Recently, on the now defunct Andy Barnett program, Michele Bachmann was heard to make these comments about having to work an arduous five day work week:
What’s, what’s really been missing, unfortunately, is our ability to be home, in St. Cloud and in our local districts to be able to meet with people, and talk with people. And after all, that’s really where the answers are, is back home, and I’d much rather be able to be home a few days a week and meet with people there, and, um, then when we get to Washington, get down to business and get the work done.
DL: Well, that goes against the philosophy of the left, uh, Michele, they, they think they know everything, and they can do everything from Washington, don’t they?
MB: That’s right, and Don, the other thing they want is they want to make sure that we’re here in Washington where the lobbyists can feast on us all day, and-
DL: I’m a huge advocate of you guys stayin’ home.
MB: That’s right. It’s much better to be with normal people, people back home in our districts.
Yet, no more than two weeks after these statements deriding being in Washington and having lobbyists "feasting" on her, Michele was in attendance at a Liberty Summit put on by an organization run by Dick Armey called Freedomworks. What is Freedomworks? Well, it is a conservative lobbying group whose mission includes:
FreedomWorks fights for lower taxes, less government and more economic freedom for all Americans.
And the agenda for the Liberty Summit?
Thursday, November 15
8:30am-9:45
Breakfast and Lobbying Briefing
Speakers: FW Staff
Location: Petits Plats Restaurant
2353 Connecticut Ave, NW
(directly across from Woodley Park Metro)
9:45
Depart for Capitol Hill.
10:30-12:00pm
Guided Lobbying on the House and Senate Sides
12:00-1:00
Lunch at Longworth Cafeteria
1:00-2:30
Lobbying Cont’d
2:30-3:00
Break/travel to Heritage
As this story is still developing and there are a few questions that need to be answered, I gave Heidi Frederickson a call with the following questions:
How is Michele involved in Freedomworks?
This is not the first Freedomworks event Michele has attended. Back in March, she attended another event hosted by Freedomworks. Something interesting to note here is if you scroll down through the pictures you see that Bob Murray (Utah Mine Disaster) was also in attendance that day. Also, it appears to me that many of the issues Bachmann has been touting (AMT, SCHIP, TABOR, etc) are the products of Freedomworks. I am able to find at least three instances where Bachmann attended Freedomworks events and one has to wonder how much influence Freedomworks has over Michele Bachmann. That is not to say that anything illegal has transpired. However, it is interesting to see that Michele spends much more time hanging out with Freedomworks in Washington than she does here in her own district where she claims she would like to be. This story is still developing and hopefully Heidi Frederickson can clear some things up for us.
What was her role in the November 14th and 15th Liberty Summit?
Given that this event had an entire day planned for lobbying, if Michele decided to let them "feast" on her, shouldn't she explain to us why she said that she would rather be in St. Cloud with her constituents? Also, given that she hasn't had a single constituent forum or town hall meeting to my knowledge, shouldn't she give us here in the district the opportunity to influence her vote?
As of right now there are many more questions than answers, and I will keep digging. If you happen to have any answers to these questions, let me know at (political_muse@hotmail.com).
Cross Posted on Dump Bachmann
