From the Cracker Squire Archives: GOP Has a Lightning Rod, and It’s Not Palin

Cover of Newsweek featuring Michele Bachmann, August 15, 2011.

[Although the woman is a lightning rod, the Newsweek photograph might be a bit over the top.]


A 10-15-09 post done almost two years ago (and with the above photograph of Rep. Bachmann) was entitled "GOP Has a Lightning Rod, and It’s Not Palin" is sure proving to be the case. The post notes in part:

In [Representative Michele Bachmann’s] district, and in much of the country, [this] outsized celebrity has boiled down to this: They adore her or they loathe her.

Some of Ms. Bachmann’s fellow Republicans . . . are drawing glowing comparisons between her and Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican candidate for vice president.

On Capitol Hill, Ms. Bachmann is viewed with disdain by Democrats who see her as a wacky purveyor of outrageous claims and criticisms. Leading Republicans wince occasionally at her appearances on the floor and on television, but they also see her as someone with telegenic appeal who can energize conservatives and aggravate Democrats and they are not likely to rein her in.