Early Bachmann challenger makes case
By Lawrence Schumacher,
lschumacher@stcloudtimes.com
Published: June 24. 2007 12:30AM
A Sauk Rapids native and son of a former Cathedral High School principal is the first person to signal a challenge to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., next year.
Bob Hill, a Stillwater lawyer and first-time candidate, said in an interview Friday with the Times he will abide by the DFL Party's endorsement process as he seeks to challenge Bachmann to represent Minnesota's 6th Congressional District.
So far, Hill is the only candidate seeking that endorsement. He also said he might seek a cross-endorsement from the Independence Party, noting that opposition to Bachmann must be unified to have any chance of defeating her.
Minnesota Reform Party founder and former U.S. Sen. Dean Barkley has said he is considering a run for the 6th Congressional District under the Independence Party banner, but only if DFLers choose to endorse him instead of fielding their own candidate.
Hill said he's focusing on Bachmann, who he called "an extremist" and "in the pocket of multi-national corporations that have no interest in Minnesota."
"She is an unrelenting supporter of George Bush," Hill said of Bachmann.
*Unrelenting supporter? Bob may have been a bit more polite than I would have. I would describe Michele as more of a lapdog. Even better, a giddy school girl ready to do whatever the "star quarterback" asks her.
The 6th Congressional District covers all or most of Anoka, Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, Washington and Wright counties, including the St. Cloud area.
Hill noted that he grew up in Central Minnesota and retains connections to the area, despite moving to the East Coast earlier in his career and later settling in Stillwater.
As a public interest lawyer, Hill gained notoriety for representing an ex-FBI agent who won a whistle-blower lawsuit earlier this year.
Voters elected Bachmann, a former Stillwater state senator, to her first term in 2006 with slightly more than 50 percent of the vote in a three-way race.
Rich Dunn, Bachmann's chief of staff, said Bachmann was working hard "to keep our country safe and to fight for Minnesota values" and wasn't focused on politics.
"She voted to protect taxpayers from one of the largest tax hikes in American history, and she's helping to put our nation's fiscal house in order through measures like the balanced budget amendment," he said. "Her legislation to make health care more affordable and available for working families has attracted bipartisan support."
