Bachmann Compared to Tim Tebow: Can It Salvage Her Campaign?
Presidential candidates have fastened themselves to the Tim Tebow bandwagon, drawing comparisons of his unlikely winning streak to their struggling campaigns.
The No Compromise political action committee supporting Michele Bachman, put out a TV ad comparing her underdog political status to that of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow’s. The ad says that the establishment just loves to hate Bachman and Tebow.
It cites Tebow’s athletic criticism and attempts to draw a comparison between the two.
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“He’s not smart enough. His mechanics are no good. He’s not accurate enough,” the ad says. “Still he just keeps winning.”
Then the ad says that the same thing can be said about Michelle Bachman.
“The same could be said of Michele Bachmann: no baggage, Christian, and like Tebow, she keeps fighting and she just keeps winning votes,” the ad boasts.
It goes on to brag about Bachmann being a born-again Christian, similarly to Tebow. It says that she recently won Iowa straw poll, had a series of great debate performance and been climbing the Iowa polls, the same way Tebow won seven of his eight first NFL starts in heroic late-game fashion.
It calls sports fans guilty, because Tebow doesn’t smoke, drink or curse, conveying a message that Bachmann’s critics are likely also guilty because of her “no-compromise,” “no flip-flop” stance on issues.
It goes on to say that Tebow and Bachman have both invoked God to win, saying that the even though she is last in many polls, she expects a miracle. Some fans and critics believe that Tebow’s unlikely winning streak is a miracle of God as well.
However, Tebow has experienced a spiraling losing streak, losing his last three games in the NFL. Ever since Bachmann’s contender Texas Gov. Rick Perry tried to align his campaign with Tebow’s winning streak, he began losing. According to the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein, Tebow is the Rick Perry of quarterbacks.
“Ever since Rick Perry said he was the Tim Tebow of this GOP field, Tebow has been performing like he’s the Rick Perry of QBs,” Stein said in a Twitter post.
Critics claim that Bachmann’s efforts to portray herself as a righteous and religious culture warrior only prompts more skepticism. Matt Tabbi, a Rolling Stone writer, said that her embellishments and contradictions leave people with no idea of who she really is.
“By the time you’ve finished reviewing her record of lies and embellishments and contradictions, you’ll have no idea if she believes her own divine inspiration, or whether it’s a big con job.”
Bachmann’s blend of conservatism once propelled her to the top of her GOP in the public eye, leaving her available for scrutiny.
Her legislative record was called out by former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. He claimed that her legacy amounted to “giving speeches and offering failed amendments,” and that her “record of accomplishment in Congress is nonexistent,” according to The Huffington Post.
Bachmann has never had a bill or resolution she’s sponsored signed into law, she’s never wielded a gavel and her amendments and bills have rarely been considered by any committee, says Politifact.com.
“In a chamber that rewards substantive policy work and insider maneuvering, Bachmann has shunned the inside game, choosing to be more of a bomb thrower than a legislator,” said another Politico report.
