Posted on 06/20/2011 10:58:33 PM PDT by jennychase
On Nov. 5, 2009, at the behest of Rep. Michele Bachmann, thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol to vent their rage over the health care overhaul bill pending before Congress. The assembled activists chanted, "Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" and waved signs opposing a government takeover of health care — but they may not have known that the same government was paying for the event. 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. Bachmann's office insists the expense was a proper use of official funds. Bachmann billed the event as a "press conference," which can be funded from official accounts. But no questions were taken from the press and, unlike most press conferences, it opened with a prayer, the national anthem and a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. .............
Bachmann gave her own response, calling it the tea party response, making many of the same points as Ryan. The speech was streamed online by the Tea Party Express. The following day, Bachmann's campaign paid Oval Office Writers — an Arlington, Va., firm — a $5,000 fee for "speechwriting." Bachmann has occasionally spent money out of her office account for things closely tied to her political activities. But as with the rally, it is not clear whether she has violated any rules. For instance, in June 2010, Bachmann added to her Congressional payroll a "senior advisor" named Guy Short, whose last Congressional job had been chief of staff to ex-Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.), who lost her re-election bid in 2008. According to Congressional pay records, Bachmann paid Short $5,000 for the month. On June 3, 2010, Short established C&M Strategies in Colorado. Records on file with the Colorado secretary of state list Short as the "registered agent" of the firm; the incorporator was Colorado certified public accountant Barry Arrington. In July, Short dropped off Bachmann's payroll, but Bachmann's campaign began paying C&M Strategies for fundraising consulting services. That month, Arrington filed papers with the Federal Election Commission creating Bachmann's leadership PAC, called Many Individual Conservatives Helping Elect Leaders Everywhere, which by September was also paying C&M Strategies for fundraising consulting services. Since then, MICHELEPAC and the campaign committee have paid C&M Strategies about $150,000 for fundraising consulting, and Short has never again appeared on Bachmann's Congressional payroll. Asked about Short's duties in the Congressional office, Bachmann spokesman Doug Sachtleben said in an email, "With six years of hill experience as a Chief of Staff, Guy Short worked with every member of the Congresswoman's staff to ensure that they worked as effectively as possible to serve the constituents of Minnesota's sixth district." Several other Bachmann staffers, including Communications Director David Dziok, former Chief of Staff Ron Carey, former "constituent service officer" Jack Tomczak and former Chief of Staff Andy Parrish all received regular checks from her campaign while serving on her Congressional payroll as well — which is permissible as long as the employees make a clear separation between the time they spend working on the campaign and the hours they are working for the Congressional office. Bachmann also appears to have used her Congressional office account to cover travel costs for television appearances — again, an unusual expense but not one barred by House rules.
just the first instance where a person’s word was shown to be worthless.
Wtc is now going to apologize for his micharacterization on FR right?
Of course he is, because he's an honorable man........
micharacterization = mischaracterization
the WJS article that did the hitpiece on Palin over the complex was I believe the first attempt by the Mitt club to tarnish Palin. the fact that WTC911 is still fixed on that hitpiece and the fact that he must go back 20 years for dirt on Palin is sad in the least. and the fact that the hitpiece in question even admits at the end that Palin was correct and that the complex came in under budget and on time.
but I do love how the bachmann supports think their gal can be built up by tearing Palin down. that dog isn't going to hunt. Bachmann is accused of using taxpayer funds to fund her career advancement. It is a major charge and the bachmann supporters have yet to address this charge. they have tried to misdirect the arguments, hide it, not deal with it. much like they did with the Rollins attack.
Bachmann is showing herself to be a typical politician. is that the persona that her supporters want to stick. they need to refute this story. If they can't that Bachmann is just more of the same old politicians we have come to view in disgust. Why did bachmann use taxpayer funds to pay for a political rally? why did Bachmann use taxpayer funds to pay for her PAC startup and why did bachmann use taxpayer funds to pay labor charges.
Not ONE Bachmann supporter has come forward and said that was, at the least, poor judgement, let alone questionable ethics.
But they also have spent a couple of weeks apologizing away Bachmann hiring a slimeball like Ed Rollins - and then Bachmann doing nothing as Rollins ripped into Bachmann's erstwhile political ally.
All in all, signs of rather poor character for Bachmann and her supporters. I guess that's why there is a natural attraction happening.
Not what we want or need in 2012.
nope one of the problems with McCain is that any attack he made on Obama , Obama simply said well you did it too. and thus it become a popularity contest. McCain could get run against Obama on the issues. the mor ehe tried the more he looked like Obama. Obama would do the same with Bachmann.
Need more than talking points at this stage. We need character we need a Ness to run against al copone.
Well i hope Sarah gets in but if she does this what they said Bachmann did will be pale what they will do to Sarah! I mean jeez $3600.00 are you kidding me?
palin never took taxpayer money to fund her campaign. Palin already had all this crap thrown at her. she is vetted and the media has nothing...
You're kidding, right? It's already been done to Palin - and then some. And Palin is still standing. I don't know if Palin can win the GOP nomination or the general election, but she has shown she can take punch after punch from the MSM and give them right back.
you know I think a lot of people think that only Palin will be treated bad by the press. the truth is all will get the Palin treatment. the difference is unlike Palin the rest don’t have the base of support to withstand the coming attacks. as this thread shows. if this was a story about Palin the thread would be filled with people digging up points to refute this story oe prove it was wrong, or defend Palin. so far bachmann has none of that support showing up. A couple ABPP that simply want to turn the thread into an antipalin thread isn’t going to cut it.
Let me help you. Consider your characterizations of Palin, and then look at Palin herself (based on her emails and her accomplishments) as well as at the Tina Fey caricature.
You’ll see that your characterizations of Palin match up well with Tina Fey, while having no similarity with the real-life Palin.
If your focus on the Tina Fey image (which is an anti-Palin image) is not unconscious, then it is certainly a dishonest attempt to spread a false characterization of the real Sarah Palin. With this agenda, you’re not going to be pleased about what The Undefeated will inform you about the real Palin.
“Her (in)action speaks loud.
Exposed is that Ms Bachmann is now “wed” to Rollins,
and created her own coverup of what he did,
and her constant pandering to Romney and the RINO agendae.”
Okay, I know I shouldn’t “feed the trolls” so to speak, but let’s take these statements one by one:
“Her (in)action speaks loud”.
Show me a congressman, senator or governor anywhere that has done more to oppose the Obama agenda. There may be a couple-Demint, Pence, a couple others. But you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone in the current GOP field that has fought harder against Obama’s socialist agenda-the November 2009 anit-Obamacare rally being a perfect example.
“Exposed is that Ms Bachmann is now “wed” to Rollins”
Rollins is a campaign adviser. He also happened to work for Reagan’s 1984 re-election campaign. Does that make Reagan a RINO?
“created her own coverup of what he did”. What coverup? It seems to be pretty well out in the open about Rollins’ remarks about Palin. MB did the right thing and told him to apologize. I suspect that even if the apology were “public”, it still wouldn’t satisfy people like you anyway.
“her constant pandering to Romney and the RINO agendae”
There is simply no basis in fact whatsoever for this charge, which is why people around here saying MB is somehow a RINO have absolutely zero credibility and sound like complete fools.
Look at her record in Congress and earlier in the MN State Senate, the last thing any credible person will accuse MB of is being a RINO.
show you who has done more? hmmm Palin nuff said.
No Ed rollins is a loud mouth idiot
Bachmann did not do the “right thing” she should have had him issue a public apology. instead she is trying to keep it quiet with a private one. i.e cover it up
The RINO part I kind of agree with you. she is not a rino. Bachmann reminds me more of demint who says nice things but when the chips are down she votes with the establishment. See Patriot act. Her cave on the budget deal and then reversal when the Tea party threw a fit..... more of a typical politician than a RINO
Bachmann is losing support left and right and this stroy of her using taxpayer money to fund her politcal PAc and politcal rallies is not good.
Bachmann didn’t take money tax payer money to campaign!
They will start all over again if she runs for Prez. It’s not her I’m worried about it is the dumb voters!
Maybe he's not as honorable as he tries to project......
And I thought Bachmann wrote her own speeches...LOL
Did you bother to read the story?
that is what the stroy is telling you. Bachmann used taxpayer money to hold a politcal rally.
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