Bachmann Ends Campaign

[Save_Ferris]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/04/politics/bachmann-campaign/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Michele Bachmann ended her bid for the Republican presidential nomination Wednesday, hours after a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

The Minnesota congresswoman suspended her campaign, a legal technicality that will allow her to continue to raise and spend campaign funds.

"Last night the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice and so I have decided to stand aside," Bachmann told a crowd of supporters in West Des Moines. But, she added, "I will continue fighting to defeat the president's agenda of socialism."

"It is safe to say we don't see a viable way forward," a Republican source familiar with Bachmann's campaign told CNN before the announcement.

Bachmann's withdrawal is a blow to many die-hard tea party conservatives. The congresswoman, a leading populist conservative in the House of Representatives, has often led the GOP's rhetorical charge against President Barack Obama's agenda.

Critics, however, have often accused her of playing loose with facts and making irresponsible accusations.

When swine flu broke out in 2009, Bachmann implied that it was the Democrats' fault, saying, "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under Democrat President Jimmy Carter."

In fact, the 1970s outbreak came during the administration of Republican President Gerald Ford.

She also perpetuated the falsehood that Obama's 2010 trip to India cost $200 million a day -- an inaccurate figure that came from an anonymous source at a news organization in India.

In 2008, she attacked Obama for possibly having "anti-American views." She also called on the media to investigate anyone in Congress who may also be "anti-American" -- prompting accusations of a new McCarthyism.

But except for few blunders along the trail, she usually stayed on message and turned in some forceful debate performances.

Bachmann and her husband, Marcus, are born-again Christians. It was God, she has said, who encouraged her to run for higher office. A social conservative agenda -- one that included unwavering support for an anti-same-sex marriage amendment in Minnesota -- defined Bachmann's six years in her state legislature.

Few gave her a chance to unseat a moderate Republican incumbent when she first ran for the state legislature in 2000. She won, however, largely because of her organizational skill, building a base of support through the churches and conservative organizations in her district.

Bachmann and her husband have raised five children and 23 foster kids. She placed the foster children in public school and, unhappy with what they were learning, ultimately ran for school board. It was her first attempt at political office and, though she lost, it ignited a passion for politics.

Bachmann was born in Waterloo, Iowa, the site where she launched her presidential campaign.

Thoughts? Honestly, I'm glad to see her go.

 

[amadeus]

PROTIP: when running for president, don't say vaccines cause mental retardation.

 

[downtown]

It doesn't really matter too much. Bachmann made some key organization blunders a few months ago, and never built any support outside of Iowa. She got less than 7% there, and I don't think she was grabbing more than 5% in any other state.

Her exit might help Santorum a little in New Hampshire, since he is the only religious conservative making a play in the state..but thats it.

 

[Winner]

Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!

(Honestly, why...? )

 

[NickyJ]

Good riddance.

 

[IglooDame]

As she had less chance of winning it all than two of my three cats, I really preferred she stay in the race, both for the comedic value and for the opportunity to siphon/split social conservative votes from the more valid social conservative candidate (which I thought would be Perry, at least until we discovered that his intellect only went skin deep).

 

[Bestbank Tiger]

PROTIP: when running for president, don't say vaccines cause mental retardation.

Yep. Everyone knows vaccines cause autism, not retardation

 

[Incodcito]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/04/politics/bachmann-campaign/index.html?hpt=hp_t1



Thoughts? Honestly, I'm glad to see her go.

I'm not, I want the social conservatives as divided as possible so Romney gets the nomination.

Sure, he is a serious threat to Obama in the election, but I would rather see Romney win then have Obama facing Santorum, even if at the moment Santorum is polling 10 points behind Obama. It is too much of a risk.

 

[warpus]

She was never a viable candidate... She "ran" mainly for exposure so that she can make money giving speeches and "writing" books in the future.

 

[amadeus]

(which I thought would be Perry, at least until we discovered that his intellect only went skin deep).

Considering his leathery, sun-bathed Texas man-skin, that's still pretty deep!

 

[madviking]

We hardly knew ye.

 

[RedRalph]

She struck me as mentally ill, as do several of her fellow candidates.

 

[Joecoolyo]

Good, this should consolidate a bit more votes around Santorum and help knock Romney down a notch.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

First Cain, then Bachman...

I have now officially lost interest in the primaries and elections. We all knwo that Obama will get a second term, and now all the amusing candidates are gone.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

We still have Perry.

For a few days.

And the Godchild with the funny name.

 

[Azale]

Considering his leathery, sun-bathed Texas man-skin, that's still pretty deep!

Jesus amadeus, some people are trying to eat. Between this mental image and the "Santorum Surge", I'm starting to get a little nauseous.

 

[Winner]

She struck me as mentally ill, as do several of her fellow candidates.

Yes, there is still hope some of them will win. I must pray for them long and hard.

 

[madviking]

Cain, Perry, Bachmann all claimed God told them to run for President, and all are out of the race. God is hilarious.

https://twitter.com/#!/kellyoxford/status/154619507716005889

 

[Zack]

First Sarah Palin was out, and now her doppelganger dropped out. Where will we find entertainment?

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

She wasn't that bad, she just couldn't win.