Minnesota's Bachmann finds herself atop tea party movement, but will it last?

By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 20, 2010; 8:38 AM

Her Republican colleagues made it clear that she would not have a seat at the leadership table when they take control of the House in January. Rep. Michele Bachmann, they whispered, is too loud, too unruly, too tea party.

But as the Minnesota Republican strode out of the Capitol the other day and onto a leaf-strewn lawn to soak in the love of a few hundred tea party activists waiting to see her, it was undeniable that there are still plenty of people who believe loud, unruly and tea party are just what Congress needs.

If Speaker-to-be John A. Boehner (Ohio) is the commander of the 240-plus Republicans who will be seated in the 112th Congress, Bachmann is a favorite of many of the voters who elected them.

"You are the people who changed the world the first Tuesday in November," she told the crowd. "You came out. You rallied. You called. You e-mailed. You faxed. They wouldn't pick up the phone, and you kept it ringing. . . . There's a chapter in the American history books written just with your name on it."

The crowd enthusiastically received the two-term congresswoman's oft-repeated vow to shrink the federal government, slash the debt, repeal "Obama-care" and restore the constitutional freedoms that an illegitimate president and his "gangster government" are taking from Americans.

"This is insanity economics - insanity politics - and it's not representative of who we are and this rich, beautiful legacy of 234 years," Bachmann said.

Here was Bachmann in her element: freed from the confines of the Capitol and its rules and traditions and hierarchy, surrounded by adoring supporters, a rogue elephant with a microphone.

Many of the people on the lawn knew Bachmann from her frequent appearances on cable television. A TV-ready provocateur with a knack for tossing off bomb-mots, she found a vast audience overnight during the 2008 election when she suggested on MSNBC's "Hardball" that Barack Obama had "anti-American views."

Her words hit home with the tea party set, and Bachmann became a sensation. She raised more money for her reelection this year than any other House candidate, bringing in more than $11 million, much of it from small donations. Fellow Republicans sought her out to appear on stage with them.

To the conservative faithful, she is a smart and telegenic leader - think Sarah Palin with a law degree - who fearlessly lends her voice and energy to the cause of restoring America's greatness.

Now, Bachmann, 54, is trying to convert her television popularity into political influence in Washington, offering herself as a den mother to the incoming Republican freshmen.

But it isn't at all clear that Bachmann's fame will translate into political respect within the Capitol. Many colleagues consider her to be more of a show horse than a workhorse. She has yet to make a mark with a significant piece of legislation and has a reputation as someone more interested in heading to the green room than hitting the books - advancing her own agenda ahead of her party's. She even set up a YouTube channel in which fans can view clips of her television appearances.

When she sought the No. 4 leadership spot this month, other Republicans saw no place for her. She bowed out of the race for House Republican Conference chair before the election, clearing the way for the preferred candidate of party elders, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Tex.).

Bachmann's colleagues, perhaps mindful of her sway with the conservative base, are nonetheless careful not to criticize her publicly.

Asked how Bachmann might factor in the party's future, Hensarling said: "Michele is a very good friend of mine. She's got my great respect and admiration, and hers was a very important voice in this election. I have no doubt that Michele Bachmann's voice will be heard at the leadership table and will be heard across the nation."

Although they might not consider her leadership material, more than a few colleagues see the value of aligning themselves with the many tea partiers who look to her as a rebel hero. Over the summer, Bachmann founded the Tea Party Caucus and installed herself as its chair. It got plenty of media attention, and more than 50 members signed on.

A mother of five and foster parent to 23, Bachmann, who declined to be interviewed, represents the middle-class northern suburbs of the Twin Cities and the independent, populist farm towns beyond.

Bachmann, who sits on the Financial Services Committee, has been a leading advocate for banning earmarks. She is a skeptic of global warming and has pushed for increased oil and natural gas exploration in the United States, making her a target of environmental groups. She has been a critic of government spending since arriving in Washington, and cutting the federal debt and repealing Obama's health-care overhaul are some of her top priorities in the new Congress.

For the past two years, Bachmann and a few allies occupied an empty stage in Washington. But with a tea-party-powered freshman class coming to town, that stage is getting awfully crowded.

"The competition for media time and message and leverage has shifted dramatically, and it's gotten to be more difficult for Michele Bachmann or me or a number of others to be able to convey a message," Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a Bachmann ally and fellow tea party firebrand, said in an interview.

"That's going to take a while to settle itself, and it might be that this class is so big and so robust and dynamic there won't be such a demand for a handful of stalwart conservatives to constantly be pounding away."

But to some incoming freshmen, Bachmann's fame within the conservative movement and her efforts to help them get elected have made her a role model.

"The tea party elected a lot of the freshman class, and she's been a strong leader in the tea party," Rep.-elect Billy Long (R-Mo.) said. "I haven't met her yet, but that'll come out in the wash, as we say."

Rep.-elect Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.), who won as an underdog against a powerful Democratic veteran in a neighboring district of Bachmann's, said she was one of his most loyal supporters.

"She'd call up to say, 'Chip, keep fighting, keep going,' " Cravaack said. "Nobody believed in us in the 8th District, and a call from Michele Bachmann meant a lot to me."

Cravaack called her "a natural-born leader" and said she would be a powerful voice for novice lawmakers. But other freshmen were more careful in their assessments of the polarizing congresswoman.

Asked about Bachmann, Rep.-elect Todd Young (R-Ind.) said: "I'm not a political observer, so I can't offer an opinion on that. Do I see her as a leader? I just don't know enough about her."

What Young and his colleagues do know, however, is that Bachmann has a unique following among an untold number of conservatives in their districts and across the country.

In Bachmann's world, the sun is always shining and the people are always inspiring. She speaks of heavenly magistrates and innate greatness, of giving and sacrifice.

When she talks, her audience responds with passion.

"This was not a group of toothless hillbillies who had no idea what they were talking about," Bachmann said of the tea party at the recent rally in Washington.

"Noooo!''

"These weren't angry, hateful people."

"Noooo!''

"These are the nicest people you'd ever want to meet."