The oil saturating the Gulf spilled into Minnesota's political scene Friday as Michele Bachmann's Democratic challenger released a new ad targeting the congresswoman's comments on the disaster.
Bachmann is one of several members of Congress under fire for criticizing the Obama administration's request that oil giant BP create a $20 billion escrow fund to pay claims from the massive oil spill.
Bachmann called the proposed escrow account "more of a redistribution-of-wealth-fund," and warned BP not to become "chumps" at the hands of the Obama administration.
After President Obama's speech this week, Bachmann said that the president "continues to focus on blaming and on extorting money out of a company rather than letting the courts deal with making victims whole, which they should, and actually stemming the leak in the Gulf."
On Friday, Democratic candidate Tarryl Clark said she will begin a television ad on Sunday that accuses Bachmann of siding with BP over taxpayers.
The congresswoman from Stillwater has altered her tone since BP voluntarily agreed to the White House's request, warning instead that the account should not become "a permanent ATM card" paid by BP.
The 30-second ad spot says that "Michele Bachmann calls making BP pay for the clean up 'extortion,'" and quotes Bachmann as saying, "If I was the head of BP, I would let the signal get out there, we're not going to be chumps." The ad closes by saying, "If Bachmann lets BP off the hook, guess who's paying? Us. Michele Bachmann: Standing up for BP. Not us."
In a statement Friday, Bachmann said that the ad's claims are "false" and that "my opponents are demonstrating with this first ad they are scraping the bottom of the barrel with distorting my views on this tragedy that's been foisted upon so many innocent Americans, marine life and wildlife in the Gulf Coast region."
Bachmann said she consistently has said that BP is liable for the damage it caused and that "the American taxpayer should not pay one dime for the mess created by this spill."
Clark, a state senator from St. Cloud, on Thursday called Bachmann's earlier BP remarks a "defining moment," adding that "this goes to the heart of what [Bachmann] really believes. She believes in no regulation. She believes in totally leaving hands off and then when there is a major crisis to start pointing blame. I think it's a defining moment for her ... and I think for voters it's a defining moment."
Clark spokeswoman Carrie Lucking said that so far, the ad is scheduled to air once at 10 p.m. Sunday on WCCO-TV, Channel 4. Further airings, she said, would depend on how much money the campaign can raise.
Eric Roper • 612-673-1732
