Bachmann entered the race with a great deal of momentum, conjuring a great deal of support in her birth state of Iowa, and winning the Ames Straw Poll. The Tea Party seemingly supported her campaign full force, creating the back bone of her fundraising and volunteer supporters. However, when Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the race, Tea Party members had a choice. Perry's entrance to the race came at a bad time. In the midst of Bachmann's mis-quotes and "Palin-like" errors, Perry was able to steal a sizable chunk of Tea Party support from Bachmann's campaign.
Bachmann has struggled the entire primary to set her image apart of Sarah Palin - a scary image to many liberal, independents and conservative alike. But when Bachmann made inaccurate claims about the town she was born in and misquoted common facts, she looked like the air-headed former Alaska governor. Bachmann needed to address and redirect her image away from Palin in the beginning - but instead she let herself take on the roll as just another "crazy Tea Party lady."
Bachmann experiences more misfortune with her staffing, undergoing a series of resignations from top aids and staffers for her campaign. These absences came in the middle of a fundraising crisis for Bachmann. In the early part of the primary, May 2011, Bachmann brought in $2.2 million in the first quarter, more than any other candidate. Bachmann reported this October of bringing in $5.5 million, far behind the other GOP candidates. Also, as of today, more fundraising drama has appeared as Bachmann's contribution to the Polk County GOP in Iowa (more specifically, Des Moines) may be against election regulations.
So is to blame for this mess that Bachmann is still calling a campaign and what should be done? Perry is partially to blame, as he came in at a decisive time, and capitalized greatly on Bachmann's campaign issues. Her campaign aids and staffers that bailed on her are also highly responsible for her current situation. Lagging Tea Party support - as the Tea Party split up when Perry entered the race, rather than choosing one specific candidate didn't help Bachmann either. But at the end of the day, Bachmann can only blame herself. It's not unusual at all for a candidate to come into a primary with a lot of momentum and end up losing it all and becoming rather insignificant in the end. Bachmann fits this bill. With her mispoken facts, PR errors, and lack of unity in her own base - she put herself in the position she is in for the most part.
Early on, Bachmann needed to rock Perry's campaign and use all the force she had. However it is too late, as both Bachmann and Perry are losing fire - and losing momentum to Mitt Romney who is taking over the GOP - along with Cain's recent boost. Fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty left the race after poor results in the Iowa Straw Poll. Bachmann is in the same position Pawlenty faced in August, she has a worn out campaign, lower funding than the other candidates - as is doing nothing but ruining her own image. At this point it is clear that she won't stand up in the final leg of the race, and her campaign is doing nothing but creating a negative national identity for her. Bachmann needs to go back to serving the Minnesotan people and representing them in Congress, where leaders are needed - perhaps run for Senate against Sen. Franken in 2014?
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