Last week, I was ecstatic to read that Jim Graves, the founder of AmericInn, has decided to run against Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann for a second time.
As a constituent of Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, I have proudly volunteered against Bachmann. My first experience was during the 2010 elections with state Sen. Tarryl Clark, where I phone-banked and knocked on doors around Blaine, Minn., the town where I live. My second experience was phone banking on the University of Minnesota campus in support of Graves.Now, I will be gladly contributing to the 2014 campaign of Graves against Bachmann.
Graves does not have a legislative history, given the fact that his career has been mostly focused on developing the AmericInn hotel chain, which has created several hundred jobs in Minnesota. However, he would push for other kinds of meaningful reforms, too.
He believes in education investments — he also used to be an elementary school teacher — as well as retaining Social Security. He supports same-sex and reproductive rights as well. Not only is Graves a great congressional candidate, but Bachmann is a terrible legislator.
She has not sponsored any piece of legislation that has been signed into law and has used her years in office to obstruct bills and to promote extreme rhetoric. She is currently under an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics for unfair treatment of campaign staff members. She has spent more time attempting to promote herself than actually legislating. Her biggest accomplishment in the House was the creation of the Tea Party Caucus, an infamous sub-section of the Republican Party.
Of course, let us not forget when Bachmann actually spouts her rhetoric. From the claim that human papillomavirus vaccines are linked to “mental retardation” to the accusation that Obamacare “literally” kills people, to her ignorance on climate change and the environment, she appears to lack a basic understanding of reality.
Graves was only 4,300 votes away from defeating Bachmann last November; let’s hope that he is successful this time around.
