Is Tarryl Clark "Going Negative" on Bachmann by Quoting Bachmann?

Back in the mists of time, when this blog was chiseled on a stone tablet and very few people knew who State Senator Michele Bachmann was, people, even liberal-minded people would criticize this blog for being "too negative".

There's been a feeble attempt, recently by a few right-wing bloggers to defend Michele Bachmann (no, I won't bother linking to them) by saying Tarryl Clark is going negative.

Give me a break.

Tarryl Clark is quoting Bachmann... or, to borrow from Harry Truman, Clark isn't giving Bachmann hell. Clark is telling the truth and Bachmann thinks it's hell.

Dave Mindeman at MnpACT! takes a look at this ridiculous accusation:

Tarryl Clark's campaign has used these quotes in their new commercials and press releases. And it would be virtual political malpractice not to do it.

Apparently Bachmann is hearing herself for the first time because she calls those quotes "false and misleading".

Do you see anything ambiguous about what Bachmann is saying? It seems pretty clear that she feels BP needs some kind of protection or an out for their responsibility.

Frankly, Obama would be (and has been) criticized for not coming down hard enough on British Petroleum. Bachmann has such a knee-jerk reaction to all actions Obama, that she doesn't think about what she is saying. And if anybody calls her on it, she falls back to the distortion charade.

My personal opinion early on was that Bachmann was not going to be beaten in this cycle. She survived the perfect negative storm last cycle and in this cycle, the landscape is more favorable for her "philosophy".

But the Bachmann mouth has one of those energizer batteries in operation. She cannot stop. She cannot hold back. She cannot reign it in.

And the Clark campaign is beginning to get it right. With Maureen Reed dropping out and the campaign's total focus on Bachmman, the Clark campaign seems to be gaining traction.

In a campaign that HAS to make Bachmann the issue, the tone is going to seem "negative". Because Michele Bachmann is the most negative politician we have seen since Joe McCarthy. She cannot support anything from the opposition; she looks at everything as if it is all a conspiracy; and, most importantly, she actually believes her own rhetoric.

Quoting, talking about, using examples, and engaging directly with Bachmann is simply all "negative campaigning".

And regardless of how the GOP portrays it all, Tarryl Clark needs to keep doing it. This Congressional seat has been defined by Bachmann and the campaign must be all about her.

Exactly. Read the whole thing.