John King, USA
Bachmann addresses government shutdown
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann discusses the implications of a government shutdown.
Bachmann’s Many Constituencies
A fictional vice president on “The West Wing” once said, “You know what they call a leader with no followers? Just a guy taking a walk.” The character ended up losing his party’s nomination when he ran for president on his own.
Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota does not seem to be just taking a walk. Instead, she’s making a footprint in the donor, social media and mainstream worlds.
The Congresswoman will appear on “John King, USA” tonight at 7pm EST, having attracted fascination from conservatives and liberals alike. Even so, after CNN first reported her intent to form a presidential exploratory committee, many establishment eyes rolled.
Rarely do House members make it to the White House. She has a penchant for inciting the left. She keeps fact checkers working over time. She has only been in Congress since 2007. Some of her potential rivals within the GOP have or once had contracts with the most prominent conservative platform, Fox News. And many of her other rivals have or once had constituencies of millions.
However, her ability to sponge fundraising dollars and her ability to pique the interest of both grassroots individuals and the mass media show she will be no debate sideshow.
Most notably, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Bachmann has a unique fundraising prowess. Not only did her campaign raise more money than any other House member during the 2010 cycle, but more than half of those funds came from small donors, many of whom are retired, a notoriously formidable voting bloc.
The small donor base mirrors a strong social media following. Bachmann has one of the largest political Facebook followings (213,301) for anyone who has not previously run for president. Her Twitter following (40,315) is anything but anemic. Both of those numbers beat those of Republicans Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, Jon Huntsman, Tim Pawlenty , and Rick Santorum.
Additionally, it is not merely social media and political donors who have noticed Bachmann. According to a LexisNexis search, since the beginning of the year, her name has been omnipresent on television and in publications. She has been discussed in the mass media more than anyone in the Republican field since the beginning of the year except for Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.
Searches were current as of this afternoon.
Michele Bachmann:
(Includes common misspellings of her name)
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 1,655
213,301 Facebook likes
40,315 Twitter followers
Haley Barbour
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 766
17,774 Facebook likes
13,686 Twitter followers
Mitch Daniels
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 1,281
46,174 Facebook likes
5,764 Twitter followers
Newt Gingrich
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 2,126
120,833 Facebook likes
1,313,893 twitter followers
Mike Huckabee
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 1,363
560,512 Facebook likes
143,024 Twitter followers
Jon Huntsman
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 309
1,677 Facebook likes
1,789 Twitter followers
Sarah Palin
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 5,186
2,867,368 Facebook likes
474,518 Twitter followers
Tim Pawlenty:
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 1,199
82,040 Facebook likes
29,360 Twitter followers
Mitt Romney
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 1,660
838,368 Facebook likes
32,147 Twitter followers
Rick Santorum
Combined Nexis TV, newspaper, magazine mentions: 437
13,483 Facebook likes
5,925 Twitter followers
Post-revolution changes in Egypt
We've got another video from last night's show now posted. In case you missed it, Political columnist Joe Klein talked with CNN's John King about the changes in Egypt after the revolution.
Be in the know: Today's political bullet points
Every day we ask influential politicos to send us their top three bullet points that are driving the day's conversation inside and outside Washington.
Good day and it’s a consequential one here in Washington. President Obama again summons the congressional leaders to the White House, with the goal of averting a government shutdown. The president doesn’t want one, and Speaker Boehner doesn’t want one. So logic says there shouldn’t be one. But logic doesn’t always apply at the day care center, and sadly DC often appears to be one of late. As Erick notes below, there are real principles at stake — big questions about the size and role and reach of government. Those questions will be in sharper focus – and both the financial and policy stakes will be a lot higher – when the debate shifts to next year’s budget. Amid all the finger pointing in the current short-term fight, remember: we wouldn’t be here if Congress did its job and passed a budget last year. But Democrats (remember they controlled both the House and the Senate then) didn’t pass a budget, in part because they didn’t want to take risky votes in an election year. They are paying for that timidity now, as the new Republican majority demands more cuts and policy changes on issues like abortion and environmental regulation. Important developments in Libya and Japan today, too. Enjoy your day. – John King
RedState.Com Editor Erick-Woods Erickson:
– Remember back in January, the Democrats were telling us we needed a new tone. The hostile tone somehow caused Jared Loughner, a apolitical nut job, to assassinate a federal judge and attempt to assassinate Congresswoman Giffords. Now these same Democrats are proclaiming the death and starvation of the old and young because of Republican budget cuts.
– The media is doing a wonderful job of finding every kid who will be deprived of seeing Mount Rushmore because of a government shutdown and has resorted to the typical "they're behaving like kids" rhetoric. But beyond the simplistic narrative, there are, in fact, real principles at stake.
– Donald Trump at number two for the GOP? It has more to do with just how unexciting the others are.
Mario Solis-March: Senior Editor of MarioWire.com Mario Solis-Marich:
– New Play: The Wisconsin State Supreme Court race is potentially a game changer, is Obama watching the news?
– Return Engagement: Olympic champion Henry Cejudo is back in the wrestling ring and is dedicating his next Gold Medal to the fight for comprehensive immigration reform, let’s see if anybody dares call him an “Anchor Baby”.
– Stage Manager: Leader Harry Reid goes toe-to-toe with the GOP and is keeping the White House on track while refusing to gut social security making him the most powerful behind the scenes player in D.C.
Editor’s Note: The blog is a place for a freewheeling exchange of ideas and opinions. CNN does not endorse anything said by its contributors
About this Show:
Your daily destination for political news. Join John each night as he pulls back the curtain on Washington, cuts through the partisan noise, and gets to the bottom of stories that affect you.
John King, USA aired weekdays at 6pm ET. The final show aired June 29, 2012.
Any questions for John? Tweet them to @JohnKingCNN and he'll answer them Tuesday's at noon ET on CNN.com/LIVE
On Twitter
