- MENU
- HOME
- SEARCH
- WORLD
- MAIN
- AFRICA
- ASIA
- BALKANS
- EUROPE
- LATIN AMERICA
- MIDDLE EAST
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Benelux
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Russia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- USA
- BUSINESS
- WEALTH
- STOCKS
- TECH
- HEALTH
- LIFESTYLE
- ENTERTAINMENT
- SPORTS
- RSS
- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Rebekah Metzler
'Renegade' Bachmann fails to land support from peers
Anyone who follows politics will tell you, securing the most endorsements doesn't guarantee you're going to get the most votes. But they can help legitimize, energize, and monetize campaigns from time to time.
In the
But the most curious number is zero - that's how many of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's colleagues have backed her run for the
"The fact that even her own colleagues aren't endorsing her does speak volumes. It is indicative of the people that serve with her don't prefer her," says Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the
Bachmann probably did not win over a lot of colleagues when she decided to issue her own "Tea Party" response to President Obama's State of the Union speech earlier this year while Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin gave the official
"I'm sure that that frosted a lot of Republicans. It was almost like saying that Paul Ryan isn't conservative enough to give the response, which is kind of ridiculous," he says. "She's a renegade and I think she always has been."
Stu Rothenberg, editor of The Rothenberg Political Report which offers nonpartisan political campaign analysis, says most endorsements are meaningless in presidential campaigns because people in the early states tend to make up their own minds. Of Bachmann's goose egg, he says it's all about circumstance.
"I think the fact that she doesn't have any is more a reflection that her star shot up very quickly and just as quickly plummeted. If it looked like she was going to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, I'm sure she'd get endorsements," he says.
As for the significance of endorsements made in the race so far, Kondik says Romney's gradually growing support among members of
"That doesn't necessarily mean that average voters actually care about the endorsement, but it's sort of a signal to people like us that the party is getting more comfortable with the idea of him as the nominee," he says.
AMERICAN POLITICS
WORLD | AFRICA | ASIA | EUROPE | LATIN AMERICA | MIDDLE EAST | UNITED STATES | ECONOMICS | EDUCATION | ENVIRONMENT | FOREIGN POLICY | POLITICS
Michele Bachmann Comes Up Empty With Congressional Endorsements | Politics
© Tribune Media Services, Inc