Afternoon Fix: Michele Bachmann sought stimulus funds

Michele Bachmann wasn’t always so anti-stimulus, another Blue Dog might retire, Sarah Palin headed to Iowa and Mitt Romney wants to do “darn well.”

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WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

* Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) repeatedly sought stimulus, Environmental Protection Agency, and other government funds for her district, a Huffington Post investigation found. The presidential candidate is a frequent critic of the stimulus and has proposed eliminating the EPA.

* A bit of good news for Democrats: businessman Byron Georgiou has dropped out of the Senate primary against Rep. Shelley Berkley (D) in Nevada. A self-made millionaire, Georgiou initially pledged to put $5 million to $7 million of his own money into the race even as the Democratic establishment lined up behind Berkley. His exit means a likely easy path to primary victory for the Las Vegas-area lawmaker, who is running against Sen. Dean Heller (R).

* Jon Huntsman’s “major announcement” in Florida today was in fact the endorsement of Jeb Bush Jr., son of the former Florida governor. It’s not a huge deal — not like the endorsement of the former governor himself — but it should give him a bit of a boost in the state. Bush Jr. is chairman of Hispanic outreach group SunPAC.

* President Obama had lunch today with a group of campaign volunteers. The six (mostly) young people won the all-expenses-paid trip to D.C. through an essay contest on community organizing. They dined with Obama and Obama for America National Training Director Sara El Amine at Ted’s Bulletin, a Capitol Hill diner that will probably be harder to get into, now.

WHAT YOU SHOULDN’T MISS:

* Another Blue Dog might be headed for retirement. Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) is not denying reports that he won’t seek reelection. His chief of staff told a local paper only that Cardoza, whose district will likely be chopped up under bipartisan redistricting, won’t make his mind up for some time. If he leaves Congress, Cardoza would be the fifth Blue Dog to announce his retirement this cycle.

* Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is planning to call for the resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner with a “vote of no confidence” in the Senate, he told Fox News last night. Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) plans to make a similar move in the House. Calls are growing on the GOP side of the aisle for Geithner to be punished over the downgrading of the United States’ credit rating by Standard & Poor’s.

* Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who is running for her state’s open Senate seat next year, said last night’s recall elections in Wisconsin were still an accomplishment. “There's room for encouragement as well as looking at what went right and what went wrong,” the lawmaker told ABC News’ Topline. “Certainly a true victory would have seen the Senate flip from Republican hands to Democratic hands. So I think we certainly recognize we have work to do, but there's still encouragement about the progress made.”

* Mitt Romney has broken his silence on Iowa with some strong words, saying at a roundtable in Pella: “I'd like to do darn well in those caucuses.” He is not competing in the Ames Straw Poll, but he will participate in an Iowa debate on Thursday. He’ll also be on Fox News’ “Hannity” tonight at 9 P.M. ET.

* Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will reportedly attend the Iowa State Fair this week, most likely on Friday. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will march in the state fair parade tonight with the Polk County GOP.

THE FIX MIX:

When will kittens stop taking good American jobs?

With Rachel Weiner and Aaron Blake