Twenty of Bachmann’s 47 missed votes coincide with media appearances

[Emit]

Late last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Democratic challengers criticized her for her ambitious travel schedule and growing celebrity. The campaigns of Dr. Maureen Reed and state Sen. Tarryl Clark asserted that Bachmann’s busy media and speaking schedule has caused her to miss votes in Congress.

“Michele is not delivering for the people of the 6th Congressional District, but also not doing the job in D.C. — missing 11 percent of votes this session,” Reed’s campaign said Friday with the release of its “Where’s Michele?” map. Clark’s campaign released a map of its own and cited a Washington Post report from October 2009 that showed Bachmann has missed more votes than all but 10 members of the House. “It’s clear Congresswoman Bachmann’s priorities are chasing her national celebrity and pursuing her personal agenda – and those priorities come at the expense of her district,” the campaign said.

How accurate are these criticisms?

An analysis by the Minnesota Independent shows that Bachmann has missed more votes than any member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation in the 111th Congress — even after subtracting votes missed when Bachmann left to spend time with an ill family member. Twenty of the 47 remaining votes Bachmann missed occurred on days when the Sixth District Republican had media appearances scheduled. But while these media moments loosely coincide with her missed votes, it’s unclear whether her absences are directly linked to her ambitious travel schedule. Bachmann’s office hasn’t respond to the Minnesota Independent’s request to clarify this point.

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In some instances, House votes seemed to directly conflict with Bachmann’s media schedule, while in others Bachmann’s missed votes occurred on days where she had one or several media events planned.

~snip~

The Minnesota Independent contacted the National Taxpayers Union to get a sense of how absences impact politics. NTU has in the past criticized Congress members for missing votes in order to campaign — and with a national media appearance every nine days, Bachmann seems to be in campaign mode. Pete Sepp, vice president for policy and communications, told the Minnesota Independent that legislators should not get paid for times they aren’t at work.

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http://minnesotaindependent.com/55139/bachmanns-missed-votes-media-appearances

[LiberalFighter]

1. Gee the first set of Congress Members didn't take time off

for campaigning while Congress was in session.

[gratuitous]

2. Golly, a gal's gotta have time to primp

Whoops, one "r" too many in that subject line.

[annm4peace]

3. thanks for the heads up

I'll be sure to share with other MN's