Bachmann campaign picks up GOP negativity

I'm disappointed, too.

In refuting Patty Wetterling's recent ad trying to portray Michele Bachmann as favoring increased taxes, the Bachmann campaign sent out a release that picks up the negative content-free tone that the GOP has been using consistently in the Kennedy and Pawlenty races.

In Case You Missed It!
Extreme Liberal Patty Wetterling: Wrong on the facts. Wrong for the 6th District.

Today’s Star Tribune reports on Patty Wetterling’s sin of omission in her new negative campaign ad. "Wetterling ad leaves out key fact about Bachmann’s sales tax stand" reads the headline. The missing fact is so relevant that the ad creates a false impression.

"The ad also attributes a position to Wetterling's opponent, state Sen. Michele Bachmann, that Bachmann says she has not fully embraced."(Star Tribune 9/28/06)

Clearly, reality has struck Patty Wetterling -- her extreme liberal agenda is not playing well in the 6th District. The latest independent poll shows Patty lagging behind Michele by nine points. The only explanation for this inaccurate ad is she is so desperate to go to Congress that she will do or say anything, and even mislead the people she wants to represent. Wetterling declined to be interviewed about her own ad.

This change in character and tone is disappointing but not unexpected. At Patty Wetterling’s announcement in February for US Congress, when she broke her promise to Elwyn Tinklenberg and his wife about not running in the Sixth district, Patty said "Everything changed. The world changed," and "I am not the same person I was two years ago." (Star Tribune 2/04/06 page 1A, St. Cloud Times 2/04/06, page 1A) A prominent democrat colleague commented, "Now she is saying that things have changed. I am sad to say I believe that one of the things that has changed the most is Patty." Patty has already admitted that she cannot win in the 6th District but we need your help to combat these deceitful ads.

Michele is winning and winning on the truth. The Star Tribune article said this about Michele Bachmann’s second ad: "The Bachmann campaign also aired its second ad of the year this week, touting her state Senate record of favoring lower state taxes. The factual claims in the ad are accurate."

Please help Michele continue her work of lower taxes and spreading her message of truth to the people in the 6th district, we need to have a strong showing on our next Campaign Finance report due on September 30th, we hope to raise another $50,000 in the next two days. Please click here to help Michele reach her goal and contribute online today.

Thank you for all of you who have been door knocking, phone banking, and pounding in signs for Michele. You are doing something great! Please feel free to call our office to find out what other ways you can help.

Best Regards,

Andy Parrish
Campaign Manager

P.S. If you would like to read the entire article, see www.startribune.com/587/story/706536.htm

The release notes that Wetterling's ad is misleading, but doesn't say why or even reference the content of the ad, instead simply linking to the Strib story. It then takes advantage of the release to dump on Wetterling for non-related issues. Bad strategy; missed opportunity.

The orginal Wetterling ad is so blatantly misleading it should have been countered directly. The ad in question reflects a pretty consistent Democrat technique of stating a fact out context in order to make implications that are misleading at best, intentionally untrue at worst. In other words, bullshit.

As noted in the Strib --

The ad refers to a proposal known as the "fair tax" that has been around in Congress since 1999 and currently has 60 co-sponsors in the House.

It would indeed impose a 23 percent federal sales tax .

But its advocates say that this sales tax would have a positive effect.

It would raise an amount equal to all existing federal income and payroll taxes, allowing them to be eliminated.

Wetterling's ad doesn't mention that the sales tax would replace those taxes. . . .

But the Wetterling ad invites viewers to believe that if Bachmann had her way, they would be burdened with a big new federal sales tax, without disclosing that the plan also includes the elimination of current taxes.

Free advice for the Bachmann campaign: Counter the negative stuff from the Wetterling campaign with facts in Michele's voice; don't adopt the randon shots strategy and GOP rhetoric.

Free advice for the DFL: Don't try to paint Bachmann as favoring tax increases because she voted "for" the health impact fee. That vote was on a bill that also contained pro-life provisions vis a vis fetal pain. Thanks to Gov. Pawlenty's word play, conservatives were placed in the awkward position of an either/or vote on taxes or pro-life legislation. One can disagree with Bachmann's priority on her vote, but one can't honestly call it a vote to raise taxes.