Featured Campaign '08 Content
Oct 18, 2008 6:27 pm US/Central
Bachmann Draws Fire Over 'Anti-American' Attack
(WCCO)
-
-
"I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views," said Bachmann.
Michele Bachmann
A Minnesota campaign is taking the spotlight after some controversial comments made by Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Bachmann's appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball" is getting a lot of attention.
On Friday, Bachmann told host Chris Matthews she is concerned that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may have ties to William Ayers, the founder of the radical group Weather Underground.
In her interview with Matthews, Bachmann also said, "Barack Obama didn't have a mild association with Bill Ayers, he had a very strong association with Bill Ayers." She then went on to say, "I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views."
On Saturday afternoon a spokesperson for Bachmann's campaign stood behind her comments.
"She asks some questions that Americans, Minnesotans have been asking, they are legitimate questions about the types of formative relationships that Barack Obama had with people like Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Father Pfleger, mentor-type relationships that he had that may have informed the policies that he'll bring to an Obama Whitehouse," said Bachmann spokesperson Michelle Marston.
The chair of the DFL party in Minnesota called Bachmann's comments "scare tactics and false attacks."
"Do I think that the people in her district would make the same kind of comments that she would make? Trying to paint such a smear on a candidate for President of the United States? No. I think the voters in the 6th District are better than that and that they have been consistently embarrassed by Michele Bachman and that Michele Bachman is embarrassing all of us once again," said Minnesota DFL party chair Brian Melendez.
Bachmann is running against Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg in the 6th district. He is part of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue" program, meaning Democrats really want to win the seat.
A website called Actblue.com said that Tinklenberg's campaign received over $100,000 in donations after Bachmann's interview with Matthews aired Friday. It is not clear if those donations are directly related to the interview.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Local Election Results
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
