Liberal in the Land of Conservative

Dr. Maureen Reed, candidate for both the DFL and Independence Party endorsements for Congress in the 6th District, will not say whether she will abide by the endorsement process, says that on abortion it would be inaccurate to characterize her as either pro-life or pro-choice, and is unwilling to express a preference among the various ways to get to universal health care.

Reed says Clark's electoral success is limited to one of the most liberal pockets of the district. Clark won her St. Cloud Senate seat in a 2005 special election. She won re-election in 2006, and is currently the assistant Senate majority leader.

Send them a message they simply cannot ignore. Make a contribution today to the woman that drives the Left CRAZY. Please give what you can to show Washington that Michele Bachmann stands for the Constitution and she stands for the People! Help her stand strong against the Left’s march toward socialism!

Ask Democratic officials in the state about Bachmann, and they can barely contain their anger.

"She is a bizarre news story of the month every month," said Brian Melendez, chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

"Michele Bachmann is just nuts," said Jeremy Powers, a local DFL chair in Bachmann's district. "She is just an utter embarrassment."

And some Democrats — Powers included — don't hesitate to compare Bachmann with the aforementioned Palin, another conservative lightning rod who speaks with an upper-Midwestern accent, is the mother of a large family, and touts a stridently socially conservative agenda that Democrats regard as outright right wing.

"She is so principally and diametrically opposed to the core principles that we have," Donald McFarland, a Minnesota-based Democratic strategist, said of Bachmann. "She is further to the right than Attila the Hun."

"She's the poster girl for the radical fringe element," added Brian Smoot, who served as political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last campaign cycle.

But Democrats say Clark — who still faces a primary challenger in Maureen Reed, a physician who ran for lieutenant governor in 2006 on the Independence Party ticket — presents the party with its best shot of taking out Bachmann since she first ran for the House in 2006, because she already has proved that she can win in a Republican-leaning St. Cloud Senate district.

"She's proven she can win in areas where Republicans are strong," said McFarland, the Minnesota-based Democratic strategist. "Tarryl Clark is the ticket."

"I've run in an area that people didn't think could be won by a Democrat," Clark told POLITICO this week.

We recently returned from a trip to the Middle East along with people from 16 other states. Several well-informed people asked me if I lived in the area that Michele Bachmann supposedly represents in Congress.

Then they said she is a “laughing stock” in the nation and must be and embarrassment to me! They said she talks but doesn’t seem to know the facts and that her sponsors must want people to be confused and not pay attention to the facts.

My answer was the 6th District and Stearns County conservatives don’t care what the rest of the country thinks of them and their representative! They really did vote that woman into office twice.

How embarrassing! Is she stupid? No, she is just singing the song her sponsors want her to do. Voters need to understand she does not stand for us, the people. Her sponsors are big business and coal and gas interests.

... Don’t hold your breath thinking she will support the North Star commuter rail project, affordable health insurance or cutting emissions.

They are reduced to hurling insults and flinging mud at those of us who are standing tall and saying: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Congressional Candidate Maureen Reed announced today that she raised over $230,000 in the first eight weeks of her campaign. Reed’s announcement sets a sizzling pace for DFL fundraising in the Sixth District Congressional race.

“When I talk to residents in the sixth district, it’s clear they are ready for a change and want a candidate who has the energy, commitment and dedication to improve their lives,” said Reed. “When folks see a way they can change things for the better, they are generous with their time, energy and money. I am grateful that so many people believe I am the person who will change things for the better.”

Reed added that after traveling the district and talking to numerous people from all walks of life, she found that people “…want business expansion, job growth, increased home ownership and lower health care costs, and that’s exactly why I’m running for Congress.”

Maureen and her husband, Dr. Jim Hart, have lived near Stillwater for almost 30 years. They have volunteered with the Washington County Medical Reserve Corps for several years. As a member of the Medical Reserve Corps, Maureen was part of a team that provided medical care to victims in the aftermath of the I35W bridge collapse.

In addition to practicing medicine in the Twin Cities, Maureen served as President of Aspen Medical Group and Medical Director of HealthPartners, and chaired the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. Dr. Reed was born in southern Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota undergraduate and medical schools.

Reed is challenging incumbent Michele Bachmann and seeking the endorsement of the DFL and the Independence Party. The campaign will file its official results with the Federal Election Commission by July 15.

Reading the tea leaves, it's pretty obvious that Elwyn Tinklenberg is going to take another shot at Congresswoman Bachmann.

I know of one dark horse at this time, someone not on our collective radar's who might take a shot at this...and I could definitely support him/her.

DFLer Ashwin Madia narrowly bests GOP former Rep. Erik Paulsen mostly because the 3rd District Republican party scared better, more ideologically moderate GOP candidates out of the race. This is a painful loss for the state GOP which has proudly held this seat for decades with strong, smart, social issues-moderate leadership in Bill Frenzel and Jim Ramstad.

The good news for Republicans going forward is that because the Democratic National Congressional Committee spent so much time and effort on this race, Madia will be beholden to casting liberal party-line votes, making 2010 an attractive run for Republicans who opted out in 2008.

DFL challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg beats one-term GOP incumbent U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and sends Chris Matthews a bottle of Dom. What were Bachmann's advisers thinking by allowing her to go on MSNBC with Matthews? What was Bachmann thinking by using "anti-American" in her words? Channeling former GOP WI Sen. Joseph McCarthy was red meat on a platter for the left. Let the 2010 GOP fun begin on who will run against Tinklenberg in a seat he should never have won.

Why does the ad feel strange? Because Bachmann is trying to do two very different things at once. For those people who are aware of the "Hardball" incident, she wants to express remorse for what she said. For those people who have no idea about the "Hardball" imbroglio, Bachmann wants to make sure it stays that way and so makes no direct reference to why she would be apologizing for not always using the right words to explain herself.