Minnesota Majority poster child at antitax rally at the Capitol is a caricature of a shibboleth of a cliche - and Bachmann spoke as well as Grover Norquist being a reported guest.

I was not there - this is all hearsay. First, worth a headline and at least a thousand words, this image:

"No More RINOS" the lapel pin says.

Is this a RINO? Aka, why is Harold on pins and needles?

Photos from here, which also shows that nice Mr. Norquist.

Someone was kind enough to note the obvious long-term historical merit of the event, and posted an online YouTube video.

My question in all of this, if Bachmann is not a RINO, and still a Taxpayer League sweetheart speaker as appears the case from images and video, what's Taxpayer League Chairman Harold Hamilton's gripe, justifying his arguably premature semi-obit about Bachmann, online here with Crabgrass noting it, here?

In effect, I question what's Harold up to, and what does it reflect about him, his values, his character, his persona vs image, all that?


Image first: WATCHDOG -- not mere Republican hack.

Now, what is the evidence?

First, still a diva against taxes, still Rep. Crazy Eyes, still more show than hard work, still the Michele Bachmann she always was - for over a decade without any single WATCHDOG snarl or bark.

So why the soul searching now?

Well, read what the Taxpayer League Chairman posted online:

IS BACHMANN OK?

It's time the conservative family had a conversation.

Since we're in regular contact with thousands of freedom loving folks across this great state, we know what you're thinking.

And you're thinking that Michelle [sic] Bachmann may be in trouble for 2014.

You're thinking that she has taken on water and may be taking on more, instead of bailing out the boat.

There's nothing wrong with having that conversation.

In fact, now is that time to start that conversation.

Silence masquerading as party loyalty is downright disloyal and is a form aiding and abetting our political opponents.

That kind of thinking has produced the disastrous candidacies of Tom Emmer, Kurt Bills, and Allen Quist (pick any campaign since 1983).

Look, this piece isn't some diatribe against Bachmann or an opinion piece that reaches any conclusions other than that the family would be well served to think long and hard about who is the best candidate to keep the Sixth Congressional District of Minnesota in Republican hands.

Losing the district would be a severe embarrassment and would represent the third election cycle in a row in which the GOP suffered a humiliating black eye.

We say this because there will be many harsh and irrational responses demanding that conservatives all shut up and pretend nothing is wrong.

There will be responses blaming Bachmann's problems solely on the media, George Soros, and the Viet Cong.

The facts are simply that in the last election, Bachmann woefully underperformed the district, especially for an incumbent.

There you have it. Same Bachmann as ever. No more awful than when she was a Minnesota Senator in the legislature. No complaint from Harold Hamilton back then. None, whatsoever, up to now. And what is the complaint? That she's the as***le she's always been? No, but that she's possibly shifted from asset to the REPUBLICAN PARTY OF MINNESOTA to possibly a liability, one who "in the last election, Bachmann woefully underperformed the district, especially for an incumbent" and, this is key, losing the district "would be a severe embarrassment and would represent the third election cycle in a row in which the GOP suffered a humiliating black eye." REPUBLICAN PARTY FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD PLACE CONSIDERATION. THE GOP LOSING, A BLACK EYE, yet only in closing does poised anti-waste watchdog note:

And it doesn't help that with a major liability being the charge that she ignores her district, she has spent to no small amount of time this week bragging about a trip to England for Margaret Thatcher's funeral.

Hey, it's a cool deal to be there to send off the Iron Lady, but the good people of England don't vote in Minnesota's Sixth District.

Moreover, there is trouble ahead with Jim Graves stepping forward for a rematch.

Make no mistake, Graves is a successful businessman who doesn't undertake any big project without excellent due diligence.

The Watchdog has spoken with a person who has knowledge of the Graves decision to run for re-election. That source tells the Watchdog that the data suggests that Graves has a strong chance of winning next year, at least as things stand today.

The bottom line is that now is the time to consider this situation and deal with it.

So, "a major liability being the charge that she ignores her district, she has spent to no small amount of time this week bragging about a trip to England for Margaret Thatcher's funeral," and while the Thather slant is new, the idiot woman has always ignored the district and sought the big stage, FOX talking head darling, all that, and where was any barking out of the Taxpayer League all the time it was going on unchanged to this day?

No, the gripe of WATCHDOG is moods have shifted, and the biggest concern to the Taxpayer League and its Chairman is, "The Watchdog has spoken with a person who has knowledge of the Graves decision to run for re-election. That source tells the Watchdog that the data suggests that Graves has a strong chance of winning next year, at least as things stand today."

So, with THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF MINNESOTA possibly set to lose the district because the until now fine-with-Harold incumbent has a whif of what? Not change of stance or ideology. Not a deviation from perpetual complaint against taxation as practiced in the US of A which is the stated bent of Taxpayer League, but a concern of GOP hactivism, possible loss of a winnable election down the line. That paints a picture of a nothing-but-party-hack, and the brushstrokes were Harold Hamilton's own.

Moreover, if this semi-obit Hamilton put online under his WATCHDOG rubric is a true belief - that Bachmann's mojo has run its course, then why invite her to your Taxpayer League hilltop pow-wow over taxes, as a featured speaker? It is as if conspirators put Ceaser in front of a microphone while creeping up behind knife in hand. Disingenuous is a word that comes to mind. Yet, Bachmann has only remained herself, no more no less, and has not crossed any Republican Rubicon into RINO land. Unseemly is another word that comes to mind.

... Graves has a strong chance of winning ...

Or am I wrong? Party loyalty over principle? Winning is all? Despite image development effort as WATCHDOG, standing four-legged and fearless, above any/all partisan fray? BRAVEHEART THE WATCHDOG FOR FREEDOM, with feet of clay? Comments are welcome.