The Bachmann Agenda
The Bachmann Agenda: Truthiness Fail
It's time to hold Congresswoman Bachmann to a reasonable standard of honesty
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann received a special distinction yesterday, but not the kind that the voters of the 6th District might expect: PolitiFact, a non-partisan fact-checking organization, announced that Bachmann "continues to hold the rare distinction of an all False/Pants-on-Fire record."
Bachmann has been put to their truth test eleven times, and eleven times she has failed, due to comments that PolitiFact said are "sensationalized" and are "misrepresentation taken to a ridiculous extreme."
This isn't the first time Bachmann has failed the truthiness test. Congresswoman Bachmann's radio and television ads in the 6th District Congressional race are no more honest than her "pants-on-fire" statements that failed the Politifact tests.
Bachmann: 'All-False/Pants on Fire record'
PolitiFact reports:
About a year ago, the New York Times published an article about our ratings on Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Republican from Minnesota who had never earned anything higher than a False.
Since then, many PolitiFact readers -- particularly in Minnesota -- have kept tabs on our Bachmann ratings. With the publication of our newest fact-check on Bachmann, we thought it would be a good time to update our report card.
Bachmann has scored five Pants on Fire ratings, plus six False ratings. After 11 encounters with the Truth-O-Meter, Bachmann continues to hold the rare distinction of an all-False/Pants on Fire record.
Today's item checks a statement she made during the Values Voter Summit, a conference for socially conservative activists on Sept. 17, 2010.At one point, Bachmann took a shot at the woman who leads her chamber, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Bachmann flip-flops her way through tax talk, turns back on Minnesota hunters and fishers
Bachmann was for sales tax increase -- before she was against it
Over the last three weeks, Michele Bachmann has spent over half a million dollars to have her paid actor, Jim (Beau) the Election Guy falsely accuse Tarryl Clark of voting to raise the state sales tax.
But what Bachmann and her paid Election Guy neglect to mention is that Bachmann actually supported the very same measure in question. That is, before she was against it - the ultimate flip-flop.
The sales tax in question is the Minnesota Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment, an amendment voted on and approved by taxpayers - not legislators -- in 2008 to dedicate a fraction of a percent of the sales tax in order to fund clean water and conservation efforts. The amendment was supported by dozens of hunting, fishing and outdoors groups, and passed overwhelmingly.
After 2 day drive-by of district, Bachmann continues her 'Anywhere But Here Tour'
Bachmann holds townhall in Washington, D.C., not at home
After a brief, 2-day drive-by of her home District, Michele Bachmann spent Friday night and today holding her own rallies and events in conjunction with Glenn Beck's rally in Washington, D.C. Bachmann's events were paid for by her Congressional re-election campaign fund, according to the Washington Post, though D.C. is over 800 miles from the 6th Congressional District.
Bachmann took to her Townhall blog at the outset of the August recess assuring voters she would be home, "connecting with constituents," and frequently argues that she is "at home nearly every weekend." (Most recent use was August 1, FOX News.)
However, Bachmann has made only scant appearances at home during the recess. She has missed 10 parades, a number of community festivals, Farm Fest and has not appeared at the Minnesota State Fair - a major Minnesota event.
The Bachmann Agenda: Dallas Latest Stop on ‘Everywhere But Here’ Tour
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R- MO, MI, TX) continued her "Everywhere But Here" Tour on Saturday at the Freedom Rocks Concert hosted by Fox News personality Sean Hannity in Dallas, Texas.
Bachmann has also made appearances in Missouri and Michigan during the Congressional recess period, leaving residents of her home district scratching their heads and wondering who Bachmann thinks she represents.
While Bachmann said that she was using the Congressional recess to "connect with constituents" in an email and on her Townhall Blog, she has not held a single event where constituents might be able to talk to her about the challenges faced by the 6th District. Other than a brief appearance at Game Fair in Ramsey, parades have become the only place voters in the 6th District can even hope to see their Congresswoman, yet while campaigning in Texas this weekend, she missed community parades in Lino Lakes, Rice, and Montrose.
MPR PoliGraph: Bachmann state aid claim fails the truth test
Minnesota Public Radio reports:
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann had some choice words for a recently passed $26 billion bill meant to aid states hit hard by the economic downturn.
"Taxpayer money will essentially be laundered through the public employee unions, and spent to reelect those same Democrats this fall," Bachmann said on the Aug. 10 episode of FOX News's Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano.
The next day, she clarified her point on another FOX News program, saying, "Quite literally what will happen is this money will be shifted over to public employee unions. The unions will skim off the top; they'll put a good portion of that into political action committees."
Bachmann's claim underscores an opinion held by other Republicans that the legislation is meant to win favor with teachers and other workers during an election year. Some have argued that, because the funding will be used to maintain worker salaries, a portion of that money could end up with unions in the form of dues.
Bachmann just says no to safe communities, smart children – and a package that’s paid for
Clark campaign says: Let's be honest about real costs, real responsibilities
The U.S. House of Representatives was called back into an extraordinary mid-recess session today to approve a $26.1 billion package to send funding directly to states to keep teachers in classrooms and police and firefighters on the job in local communities - including hundreds of millions directly to Minnesota. The measure passed the House 247 to 161.
But Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06), who late last week vocalized her opposition to going back to work during the recess calling it her 'six week hiatus,' voted against the measure - despite the immediate impact it would have on our communities. Bachmann decried the increased spending -- ignoring the fact that the bill is entirely paid for.
While Bachmann was complaining about going back to work, she's spent her recess continuing to build her national ambitions, just last night hosting a nationwide Tea Party conference call.
The Bachmann Agenda: Investigate Congress, President
All Congress should do is hearings and subpoenas, according to Bachmann
The Bachmann Agenda: Big Bucks From Big Business In Colorado
Despite rhetoric, Bachmann spends over 40% of weekends out-of-state
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-CO?) is traveling to Denver, Colorado today for yet another high-dollar fundraiser. Once again, Bachmann will use her "Home District Work Period" - a time for Members of Congress to connect with constituents - to rack up the frequent flier miles for cross-country campaign travel and fundraising.
Bachmann's latest trip comes on the heels of her most recent interview with The Hill, where she discussed her plans to spend the work period "doing parades, going to community festivals and fairs and just being in my district with people -- I'm there every weekend, but this is really hometown time." Bachmann made similar claims on "At Issue" with Tom Hauser: "I'm home nearly every weekend in Minnesota."
Three's Company: BP Edition
This summer, three Members of Congress - Michele Bachmann, Joe Barton, and Steve King - have joined together in a remake of the hit comedy "Three's Company." The three have so much in common: they are all members of the Republican Study Committee, which called the creation of a relief fund for victims of the BP oil spill a "shakedown," and they themselves have repeatedly gone out of their way to defend BP over the course of the past week. And they're all big fans of each other, too; King has defended Barton's apology to BP and Bachmann, who has traveled to Iowa several times this year to campaign with Rep. King, has even suggested he run for President!
See the debut episode of "Three's Company: BP Edition" here:
