Bachmann and Tinklenberg on Issues
Where the Candidates for MN's 6th Congressional District Stand
Oct 21, 2008
Conservative Republican Michele Bachmann is running for re-election in Minnesota's 6th District against Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg, who also ran in 2006 but was narrowly defeated by Patty Wetterling for the Democratic nomination. A former Senator, Bachmann has held the office in Congress for 2 years and has recently come under fire for comments about Barack Obama being "anti-American" and the need for the media to investigate all members of Congress to find other "anti-American" politicians. In the wake of Bachmann's comments, Tinklenberg's campaign received $450,000 from over 9,000 contributors from all over the United States just after Bachmann's statements were made on the MSNBC program Harball with Chris Matthews ("Michele Bachmann's comments fuel surge in Tinklenberg's campaign donations", by Megan Boldt. St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 18, 2008).
Now with the whole country watching, Bachmann and Tinklenberg's race for Congress is in the spotlight. Who are they and where do they stand on the issues?
Michele Bachman on the Issues
According to her website, Michele Bachmann is a Minnesota native who currently lives in Stillwater, Minnesota wih her husband and their five children. The Bachmann's have provided foster care for 23 children over the years and consider themselves extremely invested in the welfare of children in the foster care system. A former tax attorney, Bachmann wrote The Taxpayers Bill of Rights while in the Senate in 2000. She supports nuclear energy, supports on-going military action in Iraq and Afghanistan and is backed by the National Pro-Life Alliance and the National Rifle Association. Her voting record (available at votesmart.org) indicates that she has opposed bills funding AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis research, as well as bills funding emergency unemployment compensation and funding for military action in Afghanistan. She has consistently supported various defense bills.
Elwyn Tinklenberg on the Issues
El Tinklenberg is also a Minnesota native, currently residing in Blaine, Minnesota with his wife and five children. As stated on his website, Tinklenberg worked as a United Methodist minister for 9 years before being elected Mayor of Blaine in 1986. He served as Governor Jesse Ventura's Commissioner of Transportation from 1999 to 2002. He is currently president of The Tinklenberg Group, which is a consulting firm on transportation issues. Tinklenberg favors a timetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, an overhaul of FEMA with new, experienced leadership and immediate reform of No Child Left Behind. Tinklenberg is against legalized abortion and gay marriage.
What is At Stake?
Due to the outrage over Bachmann's statements, many feel that the Congresswoman needs to be defeated on November 4th. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, condemed Bachmann's statements, as did other polticians, Democrat and Republican alike. The gay community has been extremely vocal in its opposition of Bachmann for years due to her campaign to ban gay marriage constitutionally in Minnesota.
Tinklenberg just isn't liberal enough for some voters. One resident in Minnesota's 6th District says he'll vote for Tinklenberg because Bachmann is "an embrassment"; however, he disagrees with Tinklenberg's stance on abortion.
With the whole country watching, Minnesota's 6th Congressional District race will be a historic one.
