Recently, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann decided to take a break from her national travels and parachute back into Minnesota for a two day election year drive-by tour of her district.
To get around Minnesota’s 6th District, most people take their car or truck – it takes about an hour and a half to drive from one end to the other. But get this: Bachmann needed a luxury coach bus to find her way around. She billed it as a “bus tour” of her own district, and the media ate it up.
Well, this week we decided to organize a two day, seven community “Pontiac Tour” of the 6th District. On it, Tarryl met with small and medium-sized business owners in St. Joseph, Becker, St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Blaine, Lake Elmo, and Woodbury – discussing with each of them the challenges they face in this tough economy, especially without a Congresswoman on their side in Washington.
Unlike Bachmann, who has held just a handful of public meetings and events in her district in all of 2010, Tarryl’s been on this ‘tour’ and talking with voters for well over a year now.
And we don’t need a luxury coach bus in order to do that.
After her bus tour, Congresswoman Bachmann asked her supporters to help her raise $48,000 to cover the costs of the bus. Talk about fiscal responsibility. Our Pontiac costs about $38 for a tank of gas.
Tarryl’s put over 40,000 miles on that Pontiac since this campaign began last year, crisscrossing the district attending dozens of parades, community events and other meetings. Unlike Bachmann’s travels, these are miles driven on the ground in Minnesota’s 6th District, not frequent flyer miles earned flying over it.
That’s what she’ll do when she’s in Congress, too. Put the people of the 6th District first, and make sure to visit them where they are to talk about what needs to get done. It doesn’t matter if they agree with her on all the issues or not – she’ll be willing to listen and work with them to find common-sense solutions to tough problems.
Congresswoman Bachmann’s first priority is somewhere outside of Minnesota’s 6th District – maybe it’s in Michigan, where she was campaigning last Tuesday. Wherever it is, and whatever she’s running for, it’s time for someone who will stand up for working families, not the special interests – or their own interest. It’s time for Tarryl Clark.
In the meantime, if you’re living outside of Minnesota’s 6th District, keep an eye out for Michele Bachmann’s “Anywhere but Minnesota” tour – she might be stopping by a location near you!
Posted by: Zach Rodvold, Campaign Manager, Tarryl Clark for Congress