2008 Elections

Wednesday, Oct 22, 2008 16:30 PDT

NRCC cuts off Bachmann

In the wake of her comments on "Hardball," the controversial Minnesota congresswoman can no longer count on help from her party's campaign committee.

By Alex Koppelman

You know how they say there's no such thing as bad publicity? Tell that to Rep. Michele Bachmann. The Minnesota Republican got herself in a whole bunch of hot water with her recent appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball," when she said Barack Obama "may have anti-American views" and called on the media to investigate who among her fellow members of Congress is anti-American. Now, it seems, her party may be leaving her for dead.

Bachmann wasn't supposed to have any trouble getting reelected. She's a freshman, yes, but she's an incumbent in a district that went strongly for President Bush in 2004, and in 2006, she got 50 percent of the vote to her Democratic opponent's 42 percent. (An independent candidate picked up the remaining votes.) But her newfound infamy, courtesy of "Hardball," has been a boon to Elwyn Tinklenberg, a Democrat who's challenging her this year. He has raised $1 million in the days since Bachmann's confrontation with Chris Matthews, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is kicking in an additional million in advertising.

Now, Politico reports, Bachmann can't count on her own party's congressional campaign committee to come to her aid. The NRCC had reportedly reserved ad time in her district, but is now pulling out.