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| English: Official photo of Congresswoman (R-MN) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Bachmann has a year and a half to go in her current term, and will have served eight years by the time she's done. In that time, she has made herself a household name among conservatives, Tea Party activists and the religious right. She also became an embarrassment to Minnesotans and the Republican Party, a lightning rod for progressives and fodder for late night TV comedians.
Space does not permit listing all the wacky statements and misinformation that came out of Bachmann's mouth over the years, whether she believed them or not. Suffice it to say there were so many of them, the fact checkers just gave up trying to correct them.
The Congresswoman's accomplishments in getting things done in her home district is not well known, unless you count all the time spent railing against Obamacare. But Bachmann did put in a public appearance shortly before the video was released. She was part of a public ceremony launching the construction of a new bridge over the St. Croix River bordering Minnesota and Wisconsin, which she helped take credit for.
Bachmann didn't say why she wasn't running for re-election in the video. Then again, she didn't have to. There's an ethics investigation into her 2012 presidential run that's attracted the FBI's interest. She nearly lost a close election last fall to Democrat Jim Graves, which resulted in her dialing things back a notch. She also maybe realizes that the public is sick of her and her antics.
All this is very bad news for Graves, who wanted a second shot at Bachmann because he believed she can be defeated. Instead, he'll be running against some lesser-known Republican who will likely win because the Sixth District is a conservative stronghold.
As much as people wish Michele Bachmann would just go away, don't think for a moment we've heard the last of her. She just might want to challenge Democrats Mark Dayton for Minnesota's Governor, or Al Frnaken for the U.S. Senate in 2014. Or she might make another run at the White House in 2016. Or she might be drawing fat checks as a Fox News commentator. Or she could get out of politics altogether and bang the drums for the Lord. Michele Bachmann's next chapter begins now.
UPDATE: Graves has decided to take himself out of the running, which all but guarantees the seat will remain in Republican hands. Truth be told, Graves more or less admitted that the only reason he got into the race in the first place was to get rid of Bachmann. Well, he doesn't have that any more, so what's the point?
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