Garrison Keillor: Michele Bachmann 'Embarrassing' To Minnesota

Legendary humorist and radio host Garrison Keillor has come out swinging against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) in her campaign for reelection, calling Bachmann "embarrassing to me and a great many Minnesotans" in a letter disseminated by the campaign of her opponent, Democrat Tarryl Clark.

Tea party favorite Bachmann, who infamously suggested in the run up to her 2008 reelection that the media investigate whether members of Congress are "pro-American or anti-American," has spent too much time pontificating on similar issues and not enough time working on behalf of her constituents, Keillor charged.

"It's embarrassing to me and a great many Minnesotans that Michele Bachmann, a politician who is so busy grandstanding and giving interviews on Fox News that she doesn't have time to serve the people who elected her, represents the 6th District in Washington," wrote Keillor, the longtime host of radio show "A Prairie Home Companion," who says his fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon falls squarely within Bachmann's district.

"Minnesota's 6th District has some of the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the state, but in an interview with the St. Cloud Times, Congresswoman Bachmann was unable to name any "substantive" legislation she had passed," Keillor added.

Keillor, who frequently contributes to Democrats, has given $4,800 to Clark during the 2010 election cycle, Federal Election Commission data show. His full letter appears below:

Dear Friends,

Thirty years ago, when I started telling stories about Lake Wobegon, I put it smack in the middle of Minnesota - in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, in fact - where staunch Republicans and loyal Democrats know how to live together without yelling at each other and do what needs to be done to work out our problems.

It's embarrassing to me and a great many Minnesotans that Michele Bachmann, a politician who is so busy grandstanding and giving interviews on Fox News that she doesn't have time to serve the people who elected her, represents the 6th District in Washington.

That's why I'm proudly supporting Tarryl Clark - and I hope you will join me by contributing before today's midnight deadline.

Minnesota's 6th District has some of the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the state, but in an interview with the St. Cloud Times, Congresswoman Bachmann was unable to name any "substantive" legislation she had passed.

Michele Bachmann may still be counting on sliding through to re-election on November 2nd, but this year she is running against a smart and hard-working State Senator, Tarryl Clark, who is determined to make the talking heads of Fox News sit up and take notice.

Tarryl founded Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity and served as youth minister of her church for nearly twenty years. She grew up in a Navy family and has worked on behalf of veterans, families and children in the legislature. Service to her community is a part of who she is, and that spirit of service is sorely needed in Washington these days.


I hope you'll join me in making a financial contribution to her campaign - $25, $50 or $100 - before midnight tonight!

Tarryl Clark will never embarrass our state in Congress. Let's restore some respect for the Minnesota tradition of working together sensibly by electing her this November.

Thank you,

Garrison Keillor

P.S. Instead of working to solve problems, Bachmann talks about us as a "nation of slaves" and about the need for smaller government even though she knows better - the biggest part of big government is military spending, Social Security, and Medicare. Which would she do away with? Bachmann's so-called policies are just the old Bush economics that Alan Greenspan characterized as "disastrous." Help Tarryl defeat her by donating today.

Comments

[YouDontWantMeHere]

04:11 PM on 11/02/2010

Hay! not just Minnesota!

[profideous man]

04:13 PM on 11/01/2010

She's not a Lutheran is she? Because that would be tremendously embarrassing for us if she were.

[gwillickers]

04:47 AM on 10/25/2010

Garrison, we should care what you have to say because....?
Oh, and another thing. Don't sing. You suck at it.
Bachman is dedicated to the Constitution. As written.
Good enough for me.

[paparandy]

05:18 PM on 11/02/2010

Have you even read the Constitution, as written? That's the problem with the Right. They think they have a stranglehold on the Constitution. The genius of the Founding Fathers was that they wrote a document that could be amended and changed with the times. It was a framework for government organization, not a Holy Book. They realized that the country would continue to grow and expand and that problems would arise that they could not foresee. Each generation would face new and unforeseen problems that they would have to solve themselves. Things such as slavery, civil rights, the right for women to vote, etc. A strict adherence to the Constitution "as written" would mean that women like Bachmann couldn't even vote, let alone run for elected office. Closed mindedness like yours is what the Constitution was written to avoid, not enforce.

[thinchliff]

01:18 PM on 10/16/2010

I have lived in Minnesota all of my life and I can honestly say that I am very embarrassed to be a Minnesotan because of Michele Bachmann. When traveling, more than once I have received some quizzical looks from people when I tell them I'm from Minnesota and out comes the inevitable question about this person's mental state. I've had to tell them that she represents a district that I do not reside in and that is not representative of the state as a whole. Nowadays, I just don't mention anything about Minnesota. I'm probably moving out of the state anyway. It's just gotten too goofy here.

[Waldo the WonderCat]

04:41 AM on 10/25/2010

Try CHicago!

[LaBrayne35]

12:18 PM on 10/16/2010

And " Senator" Al Franken, this fraud is an icon..yeah, he is for the liberals who put him in there with the FELON VOTE.

[cubfan515]

11:32 AM on 10/16/2010

Congressional districts like Michele Bachmann's -- and like Mike Pence's district in Indiana -- are nothing but empty factories and foreclosed homes. Busted unions. Young people have moved away. College-educated people won't stay there. There is NO middle class. Conservative retirees, business elites and the religious right-wing keep them in office.

Is it a coincidence that these two congressmen spend all their time on Fox News and NOT in their districts?

[rshrink]

02:42 PM on 10/13/2010

Bachman is the kind of candidate that is promoted by people who over rely on capitalism and in so doing, they lose a sense of proportion and humanity. And like I have said here many times, this anti-tax movement is hurting the country. People do not understand that money is needed to operate the services we rely on and after having seen what happens when services are privatized, I am certain that is not the way to go.

Whatever people think about government services, so far, that is as good as it gets, but it also relies on voters being educated and for them to quit being sukkered into supporting whigged out candidates and voting on the basis of wedge issues that have to do with religion and philosophy. Intelligent, hard working pragmatic people are good leaders. They focus on getting the work done, which is all that matters. It is not what people say that should have any relevance. It is what they do. Only pay attention to what people do, then and only then can you really know what they will do. And like Garrison says, Bachman focuses on her own weird brand of philosophy and religion and does nothing which is actually helpful to Americans. Her do nothing approach favors the already disgustingly wealthy who like the status quo.

[Tom Jones The 9th]

08:38 PM on 10/04/2010

I wonder when entertainers will stop lecturing us on politics.

[dbg2]

12:01 PM on 10/13/2010

I know the truth really sucks

[Wildeye]

09:04 PM on 10/13/2010

Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, etc.

[nov2revolt]

10:06 AM on 10/04/2010

uh, this is the state that gave us Jessie the Governor Ventura and Congressman Stuart Smalley.

[Kenz300]

01:24 PM on 10/03/2010

The Republicans have the luxury of free publicity 24 hours a day courtesy
of FIXED NOISE. They spew their talking points and profile right wing
candidates as main stream all day long. It is amazing what you can do
if you have free publicity 24 hours a day. You will convince SOME people
by repeating lies and distortions of fact often enough.

The majority of Americans can see through the billionaire front groups
and the 24 hour informercial for the Republican party.

The Democrats are fighting for the middle class. Republicans are fighting
for campaign contributions from big business.

GW and the Republicans ran this country into a ditch and threw the keys
to the next guy and said " I hope you fail". What a bunch of hypocrites.
They call themselves Patriots but want to see the country fail.

When GW left office we were losing 750,000 jobs a month and the economy
was on the verge of going into a depression. Now the Republicans want to be
in charge again.

Vote Democrat and help save the middle class

[Waldo the WonderCat]

04:43 AM on 10/25/2010

The Dims will throw the middle class under the bus in 2.3 milliseconds if it keeps the lower class voting block. Wait until you get zapped with the tax bill as tax cuts expire.

[Budokan]

01:05 PM on 10/03/2010

Yes, she is embarrassing.

Then again so is Keillor.

[WeCanDoMore]

12:57 PM on 10/03/2010

Bachman and her like minded well funded cronies evidently believes it is "pro American" to enact minority rule, as per her parties unprecedented use of the filibuster, which has effectively prevented the will of the people, the majority, from being enacted. Talk about un-American.

[Zen0469]

12:56 PM on 10/03/2010

Garrison Keillor is right, Michelle Bachmann is an embarrassment.

Support Taryl Clark.

[billkarwin]

12:05 PM on 10/03/2010

Remember that if she wins this reelection, Michele Bachmann will have served in Congress for five years, qualifying her for permanent Congressional retirement pay. Do Americans want to pay this woman a salary for the rest of her life?

Some people have talked about a Constitutional amendment to enforce term limits on all US legislators, to fight corruption and the tendency for politicians to prioritize their own fundraising over their legislative duty. But an amendment is not necessary. Voters can enforce term limits too. Get rid of self-promoting windbags like Michele Bachmann, and elect people who take seriously their duty to the American people.

[Oiiohh]

10:51 PM on 10/03/2010

Like the brilliant Democrat leadership of Senator Al Smalley Franken (D) MN?? Rep. Alan Grayson?? and Patty Murray? Do we want to give these gems another term?? nope.

[rickroland]

11:02 PM on 10/03/2010

No person serving in elected office for the Federal government should get a pension at all. They wanted to be in public service, fine, then they get paid something just shy of what the rough equivalent would be in the private sector, they do their time, when they are done, that's it. They shouldn't get a red cent after they are done with their elected offices.

[ebanks84]

11:17 AM on 10/03/2010

She certainly is I'm sure, especially to those who do not believe anything she says is true. And that includes repubs as well as dems.