Posted on 07/02/2011 12:25:07 PM PDT by Kaslin
PJTV's Alexis Garcia has been accompanying the contender to her very well-attended campaign stops.
In the span of a few weeks, Michele Bachmann has gone from fringe candidate to serious contender in the 2012 race. While her frontrunner status is hardly a surprise to loyal Tea Party followers, the emergence of Bachmann as a player on the national scene has caught the attention of many early state voters and (for better or worse) those in the national press corps.
Bachmann’s road to the White House started on Monday in Iowa, where she officially announced her candidacy before embarking on campaign stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Covering over 2,600 miles within a 72-hour period, the congresswoman laid out her platform before voters in key early states and aggressively attacked President Barack Obama for his failed economic policies.
“We can’t afford four more years of Barack Obama,” Bachmann exclaimed in her announcement speech in her native Waterloo, Iowa, on Monday. “This election is about big issues, not petty ones. When all is said and done, we cannot be about big government as usual.”
Her message is one that many conservatives have been hungry for in a current field of candidates being described as “unimpressive.”
“She’s one of us. She’s lived the same lives many of us have lived,” said David Alderman of Waterloo. “I think she has that ‘it’ factor. I like what she stands for and I think I can easily get behind her.”
Bachmann’s “it factor” and her ability to connect with her audience and speak to salient issues — whether it be her roots in Iowa, the economy in New Hampshire, or family values in South Carolina — make her a formidable opponent. While she is able to portray what she calls a “compassionate” side with tales of motherhood and her love for her husband Marcus, to whom she has been married for 33 years, Bachmann is no shrinking violet when it comes to attacking her foes. She scolded the media at a stop in Charleston for wanting to see a “mud wrestling fight” between her and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, and she never missed an opportunity to get her jabs in at President Obama (at all of her stops, she joked of retiring the teleprompter upon her arrival to the White House).
For many voters, this was the first time they got to see the Minnesota congresswoman in person — meaning this was also the first time they got to see her without the caricatures and extremist portrayals put forward by the national, partisan press. Many in her audiences seemed to be pleasantly surprised by Bachmann’s performance. The lawmaker’s common sense message of limited government and a return to constitutional principles was well received at every stop.
Paula Tarta of Rye, New Hampshire, was one of those in the crowd who walked away with a favorable impression of the congresswoman. “I thought she was super energized. I do think she has the titanium backbone that it’s going to take to go up against this ol’ boy network. I’m excited for her and excited to be supporting her.”
In one of the more genuine moments of her tour, Bachmann confided to voters at a town hall gathering in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Wednesday night that she had suffered a miscarriage after the birth of her second child. It was a poignant answer in describing her pro-life roots and inspiration to become a foster parent — one that most of her campaign staff were completely unaware of.
As Bachmann rolled into her stops along the tour, she was greeted by enthusiastic crowds whose size exceeded the expectations of her staff. They had anticipated about 50 to 100 people at each stop; instead they got crowds ranging from 300 to more than a thousand.
The crowds comprised Tea Party faithful and those that were curious to get a glimpse of the GOP’s latest addition to the field. The congresswoman showed she had the star power to pull in big numbers. In South Carolina, many onlookers had waited over two hours in blistering heat just to see her speak. At a town hall forum at Winthrop University, there were more than 500 people packed in an overflow area who could not get a seat inside the auditorium.
In Charleston, two women who admitted they were from “the most liberal zip code” in the state had come to see Bachmann out of sheer curiosity. They left halfway through her stump, but the episode illustrated Bachmann’s intrigue to those on the other side of the political spectrum.
Taking the stage to Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine” at her earlier stops, Bachmann was buoyed by the energy of her audience as the tour continued. While her campaign is about tackling serious issues, she showed her lighter side by cutting a rug with her husband onstage at a rally in Myrtle Beach, and got laughs from a backyard crowd in Raymond, New Hampshire, when describing her early dates to a nursing home where her husband used to volunteer as a young adult.
Her husband Marcus, now a clinical therapist, even came and sat in the back of the plane with the traveling press pool to offer free psychoanalysis.
That Bachmann has been able to capture significant momentum this early in the race is notable; the fact that she has been able to do so with minimal campaign structure and organization is impressive.
The congresswoman skipped the exploratory phase altogether and instead focused on the New Hampshire debate earlier this month as her launching pad to the GOP nomination. (President Barack Obama formed his exploratory committee about a month before his official launch; Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney seems to have been preparing for a run at the White House since he folded his last presidential campaign in February 2008).
The debate was supposed to be Mitt Romney’s big debut, but Bachmann stole the show and quickly became the story of the night as she boldly exclaimed: “President Barack Obama will be a one-term president!”
Bachmann knew she needed to perform well at the debate to get her campaign off the ground, and an early goal for her was to assemble the best team to get her prepared. In addition to campaign veteran Ed Rollins, Bachmann’s early staff additions include Palin debate coach Brett O’Donnell, strategist Keith Nahigian, former Huckabee spokeswoman Alice Stewart, and pollster Ed Goeas.
Team Bachmann’s initial leg work seems to be paying off: the congresswoman is in a statistical tie with Romney in Iowa according to the latest Des Moines Register survey, and in New Hampshire, a Suffolk University poll shows her climbing seven percentage points just in the last month alone.
While the 2012 election is still in the early stages and any candidate is always one news cycle away from irrelevance (see Gingrich, Newt), it is important to point out that the enthusiasm behind Bachmann is similar to the reception Obama and Palin had when they were introduced on the national scene. But while Bachmann’s detractors and critics have questioned whether or not she has the fortitude to mount a serious campaign, those who attended her announcement tour walked away with one thing in mind: Michele Bachmann is the real deal.
Also watch Alexis at PJTV: BOY’S CLUB BEWARE: Michele Bachmann Enters the Race for President
“Not enough executive experience.”
(OH, Wait! that’s what they said about Palin in ‘08.)
I don’t understand why there is this mantra that history is “bound to repeat itself.”
I agree that reviewing historical trends is helpful, and that there is a reason, sometimes, why trends persist the way they do.
But just as that disclaimer goes on investments: past performance (or presidential cycles) is no guarantee of future performance. And, as I said on another post, don’t y’all watch the NFL draft?
The U.S. had a completely aberrational election right before the Civil War and we may be in a similar juncture of the country having to figure out its identity going into its next century.
Also much about how past presidential elections developed was dependent upon the old ways of disseminating news, reaching the public, and fundraising. Those old rules are over!
This is the first fully new-media, social-media-ized presidential election in history. The parties and the Establishment have the ground shifting under their feet. I honestly believe we are going to see a new way of doing things.
Just as Palin is said to be going to run a new, unconventional campaign (if she runs), this is basically what Bachmann is doing. She is doing it a new way. She is not running as a Member of Congress. She is running as someone who had already attracted national attention and fundraising through her millions of appearances on talk radio, tv, at rallies, etc.
From the looks of the presidents we have had, whatever criteria we have been using for the proper "training" to be president has not been working. Let's not do the same thing over and over again with the dismal results we have seen. It's time to break the mold and get some real people as candidates.
“She is not running as a Member of Congress.” Oh, is that so? When did she resign her “Membership in Congress”?
Past precedents are irrelevant today. We have our first Marxist President, and the Constitution is in shreds. All that really matters is whether the candidate is dedicated to Constitutional principles of limited govt.
Professional politicians have betrayed this country. G.W. Bush, Jimmah Carter, and Rudy Giuliani all had "executive experience." Where did that get us?
What else could Palin say? That indeed is a “difference” between her and Bachmann, but my question is, is it *necessarily* a difference with a meaning?
I personally don’t think so. At least not automatically so. And certainly not it’s not conclusive, the one fact that is the be-all and end-all.
That doesn’t mean I’m fully convinced Bachmann is ready to be president. It just means I think the “no executive experience” cry has become a straw man and a rote reply that doesn’t correlate with any substantial distinction.
Ask Bachmann what’s the difference between her and Palin — she might say “no congressional experience, no dealing with legislation such as Obamacare, Medicare & Social Security issues, federal budget and tax code,” etc.
That’s just a fact and stating so doesn’t it make it more than a fact, i.e. determinative of which of those two would make the better president.
What I’m suggesting is that as we go through this process, IMO it’s not enough to throw out mantras such as “no executive experience.” There needs to be a substantive discussion on why that is a difference with a MEANING, given ALL the facts and circumstances.
For example, given the field we have now (no Palin), would you think Romney, who has “executive experience,” would be a better president than Bachmann, who doesn’t?
Surely you can’t mean that only “executive experience” (however you are defining that) makes one qualified for POTUS?
**************************************
I doubt that there are many here who would find that to be a difficult choice, but fortunately, those are not yet our only options.
Imho, experience does matter.
Obviously I didn't mean that literally. Sorry you took it that way.
What I meant was:
Bachmann's political calling card ("claim to fame," so to speak) really has very little to do with the fact that she's a congresscritter.
What brought her national attention, and turned her into a fundraising magnet, was her approach to the issues and her constant work to get her views out there through addressing rallies, appearances on talk radio and tv, and speeches.
Now, of course, she was invited to do those things because her congresscrittership gave her a platform from which to speak. But her profile is quite unlike any of the Members of Congress who have run in previous years (such as, say, Duncan Hunter). They really were known to very few people when they tried to make a run for President. Some of them thought appearing on Meet the Depressed or whatever gave them national spotlight. Wrong.
Bachmann is nationally known and is a national fundraiser. That support gravitated to her and she in turn worked hard to build it and grow it. Love her or hate her, she is a national figure now, well beyond mere Representative status.
Yes.
As I said, don’t y’all watch the NFL draft?
A candidate’s true ability, talent and “rightness” for the times can’t be fully evaluated by some checklist and a formula for standardized stats.
That process can be helpful, but you’re still going to have a certain number of people who seem to meet all the criteria go bust, while a certain number of people who no one thought had anything going for them turn out to be major, historical, fantastic players.
Smart scouts use the checklist. But they also use their head. And their gut.
I’m starting to think that maybe this “no executive experience” thingie is just another way of saying “not Palin.”
Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t really have meaning in evaluating the “not Palin” candidate’s ability or talent to serve.
It would be like writing off a QB because he’s “not Manning” or “not Brady.’ Okay. But that doesn’t say anything about how the QB could contribute to the team (or not).
Worth repeating.
Of course experience matters.
The question is what kind(S) of experience matters, and whether it’s an automatic qualifier or disqualifer for POTUS, regardless of what else the candidate brings to the table.
Fair enough.
But if I had to choose between someone dedicated to principles of Constitutional government and someone with “executive experience” who was wishy-washy on limited government, I wouldn’t give a rat’s behind about the latter.
The POTUS is not running the country like a CEO runs a corporation (thank God and our Founding Fathers). This is not a business position, it’s a LEADERSHIP position.
Leaders can lead, or figure out to lead, regardless of their experience. That’s what leadership is.
If I have a choice on primary day between Sarah and Bachmann, I'm choosing Sarah. One reason, which I personally believe is important, is that Sarah has experience that makes her a better fit for the presidency than Bachmann.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.