Sad News To Come Out of Iowa – Michele Bachmann Heavy Favorite to Retain Her House Seat After She Leaves Presidential Race

Also a Sad Commentary on the Democratic Party – That They Cannot Defeat This Person

When, as expected Michele Bachmann officially left the Republican Presidential race she became free to run for re-election in her Congressional district in Minnesota.  Unfortunately, according to Politico, she will be highly favored for re-election.

“Many feel that she’s been disconnected from Minnesota for the last six months, but people feel the seat would be hers if she wanted it,” said Ben Golnik, a Republican consultant in the state who serves as a political adviser to Rep. Chip Cravaack, whose seat neighbors Bachmann’s.

Apparently the Republicans who control Minnesota have made sure that her district was a safe Republican one, although why they bothered is not clear.  The Democratic party is in disarray in much of the country, and is not even an electoral force in many major areas.  It seems there is little or no reason to think any Democrat could win this seat.

There is one bright spot in the horizon (today’s cliché is brought to you by the letter C) and that is that Ms. Bachmann may not choose to run.

The only obstacle to a fourth term may well be Bachmann’s own ambitions and desires. Some Republican officials question whether Bachmann would want to return to the House after firmly establishing herself as a national figure who, for a time, sat atop the GOP presidential field. Bachmann could decide to pursue book deals and TV offers that will inevitably pay far more than her annual House salary, they contend. Making a return to Congress even less desirable for Bachmann is the reality that she has no place in the House leadership.

“As someone who desperately seeks the limelight, I don’t see a scenario in which Michele Bachmann would want to run for reelection now that she’s gotten a taste of the national stage,” said one House GOP aide. “After winning the Iowa straw poll and having her face on Fox News every day for the better part of a year, being one of 435 in the House of Representatives would be one lousy consolation prize.”

This is known as the “Fox News Option” for failed Republicans, but if it will take Ms. Bachmann out of government and marginalize her influence, leaving her to impose her radical positions to only those who regularly watch Fox News and so have already lost the ability for rational thought, well, The Dismal Political Economist and the rest of sanity nation would owe Fox News a huge debt of gratitude.  And like almost everyone else, The Dismal Political Economist did not think he would ever be in that position.