Is Michele Bachmann beatable in 2014?

By Richard K. Barry

I was amused by a recent Huffington Post story in which Michele Bachmann's last opponent for her congressional seat is quoted saying that voters have finally had enough, that they are now "embarrassed" by Bachmann's antics:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) barely held onto her seat in the 2012 election, defeating Democrat Jim Graves by just over 1 percent of the vote in one of the closest House races of the cycle. Now, mere months into Bachmann's new term, Graves is seeking a rematch in 2014 -- and this time he's confident Minnesota voters have reached a tipping point with the embattled congresswoman, whose antics have drawn criticism from members of her own party.

It's true that she has been the centre of continuing foolishness as evidenced by an ethics investigation to do with her 2012 presidential bid, her ridiculous critique of Obama's personal expenses, and her claim that Obamacare "literally kills people."

I'm not saying that she's not an idiot, but none of this kind of behaviour is new. What makes Mr. Graves think that Bachmann's constituents are going to wake up now and say that this is finally too much? What makes him think that they will now embarrassed, when they were not before?

The women has been a nut case for a long time and it would seem that the voters in Minnesota's 6th congressional district are okay with it.

While it is true she lost by just over one percent last time, that was in the middle of a good Democratic showing nationally. The midterms could be an entirely different thing, when the opposition party typically does better:

The Republican Party of Minnesota released a statement Thursday after Graves announced his campaign: "Democrat Jim Graves said during the last campaign 'If we've ever had a chance to defeat Bachmann, this is it.' Congresswoman Bachmann prevailed in 2012 and she will again in 2014."

I fear they are correct.