Michele Bachmann’s Popularity Puts Republicans on the Spot
Even if she doesn’t overthrow leadership, Crazy Michelle is likely to control the wingnut teaparty bloc in the new House next year.
Leading up to the health care vote this year, Ms. Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota, would head to a conference room in the National Republican Campaign Committee’s headquarters and hold Skype rallies, using the Internet video service to address audiences around the country. Staff members walking by could hear the cheering crowds, roaring so loud they reverberated through the glass wall and out into the committee’s hallway.
Such is the power of Ms. Bachmann — and possibly, the curse.
She is a driving force on cable television, a provocative, ubiquitous voice in a world where the distinction between personality and power is increasingly blurred. Now, with Republicans poised to retake the House, lawmakers are watching Ms. Bachmann to see if she can harness her status as an uncompromising — and sometimes undisciplined — spokeswoman for conservative principles and turn it into real legislative influence.