Newsweek Publishes 'Queen of Rage' Hit-Piece Cover Shot of Michele Bachmann

Go check Michelle Malkin's report, "The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks."

She's got a larger image of this wild --- and wildly inappropriate --- cover photograph of Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. The key passage:

Rep. Bachmann is unabashedly conservative, willing to take both parties’ leaders to task, passionate about her work, popular with grass-roots activists on the Right, committed to reining in the size, scope, and power of government, and yes, expressive. For all this, she must be destroyed.

Also:

Disseminating unflattering photos of conservatives isn’t journalism. It’s Alinskyite narrative-shaping.

This comes of course as Michele Bachmann has rocketed to frontrunner status in Iowa. See Rasmussen Reports, "Iowa Caucus: Bachmann, Romney and Paul on Top." The poll samples likely causcus participants and has a 4-point margin of error. It's looking good for Bachmann.

RELATED: At the Other McCain, "Liberal Head-Explosion Warning VIDEO: Michele Bachmann Testifies for Jesus."

NewsBusted: 'Bachmann spends about $5000 on hair and makeup'

Via Theo Spark:

Long Knives Out for Michele Bachmann?

Yep, according to Robert Stacy McCain, who's on the ground in Des Moines, "Long Knives in Iowa."

And check this Google link for the click through to Wall Street Journal, "Behind a GOP Contender's Iowa Surge."

MARION, Iowa—To understand why presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has surged in Iowa, watch when she is handed a baby. On a recent stop here, she took off her bracelet, dangled it before the infant and cradled himDuring another campaign appearance, Ms. Bachmann climbed down from the stage to take the hands of a woman who asked a question, holding them as she answered. Meeting a teenager with Down syndrome, the Minnesota congresswoman swept him up in a hug, then signed his T-shirt.

Ms. Bachmann has built a national reputation for hard-line conservative stances—most recently, she bucked her own Republican leaders to oppose the debt-ceiling compromise—and her repeated vow to retire President Barack Obama.

But here in Iowa, the tough rhetoric is sheathed in a soft presentation. Ms. Bachmann hugs, dances and offers girl talk on the campaign trail—"That's a rockin' shirt!"—as if baking her steely conservatism into a warm apple pie. while he teethed on the pearls.

It's true. She's the warmest in person!

Republican Voters Hold Out for Their Dream Candidate

I'm not holding out. I'm backing Bachmann. She's consistently opposed the White House on the budget, and her vote may be a huge asset for next week's Ames straw poll.

But see Los Angeles Times, "GOP voters holding out for dream candidate."

RELATED: Robert Stacy McCain's in Iowa, so check over there for first-hand reports.

Bachmann Scrutiny Rises With Poll Surge

You think?

For the last few days you'd have thought Michele Bachmann was the GOP frontrunner. And what's the big deal about headaches? Yeah, Congresswoman Bachmann's like the rest of us. She's sometimes out of it. Wow. You're disqualified!!

Anyway, that's Brian Ross with Bill O'Reilly. I saw him yucking it up on "The View" yesterday. All fun and games for the intrepid media hounds, I guess.

See Wall Street Journal:

NORWALK, Iowa—Michele Bachmann has captivated conservative activists here as she pushes to establish herself as a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

That fast start comes amid new scrutiny of her background and physical health as she seeks to translate grass-roots enthusiasm for her campaign into votes at a crucial straw poll next month in Ames.

he Minnesota congresswoman returned to Iowa early Wednesday morning as polls show her gaining ground nationally as a top alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the early front-runner for the GOP nomination. Since formally entering the race last month, she has eclipsed other Republicans in the field, including fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty, who has been actively campaigning all year.

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll offered a statistical glimpse at their diverging fortunes. In the poll, 16% of the registered Republicans picked Ms. Bachmann as their top choice, putting her second behind Mr. Romney, who remains the first choice of 30% of the Republicans polled. In the same survey, 2% of registered Republicans chose the former Minnesota governor as their top pick, down from 6% in April.

Keep reading.

The Daily Caller gets a mention.

Michele Bachmann: 'Courage'

Doug Ross has the post I meant to write when I first read the migraines story.

At Director Blue, "I'll Give You Three Guesses Who's Behind The Daily Caller's Migraine Hit Piece on Michele Bachmann (Or Should I Call It 'The Daily Cromney'?)."

Michele Bachmann Surges to Second in New WSJ/NBC Poll

At Washington Wire:

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota has stormed into second place among Republican primary voters in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, but former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains the front-runner, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The poll, taken between July 14 and July 17, found continuing turmoil in the Republican race to be the “anti-Romney.” Mr. Romney remained the first choice of 30% of GOP primary voters in July, the same number as June. But beneath him, the stability ends.

Keep reading.

Texas. Gov. Rick Perry's looking pretty good there as well (and Ron Paul, who I ignore), but Tim Pawlenty's gotta be disappointed.

And while Romney remains the frontrunner, Bachmann's getting intense media scrutiny. See New York Times, for example, "Bachmann Says Migraines Won’t Be a Problem if She’s Elected President." That piece links to Daily Caller, "Stress-related condition ‘incapacitates’ Bachmann; heavy pill use Alleged."

And there's more. See Time, "Reporter Accosted After Bachmann Comments on Migraines." And it's ABC News reporter Brian Ross, who's very well-known. Apparently, he was rebuffed upon approaching Bachmann, and:

Ross dashed after Bachmann, repeatedly asking whether she had ever missed a House vote due to a migraine. She ignored him. Ross pursued her into a parking area behind the stage. Her aides grew alarmed. When Ross made a beeline for the white SUV waiting to carry Bachmann away, two Bachmann men pounced on him, grabbing and pushing him multiple times with what looked to me like unusual force. In fact, I have never seen a reporter treated so roughly at a campaign event, especially not a presidential one. Ross was finally able to break away and lob his question at Bachmann one more time, but she continued to ignore him.

Headaches. Wow. And this will be all over the broadcast news tonight.

More at Memeorandum.

ADDED: The full report at Wall Street Journal, "Bachmann Vaults Into Second Place in GOP Race."

Michele Bachmann Makes a Gaffe!!!

Andrew Klavan at PJTV:

Idiot Islamist Keith Ellison Attacks Rep. Michele Bachmann as 'Anti-Women'

I can't believe how bad this sounds, and from a sitting congressman. Fox & Friends' Gretchen Carlson just lays into the dude:

Via Atlas Shrugs, "MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD CONGRESSMAN HAKIM "KEITH ELLISON" MUHAMMAD (D) IN ISLAMIC MISOGYNY ATTACK ON AMERICAN WOMEN, NAMELY MICHELE BACHMANN."

Who'd You Rather? Bill Maher Sexualizes Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin as 'MILFs' on 'Piers Morgan Tonight'

After being called a "teabagger" for 2 and a half years, I'm kinda inured to this stuff, but this is pretty crude.

At NewsBusters, "Bill Maher Calls Palin and Bachmann MILFs on CNN."

And Big Hollywood, "‘MILF’: How the MSM Uses Popular Culture To Do Their Dirty Work."

'She's Got Sex Appeal': Pawlenty Aide Apologizes for Calling Michele Bachmann Hot

I saw this at London's Daily Mail earlier, "Tim Pawlenty aide forced to apologise after making inappropriate remark about GOP rival Michele Bachmann."

And it's Vin Weber who made the faux pas, a former GOP House member himself. The original comments appeared in an interview at The Hill:

"It's going to be very hard to beat Michele in Iowa. Period," Weber said of both the Iowa caucuses and August's influential straw poll in Ames.

"She's got hometown appeal, she's got ideological appeal, and, I hate to say it, but she's got a little sex appeal too," he said in a phone interview.

Oops. Can't say that. The PC language cops will be all over you. Tim Pawlenty distanced himself from the comments immediately, and here's this at Fox News, "Pawlenty Aide Apologizes for Remark on Bachmann's 'Sex Appeal'."

And of course, Representive Bachmann handled it with class:

Michele Bachmann's First Ad Buy Iowa: 'Waterloo'

Jonathan Tobin provides the background, at Commentary, "Purity Makes Good Politics":

The political value of Bachmann’s purity shouldn’t be underestimated. As Chris Cillizza wrote in today’s Washington Post, unlike most members of Congress, Bachmann’s legislative record is no burden to her candidacy. During her five years in Congress, Bachmann has not devoted any effort to “going along to get along” as most members must do in order to pass legislation. She has not brought home any “bacon” to her district because she viewed her purpose very differently than her colleagues. Instead of log rolling with other members to gain passage of pet legislation, she has spent all of her time “tilting at windmills” and generally running afoul of her party’s leadership.

Many members of the GOP establishment, including fellow members of the Republican congressional caucus, probably rolled their eyes when they saw her Iowa ad. But those who view her record on the Hill as one of failure which ought to render her candidacy quixotic, don’t get it. Her purity may make her irrelevant in Washington, but it is exactly the ticket for pleasing movement conservatives who are disgusted with the pragmatic measures getting things done requires. Far from hurting Bachmann’s chances, this attitude helps her immeasurably.

I'd add that I'm very impressed by how well Bachmann's rolling out her campaign. It's very professional, and she's turning on the heat. Bachmann's not far behind Mitt Romney at RCP's polling averages for Iowa, and Romney's already announced he's skipping the Ames Straw Poll. where a victory for Bachmann could delivery tremendous momentum for the GOP presidential caucuses in January December.

RELATED: At Des Moines Register, "Bachmann is first to sign Family Leader’s pro-marriage pledge" (via Memeorandum).

Suffolk University Poll: Bachmann Gains in New Hampshire; Minnesota Congresswoman Tops Field as 'Most Conservative'

Fox News has a write up, "Poll Shows Bachmann Gaining Momentum Among NH GOP Voters." Mitt Romney is by far the GOP frontrunner in New Hampshire, but as other media outlets are stressing, Michele Bachmann comes on strong in the survey, surging 8 points in favorability since May. The Suffolk press report is here, and the poll data here. What I liked best is that Bachmann beats out the field as the "most conservative" candidate in the race. Bachmann was most conservative at 15 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 13 percent, and Romney at 11 percent. The rest of the candidates were in single digits, and the roster includes big name personalities such as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Bachmann's had a big week. One of the indicators of that is how aggressively the Democrat-Media-Complex has been trying to take her down.

There's a whole string of threads on Bachmann at Memeorandum, and just now the San Francisco Chronicle's Mark Morford (who announced that Barack Obama was the "Lightworker" in 2008) has weighed in with the latest misogynistic sleaze attack on the congresswoman, "Michele Bachmann, Hell's Barbie":

Yes, Michele Bachmann is running for president. Michele Bachmann, fundamentalist Christian zealot, paranoid isolationist, lowbrow conspiracy theorist, heavily shellacked automaton, anti-choice anti-gay anti-everything neo-Stepford throwback and easily the flat-out nuttiest female ever to raise a hugely depressing $13 million for her clumsy campaign launch, Michele wants to lead us all to salvation.

It's been a week of virtually non-stop attacks like this. No doubt Bachmann's sending shivers down the spine of the progressive establishment. And that's on the left. Will the GOP embrace Bachmann as well, or would Beltway insiders prefer a McCain 2.0 over the Iowa-born congressional upstart?

The GOP needs a conservative candidate. And while Sarah Palin may still enter the race, Michelle Bachmann's making all the right moves, and getting some well-deserved recognition among potential voters.

RELATED: At National Journal, "Is There a 'Generic Republican' to Beat Obama in the Polls?"And the discussion with Gretchen Carlson on Fox & Friends this morning:

'American Girl'

Well, the big surprise of the day, at Politico: "Tom Petty wants Bachmann to lay off 'American Girl'."

It would be another way in which a GOP candidate could compare themselves to Ronald Reagan, who Bruce Springsteen called out for using "Born in the USA" as a campaign song.

And at Raw Story, "Tom Petty reportedly issuing cease and desist letter to Bachmann" (via Memeorandum).

Michele Bachmann on John Quincy Adams

Nothing Michele Bachmann said was factually wrong. The controversy hinges on whether John Quincy Adams was part of the Founding generation. He was. President George Washington appointed John Quincy Adams Minister to the Netherlands in 1794. The Bill of Rights to the Constitution was ratified in 1791 during the same presidential administration. And John Quincy Adams traveled to Paris with his father John Adams, when the latter served as America's Ambassador to France from 1778 until 1779. Hence, Congresswoman Bachmann's statements aren't all that off the mark. John Quincy Adams was not a signer of the Declaration of Independence or Constitution, but certainly was serving importantly as a member of the era, as Bachmann states after George Stephanopoulos tries to elicit a misstatement:

John Quincy Adams most certainly was a part of the Revolutionary War era. He was a young boy but he was actively involved.

I try to like Stephanopoulos, despite the fact that he was a top adviser to President Bill Clinton. See, "John Quincy Adams a Founding Father? Michele Bachmann Says Yes" (via Memeorandum). Was John Quincy Adams a Founder as in a signer of our founding documents? No? Was he a member of the Founding generation who would have a substantial impact on the course of American history? Absolutely. Yes.

Wouldn't it be nice if folks like Stephanopoulos went after Democrats just an aggressively?

ADDED: I've got some progressive idiots visiting from Instaputz's stinkhole, and one of these idiots writes:

That 57 states gaffe said THREE YEARS AGO is still giving you wingers serious mileage isn't it?

The number of gaffes Obama has made compared to the number of gaffes Bush made... anyone? ...

Well, folks can check out how many gaffes Bush made, but he never made one like this:

I wrote on this last week, but Michael Barone points out today the wicked media double standards when it comes to political misstatements, "Mainstream media covers up horrifying Obama mistake" (at Memeorandum):

It’s interesting that mainstream media journalists who are so eager to zing Michele Bachmann for getting John Wayne’s birthplace wrong, have not been interested in asking whether this was a mistake Obama made in ad libbing or whether the White House speechwriters and fact-checkers fell down on the job. You might think that their chief motive is to make Obama look good and to suppress facts that make him look bad.

Well, yeah, you might think. Idiots.

Michele Bachmann Makes Formal Presidential Announcement in Waterloo, Iowa

At New York Times, "Bachmann Is In, Officially" (via Mememorandum).

My Fox Chicago has video and text of the speech, "Michele Bachmann's Presidential Announcement Speech."

VIDEO: Michele Bachmann Interviewed on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, June 26, 2011

The transcript's at Fox News, "Rep. Michele Bachmann Talks Earmarks, Obamacare and Gay Marriage..."

It's a good interview. She responds to the Los Angeles Times hit piece from this morning, "Bachmann's had her share of government aid." And the Times updates, "Michele Bachmann denies benefiting from government aid." And Wallace's "Are you a flake question" comes at the very end, so that gives it a different context from the 30 second video clip that that's gone viral today. It's definitely not quite as alarming. Bachmann responded at length earlier in the interview, after Wallace asked, "Why are you suddenly a frontrunner?" She spent at good amount of time discussing her background, and does so again at the end of the clip.

See also, Hot Air, "Wallace: Sorry for the “flake” question." (Via Memeorandum.)

RELATED: At Marathon Pundit, 'Michele Bachmann: "I grew up in John Wayne's America'."

'Are You a Flake?' Chris Wallace Insults Michele Bachmann on Fox News Sunday

And Wallace handled Jon Stewart so well.

This is shameul.

Via Gateway Pundit:

Wallace has apologized but I'm going to look for the full interview and update.

Also at Legal Insurrection, "Chris Wallace Palinizes Michele Bachmann" (via Memeorandum). And Ed Morrissey, "Great moments in journalism: “Are you a flake?”"

Michele Bachmann: 'I Stand With Israel'

I saw this clip at Power Line yesterday, "BACHMANN ON ISRAEL." And following the links takes us to Atlas Shrugs, "MICHELE BACHMANN ON ISRAEL."

The greatest speech by an American leader on Israel. This is what America needs in the White House. Seriously, this is greatness. What a breath of fresh air and righteousness in Obama's current climate of hatred and jihad-enabling.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

And Blazing Cat Fur links to Caroline Glick, who writes:

I cannot remember EVER hearing a more pro-Israel speech by ANY American presidential candidate in my life.

I cannot remember EVER hearing a more cogent explanation of Israel's importance to the US by ANY American presidential candidate in my life.

And this speech came out of nowhere. She's not pandering for votes. No one asked her to say this. She just decided that she had to make a statement.

What a great woman. What a great leader. What a great American.

God bless you Michele Bachmann!

Rolling Stone's Misogynistic Hit Piece on Michele Bachmann

Doug Ross has the story, "The new civility: Rolling Stone slanders Michele Bachmann as 'bats*** crazy', with 'testicles swinging under her skirt', a 'political psychopath'."

The Rolling Stone hit piece is here: "Michele Bachmann's Holy War." For example:

Michele Bachmann, when she turns her head toward the cameras and brandishes her pearls and her ageless, unblemished neckline and her perfect suburban orthodontics in an attempt to reassure the unbeliever of her non-threateningness, is one of the scariest sights in the entire American cultural tableau.

Colorfully misogynistic, but typically progressive.

And Tabbai's interviewed by Don Imus. He's a geek. A stupid, childish geek: