Michele Bachmann Presidential bid could shake up GOP-Politico

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3/24/11, "Michele Bachmann bid could shake up GOP field," Politico, Jonathan Martin

"It’s easy to dismiss Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) as bomb-throwing back-bencher who is eying a presidential run largely because her attempt to secure a post in the House leadership was stymied. There’s a long history of camera-hungry House members making improbable runs that have served mainly to highlight their irrelevance.

But Bachmann is no mere redux of ‘B-1’ Bob Dornan, the conservative former California congressman-provocateur who took his bombast from the House floor to the Iowa cornfields in the 1996 presidential election only to get less than one percent in the caucuses.

The political universe changed dramatically since then – the rise of cable news, the expansion of talk radio and arrival of the Internet are among the new forces, all of which will work to her political advantage. And Bachmann, who CNN reported Thursday is planning to form a presidential exploratory committee, possesses

• an array of other strengths that are certain to make her a factor in the GOP primary.

The Minnesotan, who was elected to Congress in 2006, has already established herself as a fundraising powerhouse. She raised a staggering $13.5 million for her re-election last year – far more than any other House member – but, more important, is how she did it. Only 3 percent of her contributions were from political action committees, a low number for a congressional incumbent that serves to illustrate

• her strong capacity for direct mail and online fundraising.

So Bachmann begins a potential campaign with a national base of support that would seed a presidential campaign and ensure that she’s able to get her message out on the airwaves. Keep in mind that it doesn’t take a Mitt Romney-like fortune to play in Iowa, where voters demand an personal touch."...

via Lucianne.com