World
Bachmann Emerges as Political Target, Call to Action
Bachmann Emerges as Political Target, Call to Action

By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Bachmann Emerges as Political Target, Call to Action
Bachmann Emerges as Political Target, Call to Action
GOP presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann's antigay views -- and eagerness to pledge that those views will endure -- have made her public enemy number 1 among many gay rights advocacy groups, Politicoreports in a Monday news feature.
The Minnesota congressional representative, who has shown to be competitive on the Iowa campaign trail, "is the very definition of a target-rich environment," Human Rights Campaign spokesman Michael Cole-Schwartz said. "We're going to be looking for opportunities to get her record and her rhetoric out there," and that voters of all political stripes would view "any candidates who espouse those kind of beliefs [as] living in the Twilight Zone," he said.
But National Organization for Marriage chairman of the board Maggie Gallagher, who Smith reports has admired Bachmann for years, asserts the onslaught on Bachmann's record, rhetoric, and support for so-called reparative therapy will backfire: "The more that they attack Michele Bachmann on these grounds, the better her chances of winning the Iowa caucuses are," Gallagher said. "The Iowa base is extremely upset about same-sex marriage and I don't think they're going to look kindly on these attacks."
Read Ben Smith's report here.