president. Sean Hannity, the conservative talk show host, has introduced Ms. Bachmann as “the second-most-hated Republican woman in the country, second to Governor Palin, which is a good position.”

Ms. Bachmann’s admirers point to her uncompromising, unvarnished stances against big spending, big government programs, tax increases and abortions. Her detractors moan that she opposes anything a Democrat says, and assert that she has transformed herself into a cable television gadfly.

“This is the thing with her,” said Brad Biers, a supporter of Ms. Bachmann who is active in the state Republican Party and lives in her district, probably the most conservative in the state. “There’s not a whole lot of middle ground. You either like her or don’t.”

What is beyond dispute is that Ms. Bachmann’s remarks are seldom dull. She has encouraged an “orderly revolution” against the Democratic establishment and has suggested that she fears that the Obama administration is trying to do away with the dollar.

Last week, she called on Minnesota’s governor to appoint a special investigator here to look into Acorn, the Democratic-leaning community group under fire nationally. In June, she said she would not complete all of her United States census forms next year because such forms were inappropriately intrusive.

In recent months, Ms. Bachmann has been particularly outspoken against Democrats’ proposals on health care. She has questioned whether Congress has the constitutional authority to set such policy in the first place. She has suggested that one proposal’s privacy rules for school-based clinics could open the way for young girls’ getting referrals for abortions. And she has said that illegal immigrants will get access to taxpayer-subsidized health care, one among a list of comments by Ms. Bachmann that the Democratic National Committee has attacked as false.

On Capitol Hill, Ms. Bachmann is viewed with disdain by Democrats who see her as a wacky purveyor of outrageous claims and criticisms. Leading Republicans wince occasionally at her appearances on the floor and on television, but they also see her as someone with telegenic appeal who can energize conservatives and aggravate Democrats and they are not likely to rein her in.

In Minnesota, some believe the national attention around Ms. Bachmann may hint at hopes for a higher office. When Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced he would not seek re-election, some analysts suggested Ms. Bachmann might run, but questioned whether her positions were too conservative to win statewide.

Asked whether she might consider an office beyond the House, Ms. Bachmann, who has announced plans to seek re-election, did not address other possibilities. “I am focused 100 percent on representing Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District and ensuring their voices are heard in Washington,” she wrote in an e-mail response to questions.

Still, Ms. Bachmann, a lawyer, former state senator and mother of five who with her husband, Marcus, a clinical therapist, has opened their home to 23 foster children, has not so far objected to the speculation, particularly the comparisons to Ms. Palin.

“Sarah Palin is a dedicated mother, committed public servant and strong political figure who has fought hard to protect life, the family budget, and freedom,” Ms. Bachmann said, noting that Ms. Palin’s book — not yet out — was already selling in enormous numbers, while “Nancy Pelosi’s book sold a paltry 2,737 copies in its first week of sales” in 2008.

From a distance, it may be hard to picture how Minnesota, the state with the longest-running streak of picking Democrats for president (since 1976), could also have elected Ms. Bachmann, who was found in a study by The National Journal to be the 31st-most-conservative member of the House based on her votes in 2008.

But Ms. Bachmann’s district, stretching from the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, through middle-income exurbs, farmland and into St. Cloud, is defined by social conservatism, an independent, populist streak, and a significant Roman Catholic population. While the state voted for President Obama, Senator John McCain, the Republican opponent, won in this district.

In serving the district, a spokeswoman for Ms. Bachmann said, the congresswoman is most proud of “providing the best constituent service” and pushing to obtain a veterans health clinic.

Still, in Ms. Bachmann’s first bid for re-election in 2008, many speculated that she was in serious trouble. Shortly before the election, she said on “Hardball” on MSNBC that she was “very concerned” that Mr. Obama “may have anti-American views.” Her Democratic opponent, El Tinklenberg, lost by three percentage points.

One of her Democratic opponents next year, Maureen Reed, said Ms. Bachmann “injects fear and anger in people, and people don’t solve problems well when they’re fearful and angry.” Ms. Reed said her goal was to “dial down the fear, dial down the anger.”

Constance Carlson, a resident of Buffalo, seemed ready for such a change.

“I try to avoid listening to her,” Ms. Carlson said of Ms. Bachmann. “Some of her comments are just distracting, conspiracy-type stuff.”

“I’d much rather hear her say, ‘I don’t agree and here’s my solution,’ ” she added.

But others here say they wonder whether a Democrat really has a chance.

“She fits this district well,” said King Banaian, a Bachmann supporter in St. Cloud. “I think there are a lot of people who want straight talk and she appeals to them.”

Carl Hulse contributed reporting from Washington.