Free Republic

“She is a gifted politician, just in terms of getting people to connect with her on an emotional level in person,” says Taibbi. “It’s something that if you’re an experienced campaign journalist you can just see.” Question: Will Sarah Palin run for President in 2012? Matt Taibbi: Absolutely she is going to run for president in 2012 and... I don’t think she is going to win, but I think she is a very good bet to win the nomination. I think what we saw in the last election was the Tea Party is now in this kingmaking role and the...

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty — who has not yet declared he’s running for president but is taking all the requisite steps — said Thursday that “it’s a free country” if Rep. Michele Bachmann wants to run for the White House. In an interview with Politics Daily, Pawlenty said that he has respect for Bachmann, but he did not endorse the idea of a second Minnesota Republican getting into the presidential ring: "Well, it's a free country. Anyone can run that's over the age of 35. I have respect for Michele Bachmann. I've had a cordial and positive relationship with her.”

Chris Matthews and four liberal male guests had a nice laugh Friday over the announcement that Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has been named to serve on the House Intelligence committee. Viewers are advised to prepare themselves for a truly disgraceful level of sexism displayed on MSNBC's "Hardball" (video follows with transcript and commentary): CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Gentlemen, before we proceed, I just got one of those flash news flashes that I have to report immediately upon getting it. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota has been named to the Intelligence Committee! (LAUGHTER) MATTHEWS: What -- what genius, Howard, thought this was the...

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was in Michigan on Tuesday offering up her special brand of political rhetoric. Bachmann was in the state to stump for Robert ‘Bobby’ Schostak and his bid to become the chair of the Michigan Republican Party. While Schostak and campaign volunteer Stu Sandler told Michigan Messenger that the Grand Rapids appearance of Bachmann was closed to the press, both Michigan Public Radio and the Grand Rapids Press were allowed to attend. Both issued reports. Messenger emailed both Sandler and Schostak seeking an explanation as to why they claimed the event was closed to the press, but...

I didn't realize until I went off to college one day -- this is the honest to God truth -- I was going off to college, and I was reading this snotty novel. It was written by Gore Vidal, and I was maybe like a junior in college, or -- yeah, I think was maybe a junior in college. I was reading this snotty novel, and he was going after our Founders. And he was mocking them. And he was making fun out of them. . . . And at that point I put the book down and I laughed....

On November 2, 2010 the American people voted to usher in a new Congress and a new way of doing business in Washington. Under Nancy Pelosi’s Speakership the Republican minority and the American people witnessed Democrats pushing through devastating changes that affected Wall Street and Main Street. -- We saw the debt grow from $8.67 trillion to almost $14 trillion. Bills were introduced in the dark of night without the transparency that was promised. Now a new majority is taking the reins and it’s time for action. We need to rollback Pelosi’s furthest-reaching legislation, staring with a vote next week...

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is planning a trip to Iowa, perhaps to explore the possibility of a run for president in 2012. Bachmann's office confirmed on Wednesday that the Tea Party lawmaker planned to hold a fundraiser in Des Moines and other private meetings in the Hawkeye state later this month. The third-term congresswoman hasn't ruled out a run for president, said her spokesman, Sergio Gor. "Everything's still on the table, and the congresswoman hasn't ruled anything out," he said, confirming an ABC News report earlier today.

Forget the fervent chatter speculating that Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann is considering launching a campaign to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar for the Minnesota U.S. Senate seat in the next national election cycle. Think bigger. ABC News has learned that Bachmann, R-Minn., also is seriously weighing whether to seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

ABC News says U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann is considering running for president and will confer this month with GOP officials in Iowa about her prospects in that early caucus state. Citing an unnamed "source close to the three-term congresswoman," the network said in a report Wednesday that Bachmann will hold "multiple meetings to seek advice from political forces there and party elders close to the caucus process before coming to a final decision regarding a potential presidential run." Bachmann, a Republican who represents Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District, has roots in Iowa, having been born in Waterloo, Iowa. Bachmann also is...

I am worried that both Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann are being set up here as a road block for Governor Palin. First off. Michele Bachmann is not going to be elected. Secondly. She has already spent too much time in Washington D.C. My other worry is that Palin has decided not to run. I think it is a tragedy for our country if she doesnt. With all of the loyal support she has, why wouldnt she run ? I don't get it. How many hands do you haave to shake and how much support do you have to have...

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and a Waterloo, Iowa, native, will visit Iowa later this month to discuss, among other things, a 2012 run for president. Her visit is not a declaration of candidacy, but "nothing is off the table," according to spokesman Doug Sachtleben. Bachmann, elected in 2006, has become a darling of the tea party movement as well as fiscal and social conservatives for her conservative viewpoints and frequent criticism of President Barack Obama. Her frequent appearances on cable and network news shows have given the 54-year-old Republican a national following.

An aide for Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann told the media yesterday that Bachmann is mulling a 2012 presidential bid and is headed to Iowa to talk about the possibility with activists. Bachmann is scheduled to headline a fundraiser for the Iowans for Tax Relief PAC on January 21st in Des Moines. For the most part, the national media isn’t taking the news seriously. LA Times politics columnist, Andrew Malcolm, blew off the idea by suggesting she is just raising her profile to in order to run for the U.S. Senate. Another opinion writer, Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post, wrote,...

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is considering running for the Republican nomination for president in 2012, ABC News reported Wednesday. The third-term lawmaker, who formed the Tea Party Caucus last year, is making her third trip to Iowa in eight months. She will seek advice from local party leaders, as well as speak at a Jan. 21 fundraiser for Iowans for Tax Relief political action committee. Should she run, Bachmann would join a field of candidates that could include four former governors — Mike Huckabee (Ark.), Sarah Palin (Alaska), Tim Pawlenty (Minn.) and Mitt Romney (Mass.) — as well as Sen....

Democratic challenger Taryl Clark’s latest attempt to cast conservative icon Michele Bachmann as out of touch with Minnesota voters comes in a fundraising e-mail seizing on speculation that Bachmann has her eye on the White House: Bachmann said she would run for president if she felt called to it, and said in another interview that it's not what she's doing "right now" - leaving the door wide open. She remarked recently to FOX News that her supporters want her to run for president. And Bachmann's multiple trips to Iowa prompted Politico to report: "Bachmann has been receiving a little attention...