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Tim Pugmire and Curtis Gilbert
Bloomington, Minn.

Pelosi: Bachmann discredited herself with Obama remark

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Republican Congressional candidate Michele Bachman
Republican Michele Bachmann, who's running for re-election in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District.
MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann's comment that Barack Obama "may have anti-American views" reflects poorly on Bachmann.

Pelosi addressed the flap after an event in Bloomington on Monday for Democrat Ashwin Madia, who's running for Congress in Minnesota's 3rd District.

Pelosi criticizes Bachmann
Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann during a visit to Minnesota Monday. She said Bachmann's comments implying that presidential candidate Barack Obama may be anti-American are dishonorable.
MPR Photo/Curtis Gilbert

Bachmann is running in the 6th District against Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg.

Pelosi called Republicans like Bachmann "bankrupt in their ideas" about jobs, education, health care and energy policy.

"So what do they do? They question the patriotism of others. I think that a statement of the kind Congresswoman Bachmann made dishonors the position she holds, and discredits her as a person."

People from around the country donated $640,000 to Tinklenberg's campaign after Bachmann's comments Friday on MSNBC's "Hardball."

She later said her statement about the Democratic presidential nominee was misread.

DFL congressional candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg
DFLer Elwyn Tinklenberg is challenging Bachmann in the 6th District.
MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire

Spokeswoman Michelle Marston says Bachmann's campaign is looking at increasing its own ad buys to counter Tinklenberg's new money.

Meantime, national Democrats are planning to spend $1 million trying to defeat Bachmann. A spokeswoman says the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will start airing TV ads on Tuesday.

During an interview Sunday on WCCO-TV, Bachmann suggested people are overreacting to her remarks Friday.

"I feel his views are concerning, and I'm calling on the media to investigate them. I'm not saying that his views are anti-American. That was a misreading of what I said," Bachmann said Sunday. "So, I don't think that's my position. I'm calling on the media take a look at what his views are."

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

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Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann
Republican Michele Bachmann, who's running for re-election in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District.
MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire