More Michele

(Cartoon by Sack and published 4/14/2012 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.Click on image to enlarge and then return.)

Our Michele has been packing her bags, with money instead of clothes, as Jim Graves has announced that he will be running against her again in next year's election for that House seat.

The expected rematch is on between Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann and DFL businessman Jim Graves, who came within a single percentage point of an upset in last November's race for her U.S. House seat.

 

The new Graves campaign issued a statement Thursday morning announcing that he will make another run at the four-term congresswoman, a lightning rod for Democrats who faces ethics and campaign finance allegations stemming from her 2012 presidential run.

 

Bachmann reacted to the news with a fundraising email to supporters announcing “He’s Back.”

 

Her initial statement -- and hard-hitting video -- presaged a tough campaign:

 

“Just a few moments ago, after receiving his marching orders from the Pelosi-Obama campaign machine, my Democratic opponent from last election announced he will again try to defeat me in 2014,” Bachmann told supporters.

 

Graves emphasized his business background as founder and former CEO of the AmericInn Hotel chain. “These days Congress is all about and scoring political points rather than actually solving problems,” he said in a statement. “I’m not interested in celebrity, only in solutions.”

 

Graves came within 4,296 votes of upending Bachmann in November, a contest that featured a presidential election at the top of the ticket. President Obama will not be on the ballot in 2014. But as seen from the video her campaign released immediately upon Graves' announcement, it is clear she is going to try to morph Graves into Obama, a target that's better suited to her conservative base.   [Emphasis added]

The state DFL party has already sent money to Graves with the caveat that the campaign funds would not foreclose any other party member from running.  It just wants some parity with the lies and smears our Michele will be doling out from this point onward.

 

This is a good start.  It would be nice if the Democratic Party would ship some campaign funds as well.  Howard Dean showed how a 50-state strategy could work.  Rahm Emmanual showed how limited campaign funding fails.

 

I have no illusions that Jim Graves will be as liberal as Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, but he has to be better than Bachmann, she who would rather raise money and lie than actually, you know, engage in rational legislation.  And wouldn't it be nice to have her off the Intelligence Committee?  I mean, the cognitive dissonance is just too much for my old brain to process.