The Other McCain

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Ned Ryun Calls for Bachmann to Quit; Bachmann Calls Ned Ryun a Perrybot

Posted on | October 27, 2011 | 47 Comments

Ned Ryun, son of former Kansas Rep. Jim Ryun, created the non-profit grassroots training group American Majority three years ago. Today Ryun issued a remarkable statement:

It’s time for Michele Bachmann to go. For the last two years, I’ve been cautioning about the dangers of individuals or organizations trying to present themselves as leaders of the Tea Party movement. . . .
Since her meteoric rise this summer and win in the Iowa Straw poll, her campaign has been plagued by losses of top staff, lackluster fundraising and a seeming lack of direction. Bachmann’s resulting plunge in the polls is troubling for the tea party, not because “one of their own” is losing her footing, but because the longer Bachmann stays in the race, the more likely we will see her shift to the right. . . .
In Bachmann’s case, it is clear that the campaign has become less about reform and more about her personal effort to stay relevant and sell books; a harsh commentary, but true. It’s not about tea party values or championing real plans to solve real problems. While other campaigns are diving into the substance, the supposed tea party candidate Bachmann is sticking to thin talking points and hanging on for dear life.
Every day the campaign flounders, it risks hurting the credibility of the movement. If she really is about the tea party, and making it successful, it’s time for the Congresswoman to move on. The Tea Party doesn’t have a spokesperson, and it’s certainly not Michele Bachmann.

When I call this a “remarkable statement,” of course, I mean Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Since when does the president of a 501(c)3 non-profit, speaking in his official capacity on that organization’s Web site, go meddling so directly in a Republican primary?

The Bachmann campaign fired back with a statement to CNN: “The strength of the Tea Party is all individual’s opinions are valued but the no single leader speaks for it. Mr. Ryun, who supports Texas Gov. Rick Perry, is entitled to his own opinion. And that’s exactly what he is expressing.”

Ryun denied being a Perry campaign sockpuppet, but the Bachmann campaign’s suspicion is understandable. If you look at Ryun’s blog on the American Majority site, he had said nothing at all about the GOP presidential campaign until two days ago when he endorsed Perry’s tax plan.

So on Tuesday, out of a clear blue sky, Ryun issues a pro-Perry statement and on Thursday, he tells Bachmann to take a hike. Just a coincidence?

Category: Election 2012, Michele Bachmann

Comments

47 Responses to “Ned Ryun Calls for Bachmann to Quit; Bachmann Calls Ned Ryun a Perrybot”

  1. ThePaganTemple
    October 27th, 2011 @ 9:46 pm

    Bachmann-Gingrich 2012.

  2. Anonymous
    October 27th, 2011 @ 9:53 pm

    Who the heck do some people think they are to say “X needs to drop out” or “X shouldn’t run or can’t win”?  Let the voters sort this crap out.

  3. Anonymous
    October 27th, 2011 @ 10:15 pm

    The problem is the debates are dominating this campaign season, to the point that they severely limit time for campaigning. There should be no more than two per month or better yet one substantive one per month. Under the current regime only the talking heads have a voice most of them are hostile to all the candidates.

  4. McGehee
    October 27th, 2011 @ 10:16 pm

    That is one thing about Perry’s supporters that’s been bugging me, the almost Alinskyish personal negativity against other candidates. If your candidate is all that and a bag of pork rinds you don’t need to demand the other candidates drop out.

  5. CalMark
    October 27th, 2011 @ 10:20 pm

    He’s wrong, but he’s right.

    Time for Bachmann and Santorum to drop out. 

    I love both for their positions and their values.   I
    regret neither is getting any traction–quite the opposite. 

    However, Bachmann and Santorum are using valuable percentage points that would probably go to Cain and Gingrich.  Those points are needed to beat the Romney juggernaut soundly.

  6. Rose
    October 27th, 2011 @ 10:22 pm

    It’s odd. A few months ago Bachmann was a credible threat to Sarah Palin, at least according to some pundits. Those who took the ‘time will tell’ approach are not necessarily surprised here. 

    I don’t know though – the pundits had counted Herman Cain out. He saw that he wasn’t getting any time to speak during the debates, and did what he had to do to break that glass ceiling.

    The debates are good for one thing – they are free airtime. Get past the gotcha questions, and the so-deep-in-theprogressive-meme moderators, and you have a conduit right to the American people. Cain saw that. Gingrich knows it. And they’re making things interesting.

    I like Bachmann, but the report that she hasn’t made a single vote while campaigning is a major no-no in my book. Somehow you gotta do the job you were elected to do. People didn’t elect you to run.

  7. Joe
    October 27th, 2011 @ 10:23 pm

    Of course Bachman and Santorum out helps Cain.  Or does it? 

    Is there a fear Herman cannot pull it out?    

  8. Russ Emerson
    October 27th, 2011 @ 10:39 pm

    For the last two years, I’ve been cautioning about the dangers of
    individuals or organizations trying to present themselves as leaders of
    the Tea Party movement. .

    He’s right about that.  And that’s the #1 thing that irritates me about Bachmann.  She saw the parade, then tried to position herself in front of it and call herself a leader.

    It needs to be made clear to her that she, as much as any other denizen of Capitol Hill, is under our scrutiny.  She doesn’t get a pass.

  9. ThePaganTemple
    October 27th, 2011 @ 10:42 pm

    What’s really stupid about this is Perry is saying he might skip some debates. He can’t debate worth a shit, so that’s understandable but its still going to hurt him more than it will help. At least in the debate people are hearing his ideas and philosophy. But if Santorum and Bachmann get out of the way, then that’s going to draw even more attention to the others in the debate, and that’s especially true of Cain and Romney, and probably Newt. Those are the top three as of now, and that’s who all the attention would be focused on. You’d think if he’s serious about skipping the debates he’d want as many others in there as possible.

  10. Finrod Felagund
    October 27th, 2011 @ 11:00 pm

    Telling someone they need to end their campaign is as unseemly as telling someone they should euthanize their pet.  It’s a decision only they can make, it’s a traumatic decision, and anyone telling them to do it too soon comes off as a heartless jackass no matter what the facts are.

  11. Anonymous
    October 27th, 2011 @ 11:00 pm

    The debates are superficial beauty pageants, the ridiculously short answer times aren’t sufficient to inform the voters and restrict the answers to short slogans or talking points. Even worse, throwing crap on someone else gets you more time, I call that perverse incentive. The media running the debates aren’t trying to help us become informed they’re trying to soliciting headlines and short pointless video clips. How many times are they going to show us that one clip of Perry and Romney going at each other. Each news or opinion program shows it every night and then talks about a different aspect or angle. The handful of other clips shown are of candidates smacking each other but even those clips have only been shown a couple times. Preparing for one of these debate shows probably takes a couple days out of actual campaigning.

  12. Anonymous
    October 27th, 2011 @ 11:04 pm

    What about Johnson and Huntsman?

  13. ThePaganTemple
    October 27th, 2011 @ 11:08 pm

    RSM don’t know if you caught this or not (I don’t remember seeing you mention it) but its some good news for your guy in Iowa, a sign that maybe he’s starting to get the message-

    last week, Cain brought on Steve Grubbs, a former chairman of Iowa’s GOP, to head his state efforts.

    That’s from this Bachmann article on The Hill.

  14. CalMark
    October 27th, 2011 @ 11:20 pm

    Huntsman, absolutely.  Who’s Johnson?

  15. CalMark
    October 27th, 2011 @ 11:20 pm

    Forgot about the marginal guys because their percentages are tiny. 

  16. CalMark
    October 27th, 2011 @ 11:24 pm

    There is a fear that divided conservatives will vote for their personal favorites (who together are polling around 45%, give or take) and allow Romney to steal the nomination with less than 35% of the vote.

    Kinda like what John McCain (and his co-conspirator, Huckabee) did to Romney in 2008.  (Side note:  if McCain had played a fraction as hard and dirty against Democrats as he always does against fellow Republicans, especially conservatives, Obama would still be the Junior Senator from Illinois.  *Sigh*)

  17. Anonymous
    October 27th, 2011 @ 11:25 pm

    Insightful.

    I believe Perry would essentially concede by avoiding debates. Oh, he’ll keep running because of his early warchest, but it’ll be for vanity. I expect him to pony up and show that he can debate much better than he has so far. It’s a skill he must have and it’s remarkable he’s succeeded as far as he has with the showing to date.

    I think people will note that he hit a rough spot and decided not to play as opposed to fighting through and persevering. That shows weakness above and beyond lesser debating skills.

  18. Adjoran
    October 28th, 2011 @ 12:07 am

    He should not be using a federal tax-exempt org to push a candidate in or out of the race, period.  He’s inviting IRS scrutiny of his group, which has always been more of an ordeal for conservative groups than liberal organizations, even before the hyper-partisan Obama Regime.  Happy colonoscopy, Ned!

    I don’t care if Bachmann drops out or not, but it is past time we wasted precious debate minutes on also-rans.  All candidates have had several debates to get their message out; it is time to cull the herd down to four and let the single-digit folks make their own decisions – on their own time.

    Bachmann, Paul, Santorum, and Huntsman should be disinvited to future debates unless they can demonstrate double digit support in a future poll.

  19. Anonymous
    October 28th, 2011 @ 12:18 am

    Yeah, I haven’t mentioned that on the blog here, but it will get a mention in my Spectator column Friday.

  20. Anonymous
    October 28th, 2011 @ 12:18 am

    What is Obama’s dream ticket?

  21. Anonymous
    October 28th, 2011 @ 12:23 am

    Well, Huntsman, I agree: There is no rationale for his campaign and he represents no constituency. But Santorum, Paul and Bachmann all have distinct factions behind them. In fact, I’d be willing to bet $20 that  Santorum will be no worse than 4th in the Iowa caucuses — pro-life Catholics are march-through-the-snow kind of voters.

  22. Joe
    October 28th, 2011 @ 12:52 am

    Dumb and Dumber? 

  23. Joe
    October 28th, 2011 @ 12:56 am

    Fine.  Show double digit support.  If you can’t get beyond 9%, what’s the point?  Especially when these guys are coming in less than that. 

    Santorum and the right to life, so he can further go after Cain?  Or are you losing faith in Herman? 

  24. CalMark
    October 28th, 2011 @ 1:54 am

    Santorum and Bachmann need to step aside to give Cain his strongest shot possible against Romney. 

    This is where Reagan’s pragmatism (“the most conservative available candidate”) truly comes in.  Not the hackneyed “vote for who the RINOs tell ya” it’s been twisted into, but throwing conservative resources behind the conservative in the strongest position.  Who at this point is Cain.

    I’d rather Gingrich stay in the race for now.  He’s scary-unpredictable, liable to drop out and endorse Romney (don’t forget Scozzafava, NY-23!).

  25. Anonymous
    October 28th, 2011 @ 2:11 am

    Screw debates. Just publish platforms on the intertubes and get down to the steel-cage death matches.

  26. Anonymous
    October 28th, 2011 @ 2:12 am

    You mean Governor Asterisk 1 & 2?

  27. Anonymous
    October 28th, 2011 @ 2:14 am

    I don’t know about that. Sure, it’s the conventional wisdom, but it’s not how Perry has won the governor’s races in Texas. He’s done that with a buttload of one-on-one, old-fashioned grip & grin retail politics, and that might go over a lot better in Iowa and New Hampshire than a constant exhibition of how terrible Perry is at these televised debates.

  28. Anonymous
    October 28th, 2011 @ 3:37 am

    My guess is that Bachmann almost certainly, and Santorum probably, are holding out for “the offer from the winner” — veep, cabinet post, whatever — as the price of trying to bring their constituencies in.

    But, there’s no obvious winner who can seriously make that offer yet.

    The Cain surge definitely threw a wrench in the works for Romney on the “inevitability” front, and jumping on his bandwagon would be a big enough U-turn for Bachmann or Santorum that they won’t risk it unless it’s a certainty.

    Perry was hoping to be “inevitable” by now, but he keeps stomping on his own crank. If he manages to straighten his act out and take the nomination, he’ll probably bloom late enough — limping into Super Tuesday and marching out of it with the baton — that he won’t be able to offer any deals beforehand and won’t need to afterward.

    None of the other candidates are going to believe Cain is inevitable until and unless he actually has the winning delegate count in his pocket.

    And in this cycle, waiting for “the offer” is a leisurely thing, since it’s a long shot that the goods will ever get delivered anyway.

    Perry’s latest looks like more crank-stomping, but maybe he’s crazy like a fox. This debate schedule has to be playing hell with the candidates’ ground games in Iowa and New Hampshire.  If he’s knocking on doors, eating pie at diners, and standing on streetcorners gladhanding voters while the rest of them are doing debate prep and flying all over God’s green earth to bellyache at each other, he may surprise everyone.

  29. ThePaganTemple
    October 28th, 2011 @ 7:47 am

    Yeah that’s a good point. It could be the new ad he’s running in Iowa might be setting the stage for just that kind of ground game. Unfortunately for him, he’s got to go beyond flipping some flap jacks and milking some cows, he’s got to do a whole lot of subtle ass-kissing for the simple fact many Iowans will have long memories and resentments over the way he pissed on their Ames Straw Poll parade.

  30. Bob Belvedere
    October 28th, 2011 @ 8:02 am

    He’s just a jock acting like the BMOC.

  31. Bob Belvedere
    October 28th, 2011 @ 8:07 am

    She should get back to the House, get to get with Allen West and others of their ilk and STAGE THE COUP!

    Mark Levin thinks it’s time Cryin’ John was removed:
    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/10/27/mark_levin_boehner_is_sabotaging_the_conservative_agenda.html

  32. Scherwitz28
    October 28th, 2011 @ 8:19 am

    Time to get all you right wing Christian Republican hypocrites out of office. I can’t wait for mid-term elections when a majority of you Tea Baggers and Republicans loose your congressional as well as your senatorial seats. You have accomplished nothing and I voted Republican last time. This time, Obama has my vote. You can’t turn back the clock, you ignorant, self-absorbed, pathetically unintelligent Republican neophytes. The party is over. Bye-bye, Michelle, you schizophrenic nut case. Take the other Christian nut case Perry with you.

  33. ThePaganTemple
    October 28th, 2011 @ 8:28 am

    I’ve thought that ever since that golf game fiasco. But I don’t know that its a good idea for the speaker chair to go to a Tea Party conservative, only because there’s none of them I know of that’s been there more than six years at the most. They need to find somebody that’s been there at least ten years, but who can bridge the divide between the Tea Party and the establishment. Otherwise we’re looking at the germination of a divided party and that’s the last thing we need. It might even be better to wait until after the election, then assuming we retain control, a new speaker wouldn’t be as much of a dividing factor, plus we might be able to get a Tea Party speaker with not quite as much internecine strife.

    If we can’t call Bachmann Madame President, Madame Speaker will do.

  34. ThePaganTemple
    October 28th, 2011 @ 8:38 am

    Are you a supporter of the 2nd Amendment? If not these simple instructions might help you the day after the election. Take one razor, and cut long ways along the length of the artery. Don’t slash across. If you do have a gun though, remember-one bullet is all you need. It’s best if you stick the barrel to the roof of the mouth. Hopefully come January 2013 this procedure will have been repeated something like at least 20,000,000 times. Then maybe the Tea Party can even #OccupySanFrancisco.

  35. ThePaganTemple
    October 28th, 2011 @ 9:41 am

    Right off the top of my head I’d say something like Jon Huntsman with maybe Susan Collins as his running mate.

  36. Garym
    October 28th, 2011 @ 10:46 am

    A Brady Bunch reference? Nice!

  37. Garym
    October 28th, 2011 @ 10:48 am

    Johnson will only steal the Paultard vote.

  38. Bob Belvedere
    October 28th, 2011 @ 10:53 am

    When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange!

  39. Garym
    October 28th, 2011 @ 11:02 am

    “you can’t turn back the clock”
    Thats rich, Odumbo has been trying to stop the freaking clock.

  40. Garym
    October 28th, 2011 @ 11:35 am

    My son is 13 and I sing that to him every time his voice cracks. He just stares at me, like I have a third eye on my forehead.

  41. Anonymous
    October 28th, 2011 @ 5:50 pm

    Bachmann filed today to be on the ballot in the South Carolina primary

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JzVJ5JEFbo

  42. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 1:34 am

    Ned is the son of Jim Ryun who got mixed up with Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff and Mark Foley.

    You can bet Ned Ryun has something to sell over at his website.  Looks like Ned wants to corner the market on the Tea Party donations.  If it works out he will make a gazillion dollars.  He just has to keep the people that won’t share their donations with him out of the limelight.  Rick Perry is know to be good with crony capitalism.

  43. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 1:35 am

    That would be an unfair fight favoring Michel.

  44. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 1:39 am

    There is another year of this crap, if you think you know the canidate that is going to win now you are wrong.  But if you can get the other canidates to drop out I guess you have a better chance of being right.  But we need to know who is best for the country and only time will tell.

  45. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 1:45 am

    ON the other hand the 1 percenter candidates reach a mass TV audience so it is well worth the effort to show up.  the cadidates can fill up the TV and Print media with their full platforms when they have their teams develop them.

    And since sometimes things don’t go as scripted it is one of the few times the electorate gets to see the canidates in their best and worst form.

  46. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 1:48 am

    I don’t think you have been over to Ned Ryun’s web site.  The only thing he is doing is setting himself up to be the de factor leader of the Tea Party so that when the donations start coming in they will all go to him.  Its a bold move and I am surpised that the Tea Party is falling for it.  Ned has got something to sell to you.

  47. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 2:05 am

    Cain is really just kidding.  He has no intention of serving as President of the United States.  He does have some books he would like to sell.  He is a great motivational speaker “if your not rich you have now one to blame but yourself’ is hallmark of motivating people to take charge of their life and is a chapter in any self help book but it is not a national policy.  Ubeki, Ubeki, Ubeki, Stan Stan does not come from some one willing to do the hard intellectual work of leading the free world through the roughest economic times in 50 years.  Cain does not even understand the personhood  law works to ban contraception and that is because he has been a conservative motivational speaker since he left the Pizza company.