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Thursday, December 29, 2011

2012 Michele Bachmann Crony Jumps Over to the Ron Paul Express

Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 10:02 AM

It's a cliche to say it, but presidential campaigns really are micromanaged to death now. You never see any of those old-fashioned operatics that Hunter Thompson and Theodore White used to write about—betrayals, huge explosions of ego that take down candidacies, any of that. The best you can hope for is a gaffe, or a statement that accidentally reveals some of the candidate's character.

That's why this is kind of a big deal:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) accused her former Iowa campaign chairman of accepting money to jump ship to support Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) on Wednesday, issuing a terse statement within two hours of his announcement.

Kent Sorenson, the Iowa state senator who served in the Bachmann campaign, denied the allegations and said he accepted no money for his endorsement. Sorenson is "leaving his post as Iowa chairman for U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign here," according to a statement from the Paul campaign. "The resignation and endorsement take effect immediately."

Sorenson said he did not tell the Bachmann campaign before he announced his endorsement of Paul, and appeared at one of her events earlier on Wednesday. He told HuffPost late Wednesday that his decision was made only 10 minutes before he took the stage at a Paul rally in Des Moines to say he would support Paul instead of Bachmann.

That's old-school politics, right there: A dramatic betrayal, a last-minute decision, and accusations of payola. We'll have to see how much this hurts Bachmann in Iowa—it could be good news for Santorum, who has run a noticeably boring, drama-free campaign that might attract some evangelicals who are leery of Bachmann's leaky team—but it sure does help Ron Paul's appearance of legitimacy just in time for the caucuses.

Comments (13) RSS

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it's not a big deal. is it a big deal when one clown's makeup artist goes to work for another clown?

Posted by Max Solomon on December 29, 2011 at 10:28 AM

Republicans are nothing if they aren't avaricious.

Posted by Vince on December 29, 2011 at 10:30 AM

No matter what, the main stage will consist of Romney vs. Obama. The rest of this race is just a trundle to see who gets the highest paying gig on FOX, or maybe a reality show.

Posted by sall on December 29, 2011 at 10:42 AM

Wouldn't paying for the endorsement be the ultimate endorsement of Paul's libertarian beliefs?

Posted by kathygnome on December 29, 2011 at 11:03 AM

@1 Thanks, that made me laugh.

Posted by very bad homo on December 29, 2011 at 11:11 AM

I hear George Clooney's presidential candidate character in Ides of March was based on Ron Paul. The physical resemblance is striking.

By the way, did you like that film, Paul?

Posted by Bub on December 29, 2011 at 11:12 AM

More association with batshit crazy fundies makes Paul more legitimate?

Strange planet, Iowa is...

Posted by TLjr on December 29, 2011 at 11:12 AM

Or maybe Kent Sorenson is a really big fan of Kelly Clarkson.

Posted by Bub on December 29, 2011 at 11:20 AM

@6: That Sorenson guy is no Ryan Gosling...

Posted by bigyaz on December 29, 2011 at 11:33 AM

Talk about chootzspah!

Posted by Gern Blanston on December 29, 2011 at 12:14 PM

Wow. Well, I can certainly understand abandoning the Bachmann clown car. But then to jump onto the Paultard wagon? That's just giving up one brand of crazy in favor of another.

Still the most entertaining primary in decades. Thanks Repubs!

Posted by Reverse Polarity on December 29, 2011 at 12:15 PM

"You never see any of those old-fashioned operatics that Hunter Thompson and Theodore White used to write about—betrayals, huge explosions of ego that take down candidacies, any of that."

You're kidding, right? Two words: McCain/Palin.

Posted by Zeusifer on December 29, 2011 at 12:32 PM