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Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty went after fellow Minnesotan and White House hopeful Michele Bachmann over what he called her “non-existent” Congressional record Sunday.

In his sharpest comments to date, Pawlenty said his history as governor of Minnesota makes him more qualified than the congresswoman to be president.


“I like Congresswoman Bachmann. I’ve campaigned for her. I respect her, but her record of accomplishment in Congress is non-existent,” Pawlenty said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Although the two-term former governor has contrasted their records before, this was his most direct shot at Bachmann.

“We’re not looking for folks who just have speech capabilities,” Pawlenty said. “We’re looking for who can lead a large enterprise in a public setting and drive it to conclusion. I have done that; she hasn’t.”

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Now in her third term in Congress, Rep. Michele Bachmann has never wielded a committee gavel, held a party leadership position or had a bill signed into law.

But as she vies to be the first House member elected president since James Garfield in 1880, the Minnesota Republican brandishes an outsized influence rooted in her growing popularity among social conservatives in the Tea Party movement.

More activist than legislator, Bachmann will have to live down a long list of missed votes and a short list of legislative accomplishments. But few members of Congress can match her crowd appeal and high-decibel media savvy.

Bachmann has authored 46 bills and resolutions since coming to the House in 2007. Most died in committee; none became law.

She has also been attacked for frequent out-of-state trips, TV appearances and missed votes. According to congressional records, Bachmann missed 183 roll call votes through June, a 4.56 missed percentage rate. The average is 3.3 percent.

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On Nov. 5, 2009, at the behest of Rep. Michele Bachmann, thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol to vent their rage over the health care overhaul bill pending before Congress.

According to House expense reports, Bachmann and three conservative GOP colleagues — Reps. Tom Price (Ga.), Steve King (Iowa) and Todd Akin (Mo.) — each paid $3,407.50 that day, a total of $13,630, to a sound and stage company called National Events, apparently for the sound system used at the rally.

The money came from the Members' taxpayer-funded office accounts, despite House rules prohibiting the use of these funds for political activities. Bachmann's office insists the expense was a proper use of official funds.

Bachmann billed the event as a "press conference," which can be funded from official accounts. But no questions were taken from the press and, unlike most press conferences, it opened with a prayer, the national anthem and a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

House rules prohibit the use of official resources for political purposes. The ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics at the time, claiming Bachmann had violated a clearer directive from the House Administration Committee that Member websites "may not include grassroots lobbying or solicit support for a Member's position." Bachmann had posted a release on her site announcing the event

CREW did not request an investigation of the rental of the sound system; Executive Director Melanie Sloan said her group did not know that Bachmann and the other lawmakers had used their office accounts to pay for it.

"The reality is that this was a grass-roots rally and this was political," Sloan said. "That would be an improper political expenditure."

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When it comes to Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party rhetoric doesn’t always match the record.

Bachmann’s penchant for earmarks dates back to her days in the Minnesota state Senate. Despite her reputation as a fiscal conservative, from 2001-2006, then-state Senator Bachmann proposed more than $60 million in earmarks, including a $710,000 “Bond For Centerville Local Improvements Around Highway 14? and a $40,000,000 “Bond for Lino Lakes And Columbus Township Highway Interchanges.”

On October 2, 2008, Rep. Bachmann wrote a second letter after Vennes’ home was raided by federal agents investigating his connection to a billion dollar Ponzi scheme, this time admitting: “Regrettably, it now appears that I may have too hastily accepted his [Frank Vennes] claims of redemption and I must withdraw my previous letter.” Bachmann’s spokesman tells me, Rep. Bachmann “has remained disassociated from Mr. Vennes and is saddened by the latest charges that were filed against him.” Some have questioned whether or not evangelical Christians like Bachmann may be naive when it comes to claims of redemption. Should Bachmann’s campaign gain steam, she will likely have to answer questions about her judgment.

The federalist argument is also severely undercut by the fact that since joining the U.S. Congress in 2007, Bachmann has appropriated more than $3.7 million in earmarks. What is more, when Republicans sought an earmark moratorium, Bachmann pushed to exclude transportation projects from the ban.

Bachmann may also be plagued by her involvement in a controversial pardon. In 2007, Bachmann wrote a letter requesting a presidential pardon for a convicted drug-smuggler and money-launderer named Frank Vennes. Vennes was convicted of money laundering in 1988 and pleaded no contest to a cocaine and weapons charge. Making matters worse, he and his wife donated a total of $27,600 to Bachmann’s 2006 and 2008 election.

On October 2, 2008, Rep. Bachmann wrote a second letter after Vennes’ home was raided by federal agents investigating his connection to a billion dollar Ponzi scheme, this time admitting: “Regrettably, it now appears that I may have too hastily accepted his [Frank Vennes] claims of redemption and I must withdraw my previous letter.” Bachmann’s spokesman tells me, Rep. Bachmann “has remained disassociated from Mr. Vennes and is saddened by the latest charges that were filed against him.” Some have questioned whether or not evangelical Christians like Bachmann may be naive when it comes to claims of redemption. Should Bachmann’s campaign gain steam, she will likely have to answer questions about her judgment.

Putting aside questions of ideology and judgment, Bachmann’s effectiveness as a legislator will almost certainly come into question if she begins to gain traction as a candidate. Since becoming a member of the U.S. Congress in 2007, even her fans concede that her legislative career has been relatively unremarkable. During an interview with The Daily Caller, Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, called her an “articulate spokesman” for the Tea Party, but added: “She doesn’t have a long list of legislative accomplishments.”

Another concern about Bachmann has to do with her ability to manage and retain her congressional office staffers. Bachmann’s high turnover is a running joke on the Hill. As one conservative staffer who wished to remain anonymous told TheDC: “Any member of Congress who goes through five chiefs [of staff] is a nightmare.” (Bachmann is now on her fifth chief of staff in five years.) Former Minnesota GOP Chairman Ron Carey, who served as a Bachmann chief of staff, resigned from Bachmann’s staff after just five months. Carey recently told an AP reporter, “I don’t believe she would be ready for the position of the president of the United States.”

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