I thought Joe McCarthy was from Wisconsin, not Minnesota

One of the races I have become intrigued with since Michelle Bachmann’s (R) now infamous appearance on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews is the Minnesota 6^th District House race. RealClearPolitics.com calls this race a “toss up,” but after Bachmann’s comments on October 17, this may be changing. Incumbent Michelle Bachmann appeared on Hardball and one way or another said the following:

I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views. That's what the American people are concerned about. That's why they want to know what his answers are. That's why Joe the plumber has figured so highly in the last few days…What I would say -- what I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that. (Sweet, 2008)

If you would like to see the entire transcript of the interview visit the following link:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/10/rep_michele_Bachmannn_tells_chr.html

After Bachmann’s comments the flood gates opened, not only on MSNBC and EVERY program that has aired since then commenting on the interview, but also in the RNC and the DNC. Reports came in of the RCCC pulling their ads for Bachmann from the race a few days later. In fact, after the interview aired on October 17, the Tinklenberg campaign received a massive fundraising boost of $450,000 from approximately 9,000 donors (Aquino, 2008). To date, the Tinklenberg campaign has received over $1 million in new funding in less than a week since the Bachmann interview (Doyle, 2008). Bachmann has since said that she was “tricked” into making this comment on Hardball and that she “had never watched the show before” (Doyle, 2008). However, the damage had already been done. As a result of this new funding new ads have been created, which you can view through the links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q740nXMu0ZI

http://www.tinklenberg08.com/ad.html

The impact of Bachmann’s comments is interesting and compelling due to the nature of the “strategy” we have seen from the McCain campaign in the recent weeks. Dubbing Senator Obama as a “socialist” or someone who does not share the views of small-town America may either have been a result of Bachmann’s interview, or may have caused Bachmann to make the statements she did on national television. With the outpouring of support for challenger Tinklenberg, it would stand to reason that the arguments of Senator Joe McCarthy have not worked and will never work in America. Calling someone anti-American is not only wrong, but it can obviously cost a candidate their lead in the polls, and their respect in the public’s eye. What are your thoughts?

References

Aquino, J. (2008). Bachmannn's comments spur opponent's fundraising spur. Minneapolis Star Tribune: October 20, 2008.

Doyle, P. (2008). Tuesday: Bachmannn: 'I made a misstatement'. Minneapolis Star Tribune: October 22, 2008.

Sweet, L. (2008). Rep. Michele Bachmannn tells Chris Matthews on "Hardball" media should probe Congress for "anti-America" views. Transcript. Chicago Sun Times: October 18, 2008. URL: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/10/rep_michele_Bachmannn_tells_chr.html