A Tribute to Michele Bachmann (Video)

[Valin]

Roll Call:

Christina Bellantoni

Dec 16 2014

 

Would it surprise you if I disclose that one of the most important pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten came from Rep. Michele Bachmann?

 

As the Minnesota Republican bids farewell to Congress, I’m not reflecting about her bombast or her penchant for causing trouble within her party.

 

Sure, she is fun to cover, and has given both reporters and comedians plenty of material during her nearly eight years in Washington. Her politics can and have invoked visceral reactions as she made a national name for herself, in part by using over-the-top language to describe her opposition to President Barack Obama and his policies.

 

But I’m going to devote this column to defending the first congressional tea partyer. She happens to be a very nice person.

 

I’m not just talking about the old Minnesota nice cliché. And I’m not talking about Washington polite. She has a kindness in her that can surprise even her sharpest critic. At the same time, she has an unapologetic aggression for her principles that happen to be further from the mainstream than your typical member of Congress.

 

(Snip)

 

This is a woman who is authentic. She doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her, and she sticks up for herself and her ideals, even when she’s the last person standing. She may have failed in her presidential bid, hold a slim list of legislative accomplishments and lack true respect from House Republican leadership, but make no mistake — Bachmann has had an influence on her party.

 

 

(Snip)

 

You can’t argue with the fact she will leave Congress with an open ethics investigation into her 2012 campaign’s fundraising activity, that she burned through a lot of her congressional staff at a fast clip, or that she has a penchant for gaffes. Bachmann is not an unintelligent woman, by the way. (How often do people call Biden, who also happens to get his facts wrong, dumb?)

 

(Snip)