Michele Bachmann looks increasingly desperate — sinking in the polls, money drying up, and now flailing away at the wife of one of her opponents. Check out the ad just released by a Bachmann super-PAC ironically called “Keep Conservatives United.”
Says the DesMoines Register:
An independent campaign group supporting presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is taking its message to Iowa TV.
Keep Conservatives United will air a 30-second commercial knocking Bachmann rival Rick Perry on Fox News in the Cedar Rapids media market beginning Thursday, the group announced this morning.
The add zaps Perry, the governor of Texas, for his executive order requiring girls in the state to receive a vaccine against the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cancer.
Bachmann attacked Perry on the order — which was never enforced — in a candidate debate last week.
A source in the Perry camp tells me that the ad’s central allegation — that Perry’s wife, Anita, worked for Merck — is false. To see just how dishonest this line of attack is, just check out the link that the super-PAC helpfully provides. Several years and an entirely different field (osteoporosis) separate Mrs. Perry’s consulting work from the Gardasil controversy, and Rick Perry wasn’t even governor yet. This is on the level of “Dick Cheney went to war in Iraq for Halliburton!!!!11!1!1!” and should be treated with about as much respect. And if this is the standard that Bachmann wants to set, then it becomes reasonable to ask about the donations she has accepted from Merck’s direct Gardasil competitors.
A fair reading of the facts says that Bachmann’s “pay for play” allegation is false as well. And according to the Centers for Disease Control, Gardasil is an extremely safe vaccine, so there goes the scaremongering.
Whether Bachmann wants to disavow the ad’s false claims or not, she probably ought to tread lightly on attacking other candidates’ spouses. Once you open open that Pandora’s box, there’s no way to control it and no telling how it might end up damaging you, and not your target.
How a groups intends to “keep conservatives united” by falsely smearing conservatives probably ought to be explained as well.
Up until about week ago, Michele Bachmann’s national star was rising. With each passing day and false attack, though, she is wandering off into the wacky weeds.
Gov. Perry was wrong to mandate the vaccine with onerous “opt-out” only to have it reserved by the Texas Legislature. Of course, the governor is sorry now, wishes he had done differently. How radical was the mandate decision? Well, today there is only Virginia that has the mandate, and it is not enforced. Dr. Manny Alveraz from Fox News said a mandate was not necessary because, unlike the flu, it is only transmitted through sexual contact.
Moreover, the ‘crony capitalism’ charge is legit. Gov. Perry said he couldn’t be bought for $5,000 but it was actually $30,000 in direct funds and up to $350,000 of Merck funds channeled through the Republican Govenors Association or RGA.
What is most troubling about this entire situation is that should Gov. Perry be the nominee, he takes the ‘crony capitalism’ topic off the table when it appears to be a top issue for challenging Obama. Of course, ObamaCare comes off the table should Romney be nominated.
One question for Bryan Preston: In reading your stack of articles, it appears obvious you are a zealous supporter of Gov. Perry. I have no problem with that; however, in the interest of full disclosure, shouldn’t you make that known to your readers up-front?
Mr. Potato Head? You’re asking for “disclosure” with pseudo like that? Heh.
I’m not a writer for Pajamas Media. Why side-step the issue with a snide remark, Bryan?
Because…it’s funny to be called out by someone calling himself Mr. Potato Head, when I write under my own name every day and have done so off and on for about 10 years now. The fact that you attacked me rather than dealing with the substance of the post just made it a bit more entertaining.
Bryan:
I am not “calling you out,” unless you take it as such. But I do appeal to you to be forthcoming with your loyalty to Gov. Perry’s candidacy. I like Pajamas Media and would like it to maintain a strong journalistic standard of disclosure.
It is entirely common for comments to be posted under a pseudonym. It is also common for writers for a blog to post their actual names. You could call it “commonplace.”
Moreover, it is common for blog writers to state their preferences in a candidate rather than make the reader discern it for themselves. Do you have a problem with disclosure?
Much to several candidates’ disappointment, I don’t endorse in primaries. Look over what I’ve written and you’ll see that I’ve written positively and negatively about just about every candidate in the race. Ron Paul may be an exception, because I think his foreign policy is dangerous — I probably haven’t written much positive about him. I report what I see, and I would stop reporting on Bachmann’s Gardasil nonsense if she would stop pushing it. But she won’t, and that keeps it as a live story. I would prefer that she get off the subject because it’s an embarrassment to the entire party.
I’m not the story here, Bachmann’s bad decisions and failing campaign are the story. My bio is disclosure enough, Mr. Potato Head.
You are wrong, here, Mr. Preston. He did engage on the subject. He also called you out on your obvious bias. It is something I have also done. It is reprehensible that you should ridicule his moniker as an ad hominem attack. It was petty. Also, he is a reader, and thus, your customer. Shame on you. You violated the rules of this site.
You write good stuff, until you write about Perry, then all your judgment goes out the window. You need to take a look in the mirror for some self-reflection.
I linked to a few of Bryan’s other posts the last time the Bachmann Brigade started up. These links pointed out Bryan’s positive and negative coverage on other candidates. Komischer Herr Kartoffelkopf launched an attack without attempting to substantiate his own point. If you like the guilty-until-proven innocent approach, could I suggest living in North Korea?
Actually Perry *did* receive the $5K he claimed to the year he signed the EO. The following year he recieved $2500.
Aside from the that, the claim he rec’d a total of $30K from Merck is interesting. Do you have a link to prove that? I’ve seen estimations ranging from $23K-$29K, but only one article claimed “almost $30K”.
The cronyism charge Bachmann threw at him was based on his Chief of Staff being a lobbyist for Merck – he didn’t even go to work for them until after he’d left the Governors staff.
Using the $30K figure with the $100 million he’s collected in political donations over the the same 2004 – 2011 time period, it amounts to about .0003 of his total. Wow.
And during the same ’04-’11 period, Mercks political donations nationally were $39,457,510. Do the math.
We can play the same mathematical games w/the TEFT contributions. An ex-staffer from the Hutchison campaign regurgitated that charge for the WSJ. The fact that 1 in 5 TEFT recipients have donated to Perry still equates to 20%. Where the other 80% go is anyones guess, but the last time I checked political contributions weren’t mandated by the TX board – and anyone claiming differently is playing political games.
And at the end of the day, whether contributions go to Perry or the RGA, I’d say that’s a good choice. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure Rick only chaired the RGA a couple of years. Frankly I don’t care. The RGA did an *excellent* job playing ping-pong with the unions the last couple of years and have run a great ground game for my team. I hope McDonnell keeps up the good work – and collects a whole lot of donations to keep those Governors on the board and in play.
“Rick Perry and HPV vaccine-maker have deep financial ties”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/perry-has-deep-financial-ties-to-maker-of-hpv-vaccine/2011/09/13/gIQAVKKqPK_story.html
The Washington Compost? They were bashing Perry a month before he threw his hat in the ring. And the DailyBeast? Isn’t that the website that thinks Mehgan McCain is a journalist?
So, you are unable to dispute the facts from two collaborating pieces but attack the sources?
I don’t care for either source but when you have collaborating facts from multiple sources, you have to take notice. This is particularly the case when you have no evidence to the contrary.
Here’s another: “Perry’s Vaccine Two-Step”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/13/rick-perry-now-says-hpv-vaccine-campaign-was-mistake-not-political-payoff.html
An interesting relationship with Mike Toomey:
“Longtime aide a key link between contributor and Perry”
http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/09/perry-merck-lobbyist-are-campaign-donors/?gta=commentform#commentform
Mr. Potato Head – Assuming the $20K or $30K number is correct, Gov. Perry received that over a 10 year period – That $2K or $3K per year. Big deal!! You get exercised over qute minor matters. I wonder how much O’s people recieved from Solyndra in one day? And if you get exercised by that, how about Fast and Furious? That involved lives. And BTW The larger amount was given to the Republican Governors’ Conference and that is distributed to other governors and candidates, so probably very little that was returned to Perry. There are more important things to vent about.
Let’s clarify a couple of your talking points: first Rick Perry was referring to the $5,000.00 that Merck donated to his last gubernatorial campaign, AFTER the Gardasil issue in Texas was buried. As to the rest of the story, ProPublica reports that the TOTAL amount of money that Merck donated to the Perry campaigns was less than $29,000.00 over the course of 12 years. Considering that $5K was in one year, that left an average of just slightly over $2/per year. Do you really think that $5K out of a 2010 campaign coffer of $30 MILLION bought a whole lot of influence? Are you telling me that Perry could not have won with a campaign coffer of $29,995,000.00?
The money Merck donated to the Republican Governor’s Association was spread out among ALL Republican gubernatorial candidates, not just Perry.
Now, shall we discuss the fact that Michelle Bachman’s own state has a MANDATE for the vaccination against Hepitutus B, also a disease that is generally transmitted sexually? Or the fact that as a state representative, she did not ONE darn thing to try to overturn that mandate. I guess it is fine to require “little” girls to get the shots for Hep B, but not to prevent certain types of cervical cancer, much less genital warts which is now at epidemic stages in young adults (est. 50%).
Ed Rollins said on MSNBC Sunday that Bachmann has just enough funds to get her through Iowa. That is not a good sign. He also said that she should move on from the Gardasil thing. Maybe her craziness is why he left her as campaign manager.
Not one of these articles about Perry’s EO include the actual “opt-out” that was in it. It made it so easy for parents to opt-out that they could access the form from the internet so lazy parents didn’t even have to get out of their recliners.
Perry issued the EO because the legislation was not in session, and would not be for another year. But one thing it did do was force insurance companies to cover the $350+ cost for the three series shots. Unlike Palin, who dumped the whole cost onto the taxpayers all across the nation, Perry wanted the insurance companies to have to pick up the tab.
Perry admitted he should have gone through the legislature. That is exactly what every other state has done, so yeah, he probably should have. But at least he is man enough to admit a mistake in judgement and that is more than anyone can now say about Michelle Bachmann who appears more desparate with each passing day.
Well, perhaps, but….
(1) An estimated $22,000 of Merck money was given to Perry before his 2007 E.O.
(2) Merck contributed $377,000 starting in 2006 when Gov. Perry “became a driving force for the organization”
(3) The relationship with Mike Toomey is quite interesting.
http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/09/perry-merck-lobbyist-are-campaign-donors/?gta=commentform#commentform
I don’t care which horse you saddle up with, and I’m not defending Bachmann sans compelling evidence of her allegations.
But it is very apparent that Gov. Perry minimized his relationship with Merck and Mike Toomey. Many supporters of Gov. Perry have closed their minds and ask others to “don’t confuse me with the other facts.” That is your choice.
Wow! $22,000.00 over 9 years. So how much does that come to per year? If you think a $2,440/yr donation is going to buy you a whole lot of influence, you are wearing a tin foil hat. I know lots of people who have donated $2,500.00 to Perry every year. Does that mean that the plumber I know is trying to buy influence?
I am sick of you people who are Texans, and who only take their talking points from someone else, acting like you know anything. You only show your ignorance by quoting the Houston Chronicle, which has been in the tank for every Democrat that every threw their hat in any political race. The Chron backed Bill White (crook) and Tony Sanchez.
So get back to us when you know what you are really talking about.
Oh, btw, Dr. Alvarez also said that he thinks all parents should vaccinate their daughters, and sons, against HPV. Why didn’t you include that statement?
Why don’t you tell us who you are supporting, or shall I guess?
Hepatitis B vaccination is mandatory and it is predominantly spread sexually or by IV drug use. Is there ANY evidence whatsoever that a kid with a Hep B immunization is says, “Hey, I am immunized, so I am going to be sexually active or take IV drugs.”
What does Manny Alvarez know? He has stated that he is uncomfortable with any government mandated vaccination. This is way out of the norm.
The premise is stupid. Is it government intrusion, to require a kid to be vaccinated against measles. Yes. But I am for it. And I am for the Gardasil vaccination, too.
I totally agree with my wife…. her words:
This is POOR yellow ‘journalism’. Bachmann has NO control or input on this ad. It is from a private group not her. Talk about misleading! Funny the pot is calling the kettle black Pajamas. Very diappointed. I expected more from you than Fox News but sigh…
If I remember correctly, Pawlenty’s attacks on Bachmann ultimately lead to his withdrawal from the race. Recently, he has become an attack-dog directed at Perry, which may reduce his standing even as a second-tier politician.
It seems that Bachmann is not capable of learning a lesson from this. Granted, this [immoral] attack style may be her only, albeit slim, hope for the nomination. But she is doubling down in a manner that will taint her reputation for a long time.
I feel relieved in a sad way; I was going to support her in the NH primary. I would have been obamafied if this character flaw would have been exposed after I voted for her.
I agree that if Bachmann is going to make outlandish claims like Ms. Perry being involved in Gov. Perry’s crony deals (which they were), she needs to bring the compelling evidence.
She only diminishes herself by making such claims without substantive proof. Same with the reflexive claim about mental retardation.
This was predictable, and predicted, when she hired Ed Rollins. The first thing he did was smear. The more desperate Bachmann becomes, the more heed she will give her smear merchant.
And yes, this is a losing strategy. One can bring up these things in a campaign. One should do so in a primary. It makes the eventual winner all the stronger for having gone through the fire. How you bring it up matters. We are not Democrats.
Not only is Bachmann a half-wit and a flake, she’s a contemptible smear merchant who plays fast and loose with the facts, as well.
Michelle, drop out of the race before you embarrass yourself any further…and just in case someone out there still has a favorable opinion of you. At this point, all you’re doing is helping Romney and Obama, two progressives who should be running against each other for the Dem nomination.
“Bachmann attacked Perry on the order — which was never enforced — in a candidate debate last week.”
That the backlash here in Texas against the order was so quick and vociferous is the ONLY reason the order was not inforced. Perry was so stunned by the backlash he backed down, just as we Texans were stunned that Perry could make such a decision without seeking any input from Texas parents. We looked at his Gardasil order the same way we would have if his order was to pass out condoms to our 12 year old daughters.
“We looked at his Gardasil order the same way we would have if his order was to pass out condoms to our 12 year old daughters.”
Do some people really equate a cancer vaccination with a prophylactic contraceptive?
In a sense, it is an apt comparison.
As Dr. Manny Alvarez stated, the vaccine should not have been mandatory. Unlike the flu, which is contagious, Gardasil (like condoms) is designed to prevent HPV through sexual transmission.
Bryan:
It was my right to make an appeal and it is your right to deny the appeal. However, I’ve seen many recent pro-Perry articles by you, much less for other candidates.
No, you are not the story. We could have ended that exchange very quickly had you made your snide comments about the common practice of your readers using pseudonyms.
I’ll look forward to your fair treatment of the other candidates.
This is how you know Bachmann is just another low-life Washington insider politicians. I don’t like her, i’ve never like her. And i can’t get past the fact (well, i can)she had a whooping one billion in ear marks with her teapart caucus. There is something not quiet right with the woman!!!
I used to be a fan of Bachmann believing her portrayal by the media as a nutjob was just typical MSM slander against a conservative woman. But her courting of the anti-vaccine crowd through this gardasil issue, and the depths she’s willing to plumb in order to take down the front runner make me think maybe the MSM is right and she is nuts.
My wife’s a family doctor and she recommends the vaccine for both sexes because it is one of the few weapons we have against cancer. Being a conservative she disagrees with mandating it – as do I. Perry screwed up and acknowledges that. Bachmann continues to screw up by beating him over the head with this issue and doesn’t act like she’s doing nothing wrong.
It’s time for her to drop out and retain some of her dignity.
I don’t care if she retains her dignity or not. She’s putting the lie to any claim on her part that she cares about beating Obama; clearly, her ambitions and rivalry take precedence over that worthy goal.
The Perry ad shown here earlier today shows that Perry is running against Obama, whom he hopes to oppose next year. His strategy is to gain primary votes by looking from the outset like the winner in the general election.
Michele Bachmann’s strategy aims far lower, hoping to bite off some votes by yapping at Perry’s heels. Smear tactics and unhinged anti-vax ideology aside, it is the focus of her campaign that diminishes her even more.
Actually, it’s worse than that.
It’s hard to see how any ad, no matter how good, can bring her up from where she now stands in most semi-reputable polls.
What this appears to be is just a small-minded and petty attempt to damage the front-runner in a fit of pique. “If I can’t win, neither can you!” in other words, complete with tossing the board and pieces all over the room.
As Mr. Kirwin states at 12:52.
I will never vote for or support Ms. Bachmann in any of her future endeavors.
She is an embarassment. It is her own doing. She cannot be rehabilitated.
Really not sure why the candidates don’t get that we battle weary Americans don’t want to see the proposed replacements for the worse president in history taking cheap shots at each other. Bachman and Santorum are coming across as petty ankle biters, which is a Liberal attribute.
I second that, Hening.
Let’s see some substance, vision and leadership on stage and off. This petty backbiting and sniping diminishes all of them.
She was a rising star and now decends into a parody of herself. That is the value of primaries; an inter-party scrap and enough exposure to show defective characters.
What a dissapointment Bachmann has turned out to be. Anything she does from here on out will amount to polishing a turd.
I fail to understand all the hoopla about this. The government mandates polio, measles, chicken pox, and multiple other vaccines for school children. Why is this so different? We have an opportunity to wipe out HPV in one generation. He even had an opt out option. If a parent didn’t want there child to get the shot, all they had to do was say so. Why all the outrage? I don’t understand.
Perry vs. Bachmann: Who Wins the Debate Over HPV Vaccine?
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/16/perry-vs-bachmann-who-wins-debate-over-hpv-vaccine/#ixzz1YcwQ6P2k
Here is what Dr. Manny Alvarez of Fox News sees as the distinction.
Glen, you’re trying to inject sense while Komischer Herr Kartoffelkopf insists on winning his point. Don’t distract him.
As a general observation, when Michele first declared I had zero interest in her as a candidate, both for her lack of exec experience and her lack of Congressional achievements, but I DID think her heart was in the right place. Maybe it is. But as this campaign has unfolded, she’s starting to look a lot less principled and a lot more politically opportunistic.
I did my time vetting Perry long before he declared. I did a LOT of time vetting him. Daniels too. But instead of discussing the more important issues facing this country like the defense that’s been whittled down to almost nothing since Clinton and further by Obama, or economic issues or jobs or monetary policy that’s grinding consumers under its jackboot – we’re quibbling semantics. We’re quibbling about whether there should have been an opt-out or an opt-in, because the choice is so *radically different* when it comes time to perform the oh-so-onerous task of downloading an online form. We’re quibbling semantics as to whether it’s pc to refer to SS as a Ponzi scheme or not, when multiple people have used the same terminology over the years including three Nobel laureates. We’re manufacturing cronyism charges where none exist and we’re doing all of this while we do not discuss matters that are in the here and now and that affect our families and our country’s future, like stocking the Senate with Republicans to enable us to repeal Obamacare in it’s entirety once and for all. Our Presidential candidates are wasting our valuable time.
I’m sick of this. We have more important issues at hand than more of the same old games.
Rep. Bachmann is Exhibit A of the Peter Principle. I contributed to her campaign when she was running for Congress against some Soros backed candidates. Unfortunately, I continue to receive junk mail from her campaign even though it’s a different race and a different campaign.
My concern for Michele is that she not do irreparable damage to future runs for Congress. Believe me, she was and is much better than the democrat alternatives.
As for the current field of candidates, I am disappointed. The two top issues the GOP nominee can use to challenge Obama is ObamaCare and “crony capitalism.” Today’s leading candidate with either take ObamaCare off the table with RomneyCare or “crony capitalism” off the table with this vaccine matter, the Texas entrepreneurial fund that Gov. Perry used to pick winners for government funds, and the Obama-like sweetheart real estate deal. Then there is the Texas Dream Act and GWB-like immigration stance Gov. Perry has had.
You’re Eeyore, MPH. You seem determined to cling to a narrative propogated by the opposition rather than addressing any facts to the contrary you’re presented with.
And since you’ve pre-determined Perry’s guilt re: crony capitalism, you chose it as the defining issue. It’s not even close. It’s a distraction from real issues and real records, and it’s a very old and tired ploy.
None of the other candidates have the record Perry does on economy, jobs, or trade. He’s successfully governed one of the largest economies in the world, and it’s thrived under his guidance while the rest of the nation has struggled. He’s made every appointment a Governor can make during his 3 terms, and every one of them has held the line for conservatism. He is pro life, pro Israel, pro capitalism and one of the strongest Federalists I’ve seen in recent years. Texas leads the nation in job opportunity and foreign trade, while it ranks second lowest in tax burden. He’s reduced the size of the TX gen. budget every time he’s written one. None of the other candidates can match his successes: therefore they divert to other topics hoping they won’t suffer so much in comparison. Do you really think in-state tuition comparable to amnesty, or giving nukes to Iran, or Romneycare, gun rights and gay marriage in MASS? Hardly.
Your charges have been answered regarding TEFT more than once, but you’ve disregarded them. You’ll disregard any others and this too, I suppose.
Have a nice day, Eeyore. I believe we’ve met before.
I am disappointed with the turn Bachmann is taking, she started out strong and would be well-served by staying (more) positive. If this isn’t her time, and it may not be, why not handle the time on the big stage with grace and dignity and look forward to campaigning for the ticket in a year? Not saying she needs to be walked all over but if she did not relish all the mud thrown at her spouse, why do the same to another candidate?
This. Exactly. I’ve met Bachmann and I like her quite a bit. But this recent show is really an embarrassment.
Chris Wallace asked Bachmann if she was a flake.
Now we know the answer.
Like a lot of blog comment threads, Michelle has gotten dragged off point & it’s up to her to fix it. Up until she bit on repeating that dubious/unproven link between vaccines/autism she’d had a knack for getting the dialogue in her campaign back on topic. She should have walked that comment back the next morning and she should distance herself with prejudice from this independent campaign group ostensibly “supporting” her ASAP. Treat it the way the TEA Party treats racists plants pretending they are welcome in the (Taxed Enough Already) movement. Rebuke them harshly and publicly. It’s one thing when she can’t control that the MSM hacks want to only ask questions that will make her look like the whacky anti-vaccine candidate – it’s another thing when she allows people to speak on her behalf and they are cornering her into throwing away any legitimacy she worked hard to earn by dragging her into one non-issue after another; forcing her to campaign against Perry instead of Obama will dissolve her campaign.
Having said that, it may still be too late for Michelle. At any rate, all of them should remember to just give us who they are and run hard against Obama and his policies.
Bryan – Michelle Bachmann, whom I used to admire, is doing herself a lot of damage by her actions. She is youngish and could have an opportunity to try running for the Republican nomination the next time its open. By doing the things she is doing now, she is foreclosing that possibility to herself.
This is POOR yellow ‘journalism’. Bachmann has NO control or input on this ad. It is from a private group not her. Talk about misleading! Funny the pot is calling the kettle black Pajamas. Very diappointed. I expected more from you than Fox News but sigh…
Okay, let’s talk other criticism of Perry then… Perry’s record: hate crimes legislation, endorsing anti-life Giuliani, TARP, his TX budget shortfall being covered by stimulus money, being against the fence, praising open borders, praise HillaryCare, etc… hardly conservative actions or positions.
How stupid do would we have to be?
“Bachmann has NO control or input on this ad.”
Thank you for documenting that Bachmann can’t even manage her own people. How’s she going to manage a country?
As for the rest of your allegations, how about some citations?
I’ve said this before … the women candidates for national elective office out there who are ready for prime time are very few and very far between. Certainly, Sarah Palin is one who is ready.
But Christine Odonnell, Sharon Angle from Nevada and now Michelle Bachmann have proved my thesis.
Stick to governorships or state elective offices, ladies. We need to keep the cramps out of DC.