She's Michelle Bachmann. Why is she being taken seriously as a candiate?

[Penelope]

Hahaha. Wow you just didn't read his post at all did you?

I don't think Ronald Reagan believed carbon dioxide was a beneficial gas, or supported getting rid of the Census, or wanted to get rid of minimum wage.

[NVGonzalez]

People who think that Bachmann has no chance of becoming president are deluding themselves. She has at least a 1 out of 3 shot at being the Republican nominee, and even if she wouldn't be favored against Obama, all she needs is a September/October economic surprise (which is a distinct possibility with how fragile FUBAR the world economy is) to give her a narrow land slide victory.

Please refer to Harry Reid's reelection campaign

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Because she panders to the base and the tea party well, and like it or not, that scares the Dems (though I don't think she stands a chance at being the nominee) so they can't stop talking about her.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Zealot social views: "I don't want them punished with a baby" - Obama, and of course the BAIPA debacle

That's pretty much the standard pro-choice position. It may be a view you disagree with, but it's hardly a "zealot social view" unlike say, banning pornography.

I don't think you've met NH voters before.  They vote on candidates for some pretty weird reasons, even based on local innuendo.  I don't see any hatred for Bachmann up here.  You liberals never learn.  You insult people and believe you are better than people.  It is 100% evident in your distaste for a significant portion of the American population.  I don't get it.  I have all sorts of liberal friends and love them to death.  They don't talk about the religious right like you (or other members on the board).

Bachmann has no appeal to independent voters and negative appeal to Democrats. The fact that liberal elitists don't like her isn't enough to get Americans to want her as president. A certain element of the liberal establishment seems to take pride in their percieved superiority over the rest of the population, but they do this by exaggerating the popularity and influence of people like Bachmann, Donald Trump, and Sarah Palin. The fact that far-right candidates don't resonate with swing voters is seen in Americans' rejection of figures such as Palin, Joe Miller, Sharon Angle, and Christine O'Donnell.

Obama has some real weaknesses and you guys can win this election. The problem is that a significant portion of the Republican Base would rather have someone who's "pure" on every issue rather than someone who could win.

FistJab: Reagan was ostracized for all of the very same things you mentioned.  It confirms my belief that the establishment of the republican party will not allow us to nominate someone that is truly conservative and we will end up with another George Bush type of politician, who in turn will give us another socialist like Obama.  In addition, are you saying that you would support Palin if she got into the race.? You lumped her with presidents when comparing her to Bachmann.  I don't believe for a second you would support her or give her a chance.  In fact, if this were circa 2010 when we had these discussions.  You would be rolling through the same schtick about Palin.

I'm glad you brought that up. Bachmann is FAR to the right of Ronald Reagan, and Reagan would probably be attacked as a RINO in today's GOP. Bachmann doesn't have anywhere near Reagan's charisma or rhetorical skills. Actually the only politician in America today who does have those skills is probably Obama.

[specific_name]

The Tea Party needs a candidate and she performed reasonably well in debate. No one else is as appealing to the base as she is right now and it looks to stay that way.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I remember when Bachmann was just a small little wart on Minnesota's backside.  Occasionally we'd pick at it and BRTD would complain about how much it bothered, but we never took it seriously enough to have it checked out.  Now it's a tumor the size of Lake Huron and is spreading throughout the country so fast it's unclear whether it's too late for chemotherapy to fight it off or not.

We could have radiation kill it off, but that might kill off some of the good cells, too.

"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" - Barry Goldwater.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Because the GOP primary base has turned so rabid... that she scarily is a serious candidate.

[TerroristFistJab]

Pawlenty said the president’s poll numbers were “awful” in swing states, but noted that there was a way he could still be reelected.
Continue Reading

“The main way we’re gonna goof this up as Republicans is to nominate the wrong candidate,”
Pawlenty told about 80 potential caucus-goers gathered in the library here for a mid-day town hall meeting.

Before finishing his speech, he used another variation of the same line.

“We’re going to beat Barack Obama – we just need to make sure we have a candidate who can do it,” the Minnesotan said after urging the activists to pick somebody who “can really be the nominee for the whole conservative coalition and who can really be president of the United States.”

In remarks that lasted about 15 minutes, Pawlenty didn’t mention Michele Bachmann by name, though there was little doubt he was alluding to the new Iowa frontrunner. He repeatedly cited his mantra of having a proven, conservative record in a blue state and noted that he wasn’t one of those candidates who only “flapped their jaws,” a phrase he used twice. He also reprised his implicit comparison between Obama and Bachmann, claiming that the former had no executive experience and had never done anything of consequence.

Read more: politico.com/news/stories/0711/59396.html#ixzz1SanorcXW

[Eraserhead]

I'm just kind of wondering if her gay husband will sink her campaign(?)

[pbrower2a]

The news media have a stake in creating excitement in politics.