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Subscribe to RSSMichele Bachmann campaigns on her family roots in Waterloo, Iowa. And she used those roots and a family reunion as the reason she was late to Sunday night’s high-profile dinner and speeches featuring her, Rick Santorum, and new presidential candidate Rick Perry.
But a family source tells NBC News, Bachmann was not at the event.
"About 10 years ago was the last time I saw Michele at a reunion," Shirly Movick, 76, who said she is Bachmann’s first cousin, told NBC News. She added that she hadn't seen Bachmann, or her family, come to the reunion "since she's been involved in politics."
Movick confirmed that Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, and the couple's three daughters, did attend the event, however. The reunion, in Lake Mills, IA, is held annually on the second Sunday of August. Movick said she has been going all her life.
The revelation, first reported by Politico, raises questions about a response Bachmann gave a reporter Sunday evening. While taking questions from reporters following her appearance at the Black Hawk County GOP dinner, Bachmann was asked why she had not arrived earlier to the dinner, in time to see Perry's speech.
"We had a full day today," Bachmann responded. "I was doing a number of things down in Ames. And we had a big family reunion just north of Waterloo."
The Bachmann campaign maintained she was with family.
"There were a few family reunion events that weekend,” campaign spokeswoman Alice Stewart told NBC. “She attended one on Friday. Marcus and the kids went to one on Sunday, and Michele met with family members on her own."
Asked to clarify why Bachmann missed Perry's speech, and why she did not mix-and-mingle before her own speech, Stewart said, "Like I said -- she was with family members before AND she mixed with the crowd for half an hour after she spoke."
But how Bachmann comported herself at this event -- and others -- also raises questions about her level of dedication to real retail campaigning. This one, like others, have been more rally than retail. Unlike Perry and Santorum, she did not sit and chat at tables before the speeches during the dinner portion. Instead, she signed autographs on stage for about 30 minutes, as music blared from speakers.
That rankled organizer Judd Saul, spokesman for the Black Hawk County GOP and the self-proclaimed leader of the area’s Tea Party.
"If you claim Waterloo,” he said, “come and dine with Waterloo.” (Bachmann was born in Waterloo.)
Saul was also irked that the party wasn’t able to capitalize on having two big-name speakers and raise the kind of money they could have because of Bachmann.
"We had a couple speakers scheduled to speak after her,” he said, “and we were going to do our big ask for our fundraiser, but as soon as she was done, the music blasted up; she started signing autographs, and … people just started leaving. So two speakers missed their chance to speak, and we missed our ask to the Republicans here for our fundraising -- extra money that we needed to carry for the caucus."
At her speech at the Des Moines Register’s “Soap Box” at the Iowa State Fair this weekend, she was half an hour late, gave just a 2-minute, 45-second speech -- far shorter than other candidates, some of whom took up their full 20 minutes of allotted time and also took questions. Bachmann did not. Toward the end of the speech, she said, "I'm coming out to shake your hand.” She shook some hands, but made a beeline about 50 feet to a waiting golf cart and was driven off.
There have also been examples of reporters being manhandled by her security staff – at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans in June, at a South Carolina event in July, and then again at the State Fair.
Sunday's Republican dinner was closely watched, because it marked the first time Bachmann, fresh from her win Saturday at the Ames Straw Poll, would share an event with Perry, who is likely to compete for many of the same kinds of voters. And with Perry’s entrance into the race, how Bachmann does retail -- in states where it matters like Iowa and New Hampshire -- is likely to get more scrutiny.
*** UPDATE *** Stewart contacted NBC to emphasize that security at the RLC, when the incident occured with a reporter, was provided by the hotel.
*** UPDATE 2 *** On security, Stewart says: "Michele Bachmann is a high-profile congresswoman. On the heels of the Gabby Giffords shooting, security is of the utmost concern to our campaign. We have a former Secret Service officer who's protected presidents and vice presidents, and if someone gets too close to the candidate, he warns them."
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Thisofcourse is a niceinsider stry. But reallythe storyshoudhave been when she got tothe state fairevent what did Bachmann say and who did itcompared with Rick Perry.And ifthequestios were so important-whatwere they andhow did voters resond-withfoloow up,Frowns ? What for instace did they ask Perrythat theydidn't ask bachmann?
Thee could have beena story there and they missed it. Where are the soties of "she didn't reallyaswer thequestion?" or"I was hoping she'd say more and here' why?" Whydidn't some one ask the candidate whyshe onlyspoke to 2 minutes and theotherspoke for 20 and took questions.
Another line of thought could be what question really stump candidates and require them to think beyond their talking point? This could be revealing to learn how the candidate processes new information-and is essential in presidential leadership.
In Minnesota Michelle liked shaking hands-but she didn't like questions-shewasn'treally goodat give and take. Sofar in Meet the Press interviews she hasn't got much better. But david Gregory wasn't that sharp either. He could have noted that Michelle voted for the Ryan Budget that raised the debt ceiling by $2 trillion-so why did she now opposed raising the ceiling at all? Thiswas soobivious thatGregorynever got to it.
She has just made a campaign promise that will raise a few eyebrows: "I promise you that under President Bachmann, you will have $2 gasoline." Of course, she did not express how she intended to meet that promise, but what the heck.
It should be Marcus coming out and not just to shake hands... although there's certainly nothing wrong with that.
Ms Bachmann's next stop will be a small town in Ohio where she will launch a Roller Derby marathon followed by a brisk run in the local park with her dog Checkers. In the afternoon, she will put on a respectable Republican cloth coat and meet well wishers. After a light lunch she will board her bus and slip into a leather outfit threatening the bus driver with a whip all the way to Indiana where they will stop for a photo op and spend the evening. Tuesday morning she will visit the South Side Baptist church for a brunch and meet local politicians at Red Garter Strip club for drinks in the afternoon. Wednesday there will be a prayer breakfast with Tea Party Reps followed by a day off counting cash.
Questions raised about Obama's campaign style.
What questions are those, owen? Try to keep up, OK?
Guess Michelle and Marcus both have to worry about Santorum...
it is always refreshing to see Bachmann get caught in her lies.
Devout Christian, but caught in lies and half truths. How does that work?
We shall soon see.
Giving money to Bachmann is the same as flushing it down the toilet.
Everyone understandably wants simple answers. The Tea Party says they simply want: Fiscal Responsibility; Constitutional Government; and Open Markets. Now how can anyone find fault with that? Simple: if the reality is that it will be pursued without ethical, moral and responsible discipline, then it will be just a simple rationalization to cover over a complex exploitation of the majority by the few; prime example being the Bush-Cheney years. We have already seen that con and manipulation and have and are still paying the costs of it and trying to resolve the problems from it.
The real answer, and not so simple yet is what our government’s original intent and design was, is to have honest, responsible and conscientious bipartisan cooperation from our representatives to find the answers in the best interests of all of our people. That will require that they simply first, stop having their political ambitions as their focused priority and second, that they cut their loyalty to just the few, their strong supporters who benefit and dictate to them. That obviously will be much harder for the Republicans / Tea Party who have literally become “puppets” for Special Interests and the powerful, influential and extremely wealthy few who “pull their strings”. The Democrats are not all “pure and holy” and also need to conscientiously come to truly cooperate and honestly provide bipartisan openness but after the last almost twelve years it should be crystal clear to any objective and rational viewer that the Republicans (now including the created Tea Party) have become owned and controlled by those few who greatly benefit and who provide substantial support, both financially and with their significant influence and power.
It really doesn’t end there as the people have significant responsibility to make it happen. Unless the voters can check their biases, prejudices, fears and emotions that are used to manipulate them, they will just continue to be “pawns” used in the game of control by the money people. It isn’t just the abundance of propaganda constantly bombarding the public that needs to be recognized and rejected, it also is the extensive organized efforts going on behind the scene that has to totally alienate the public. The people need to recognize how they are being duped and swayed by extensive and costly efforts like: the manipulation of the Evangelistic Christian block (2000 and continuing); the Swift-Boat propaganda (2004) and the Tea Party Movement (2010 and now) all well designed, organized, implemented and financed by the “ultra-conservatives” (another name for “big money”) few; and with 3rd party groups like Norquist’s “anti-tax pledge” and others like Rove’s, Cheney’s and more, who collect the sizable contributions and then use them as power to control the representatives / candidates. The people need to break the control over them before they can actually break the control on the politicians by objectively identifying and rationally rejecting those who are controlled by the few. Not so simple but necessary to ever solve the problems.
What do you expect? It's all a part of the disturbing trend on politics these days.
Bachmann promised today that if elected president, she will deliver gas prices at below $2.00 a gallon. She promised to do it!
Licensing all U.S. reserves to drilling will reduce gas prices by 3 cents a gallon over the next 30 years, perhaps going dry. Apparently her husband will turn gays straight and rainwater into gasoline.
I lived in Minnesota for 6 years. I had to listen to her asinine comments many times. Pawlenty was governor and I will say that he did okay with a mainly democrat majority in the state legislature. And Pawlenty was right she kissed his ass the whole time. The only thing she touted during that time was the right to screw in your own preference of lightbulbs. SHE DID and WILL jump on any bandwagon to get her name out there. I was really embarrased for Minnesota the way she was like a rock groupie hanging on to Bush. She is not the one for America.
Three important stories you won't see on OMSNBC:
1. Fast and Furious/Gun Walker (google fast and furious) Failed ATF plan that results in the death of Boarder Agent Brian Terry.
2. Dept of Labor/NLRB: Obama failed unions by not getting CARD CHECK so now he is going thru the back door. (google NLRB ten days)
3. End run around Dream Act:(google obama admin review deportation cases)
obama can't find ways to address our economic woes, he won't listen to his economic advisors or his generals. His inner-circle continues continues to bail but he has time to find sleazy ways to evade congress.
obama is dangerous!
Who are his real advisors?
soros, rev. wright, van Jones, jeff immelt, bill ayres, beradine van dohrn, tony rezco, Andy stern/seiu, richard trumpka/uaw. unions period, eric holder AG, Black panthers, acorn.
After three years just what do we know about our DEAR LEADER?
Plays fast and loose with the facts, reality and common sense. Sounds like a TeaBagger! The TeaPublicans must be using this woman to distract America from their ongoing hostile takeover of our country.
Rick Perry couldn't remain a Democract when the GOP elite offered him money for political policy. Mitt Romney wants to collect from the GOP elite for his political policy. Michelle Bachman needs to learn her American history. But I cannot forgive her from not knowing more about an American icon Elivs Presley. More musicians who were never even born before he passed on August 7, 1977 know this date.