BETWEEN IRAQ AND A HARD PLACE: WHERE DOES BACHMANN STAND ON THE WAR?

07/20/2006

ST. PAUL (7/20/06) – The Minnesota DFL Party today called on Republican 6th Congressional District candidate Michele Bachmann to start addressing the issues and let Minnesotans know where she stands on how to proceed in the war in Iraq. Bachmann will receive fundraising help tonight from embattled Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht and tomorrow from Karl Rove, the chief political adviser to President Bush.

“Michele Bachmann holds almost weekly dalliances with some of the most hawkish hawks in the Bush Administration, but tonight she’s raising money with a congressman who admittedly doesn’t understand the situation in Iraq and is all over the map on how we should proceed there. With the election just a few months away, voters need to know where Michele Bachmann stands on this and other vital issues,” Minnesota DFL Chair Brian Melendez said. “Bachmann has been a one-issue legislator since she was elected. It’s time for her to start acting like a candidate for Congress and address the serious issues that Congress deals with on a daily basis.”

Bachmann’s campaign website’s “On the Issues” page contains no mention of “Iraq.” Bachmann’s issues page on her campaign website does not mention “Iraq.” [Michele Bachmann for Congress website, accessed 7/20/06]

Bachmann to hold fundraiser with Minnesota GOP delegation. Sen. Norm Coleman and Reps. Mark Kennedy, John Kline, Jim Ramstad and Gil Gutknecht, will host a Bachmann fundraiser on July 20 at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C. [Roll Call, 7/19/06]

Gutknecht admitted he “didn’t understand” the situation in Iraq. The Washington Post reported: “This week, [Gutknecht] conceded ‘I guess I didn’t understand the situation,’ saying that a partial troop withdrawal now would ‘send a clear message to the Iraqis that the next step is up to you.’” [Washington Post, 7/20/06]