represent you is because michele bachmann made sure you know the name michele bachmann, because michele bachmann's vocation isn't actually member of congress, it's being someone who is known by the people like you. today, we know that michele bachmann will not be seeking reelection next year, a decision she announced, fittingly, because it's the medium she works within, in a web video, a long, long, aggressively boring and overmusically scored web video. there were moments, however, in the eight-plus minutes of her camera monologue of pure trademark michele bachmann amazingness, starting with the not reasons she's leaving congress. >> be assured, my decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being reelected to congress. and rest assured, this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff. >> as convincing as rob ford's crack-cocaine denial, no, michele bachmann is not quitting congress because she might lose her seat to the guy who almost unseated her last year or b

it is easy to not just dismiss michele bachmann, but to enjoy michele bachmann as the sort of living,reathing embodiment of the crazy in american politics. it is almost a national pastime to watch michele bachmann do her thing. that's what "newsweek" was getting at with the infamous crazy-eyed cover story that they did on michele bachmann during the campaign. i feel like it's worth keeping in mind from the profile on bachmann at the height of her presidential prospects, quote, you will want to laugh, but don't, because the secret of michele bachmann's success is that every time you laugh at her, she gets stronger. matt taibbi was making that context in her run for president last year. she won the iowa straw poll, forced tim pawlenty out of the race by winning that straw poll and him not getting anywhere in it. she did great at the first debate. it was not inconceivable she might do well in the long run for that nomination. matt taibbi was writing that profile saying don't laugh so hard at michele bachmann you fail to notice she's kind of popular and this might be possible. ultimately,

those things are happening in michele bachmann's life, right now. coincidentally, in polling out last week, bachmann's democratic opponent was beating her 47 to 45%, the same guy who came within 5,000 votes of unseating her last year and who's already announced he's running again. that's on top of news from a week and a half ago that the fbi has now joined the investigation into campaign spending around bachmann's 2012 presidential campaign. an investigation already being undertaken by the office of congressional ethics, the fec, and the iowa state senate ethics committee. but rest assured, that is not why michele bachmann is leaving congress. she made that very clear. the thing is, she never really did articulate why she is leaving congress. but she did something better. she talked about what an awesome member of congress she was and what an awesome something or other she's going to be when she leaves congress. >> over the next 18 months, i will continue to work 100-hour weeks and i will continue to do everything that i can to advance our conservati

michele bachmann was in hot water. but more to your point, chris, i think she represented a strain of e legislated officials who don't feel they have to do anything once elected into office. they are there to demagogue. it sort of donned on her as it tid to jim demint and sarah palin, they can be incendiary figures without actually holding office. >> i want to blow the whistle there. i don't think either party is more honest than the other party. i don't think any party violates campaign lawing more than the other does. this may be a factor. she's innocent until proven guilty. my problem with her was i'm not sure she was good for anything. never did anything good for the country. >> someone asked me earlier today what will be the impact of this decision of hers. the answer really is, not much. she was not truly a player on capitol hill. >> why did we think or a lot of us thought she had some wind in her sails? remember, she announced she won the iowa caucus for president? >> she did represent a slice of the american el

michele bachmann., what a sad day for american politics to see her go. that and a lot more with john fuglesang. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. >> if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: welcome back, everybody. thursday. welcome back to me at any rate

and that's what michele bachmann wanted to do. her 37th time to try to repeal affordable care act, those are all stunts. people want something to get done in congress. >> michael: let's talk a little bit about the reality to getting there. a lot of the attention that was put on your race was because you were running against michellee bachmann bachmann. if you are not running against michele bachmann will it be harder to keep the attention on this race? >> there's no question she a fire rod for interests around the country, but at the end of the day, the 6th district is in play. they are probably going to put up another very conservative person to run against me and we'll reach out. but it isn't how much money we make, we want everybody to help us out, but at the end of the day it is a message and who has honesty and integrity and civility on their side. that's what is going to make the difference. let's make sure we don't give the sixth district back to somebody who is just another michele bachmann in different clothes. >> michael

. >> tea party champion, conservative congresswoman, michele bachmann. >> tea party darling michele bachmann. >> won't run for re-election next year. >> what? >> michele bachmann is out. >> she will not seek a fifth term in office. >> catastrophic blow to the tea party. >> is the tea party sputtering? >> and to comedy living individuals everywhere. >> damn, what am i going to write about now. >> bachmann's career included plenty of national highlights. >> the tea party is a dynamic force for good. are they pro-america or anti-america? >> it literally kills women and children. >> president of the united states is threatened by my candidacy. >> bachmann is facing a tough challenge. >> facing an fbi and sec probe. >> rest assured, this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries. >> i am not quitting because of investigation, i am not quitting because i couldn't win. we can read the exact opposite. >> be assured. >> rest assured. >> i certainly feel reassured. >> michele bachmann is quitting the congress. >> the saddest moment in recent congressional history. >> she will not se

michele bachmann. let me take one more about michele bachmann. the $6 million she's raised to run for re-election again. i don't know that she would be able to use that money since it is just for re-election. >> stephanie: yeah, interesting. >> caller: any lawsuits or anything coming against her. and i just don't trust her with what she's going to do with it. she's going to run against somebody else maybe for the senate if she thinks she can be cleared. >> stephanie: that's where the speculation is this morning they were talking about her running against franken which would, the best debate ever. >> michele bachmann, did someone hypnotize you? >> my name is michele bachmann. ♪ >> i am not here as anybody's judge. >> take a great look at the views of the people in congress and find out are they for america or anti-america. >> i'm not here as anybody's judge. >> what is it that barack obama really believes? >> my name is michele bachmann. >> my name is michele bachmann. >> well, that's rude. >> now these are very extreme anti-american -- see? ♪ >>

more for you. >>> tea party darling michele bachmann is out. ur congressional terms, bachmann joins a long list of tea party favorites who stars burned bright and then burned out. >> i believe there are members of the democratic party that -- >> bye-bye allen west, we hardly knew you. >> we may have to she had blood every couple hundred years to preserve our basic freedoms. >> sorry to see you go, joe walsh. don't let the door hit you on the way out. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down. >> well, i guess voters found a way to shut todd akin down. >> the goal seems to be the government takeover not making insurance more available. >> thank you, jim demint, the thing about the tea party is, it's like a big game of whack a mole. one goes down, another pops up. people like rand paul and ted cruz are following in the footsteps and ripping a page out of the bachmann play book with the new ad attacking the president. >> this administration and allies have used the resource of the government itself to inti

they said we will all miss michele bachmann. es. >> to which marcus replied who are you calling flamer? >> stephanie: what! yeah, really it is a day of mourning in fact checker land. bachmann is consistently and unapologetic unapologetically so. >> well she is going to spend more time in the birthplace of [ inaudible ]. >> stephanie: right. >> while she was very funny unintentionally so the things that she said even if they sounded crazy, it is what most republicans believe. most republicans believe that benghazi is the biggest scandal of all time. when they ask where benghazi is. michele bachmann. >> stephanie: right. >> and let's remember she is one of the biggest fund-raising members of the house of representatives. >> stephanie: yeah every time someone says something crazy, another little michele bachmann gets its wings. >> that's right. >> stephanie: she said this decision was not impacted in any way into recent inquiries into my formal presidential campaign. [♪breaking news theme♪] >> stephanie: >> stephanie:co coincidental

mike, thanks. >> thank you. >> reaction today to the news that tea party fighter brand, michele bachmannnot be running again in 2014. as recent polling ipd indicates, the message is resonating and that bachmann must have recognized it would be an uphill battle for her going forward. bachmann barely won reelection against graves last year. beating him in the most heavily republican district in minnesota. she is also facing fbi and fec probe into the financing of her 2012 presidential run. but in an eight-minute video on her website, bachmann insisted neither of those things had anything to do with her decision. >> be assured, my decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being re-elected to congress. rest assured, this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activity of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff. >>> let's turn now to our "news nation" political panel washington post political reporter, democratic strategist chris cafinas. good to have you here. >> good to be here. >> bachmann's decision to not seek r

some how as adults they're not welcome any more in the scouts. >> john: are you going to miss michele bachmann as much as i am? >> well, john, it does sadden me a bit. i think it will be little less work for a lot of folks politically, but certainly i have been calling ms. bachmann the chair of the crazy lady caucus for a number of years now, and they're now going to have to find a new chair. >> john: indeed. you wrote a piece before the holidays about your brother's newt evolution on the anti-gay, was his stand the way he really felt. >> i think you would have to have him sitting here to have the true story. what i know, the person who is my brother, the person who has been supportive of me as an individual, and who has been supportive of my relationship, and you know, i know that there are politics that you have to dance with them that brung you it could be possible that when the republican evolution happened in '94 and onward, it was a political, calculated thing. what i know at least he has continued to evolve so that now he has opened up, he's not marching in any parades. he's not flying

any interest in that seat of michele bachmann's? >> no, sir. ve taken myself out of the running for 2014. i don't even live in that district. but i know you poke fun at congresswoman bachmann, but i think on a day where somebody announces their retirement, whether you agree or disagree with their policies, style or approach, i think you can say, you know what, we at least appreciate public service and people being in the arena. tip of the cap for that. >> we absolutely do. >> for you it's been good ratings on top of it. >> thank you very much. tim pawlenty, do join us again. thanks for joining us today. >> thank you, sir. >>> next, what's in a name? we'll explain this controversy and how it goes well beyond the washington redskins. stay with us. ♪ there's a new way to fight litter box odor. introducing tidy cats with glade tough odor solutions. two trusted names, one amazing product. could lose tens of thousands of dollars on their 401(k) to hidden fees. thankfully e-trade has low cost investments and no hidden fees. but, you know, if you're sti

michele bachmann announced this morning she will not seek a third term in office. bachmann, who had a brief success in the 2011 iowa straw poll finisheded a disappointing sixth in that state that she claimed was home. she barely won last year by just over 4,000 votes and this month began running re-election ads, a whopping 17 months before the 2014 election. the federal election commission, office of congressional ethics and fbi are all looking into allegations that she paid an iowa state senator. in a message posted this morning, she denies that bowing out had anything to do with either of those things. >> be assured my decision was not influenced by any concerns about my being re-elected to congress. and rest assured this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff. and i want you to be assured that there is no future option or opportunity be it directly in the political arena or otherwise that i won't be giving serious consideration. >> well, i certainly feel r

and coming in a couple of thousand votes to shoving michelle bachmann out of the house in 2012.will explain how he'll finish the job in 2014. and in an area of the world that is synonymous with violence of every stripe, a new documentary talks about the impact of non-violence protest. we're just getting start started so stick around. that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. (vo) later tonight current tv is the place for compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> with a distinctly satirical point of view. if you believe in state's rights but still believe in the drug war you must be high. >> only on curr

this time, he's already up ahead of michele bachmann in the polls.s joins us in studio this morning. good to meet you. >> good to be here with you. >> bill: thanks for doing what you're doing. >> thank you for supporting the effort. >> bill: we want to find out more about you how people can help, what the plans are for the campaign and all of that with our team. peter ogborn and dan henning. i think you've met. alichia cruz has the phones covered and we're on camera, thanks to cyprian bowlding here who -- we have to -- >> got it covered here bill. >> bill: always nice to cyprian because he gets upset, he turns the lights off puts the covers over the camera. >> he puts the bad lighting on me. you i have to have the good lighting. >> you have a good voice pete. >> bill: he's got it. we had -- a little help here. the loss of -- great american musician and character, ray manzarek with the doors. ♪ come on baby, light my fire ♪ ♪ try to set the night on fire ♪ >> the keyboard plays such a prominent role in a rock band but the thing with the doors is they

michelle bachmann you know the lovely michelle bachmann she's out. you told me that this morning, you could have knocked me over with a feather >> i couldn't believe it. i woke up this morning and i was going through my normal routine of sit-ups and i saw the breaking news. does that mean she's not running for president again? because it said she's not running for reelection. i was like, ah man, that's crazy. >> that is absolutely nuts. so it begs the question what is she up to? is she running for president? is she avoiding the fbi because there are an on going investigation from several different scandals from her presidential race. >> we have a winner. >> or she's going to lose. what is the reason? we'll be taking your calls. 866-557-3377. also our friend elliot spitzer will be joining us this morning to talk about any number of things. i want to ask him though about the whole thonanthony stuff. >> just to be clear anthony weaner's poll is not out. >> you have to be very clear. >> his poll is not out nor is it on the internet but there is a new ser

kevin, why do you think michele bachmann is saying this? what are the factors right now that made her decide it's time to announce she won't seek re-election? >> look, wolf. i believe she genuinely -- she is being honest when she says it is time to move on. there's different ways to serve. there are different ways to serve in a policy capacity and different ways to serve in a political capacity. when she said that the investigations and some of the pressures she is feeling from re-election had nothing to do with her not running that means they had a lot to do with her not running. the pressures these candidates go under, we shouldn't dismiss it as something that is not normal. i mean, the pressures these candidates undergo of the need to raise money, the constant pressure to campaign, the constant pressure that they have from adversaries, you know, that is something that does take its toll on a lot of folks. there is a very human element to that. i think it had a big factor in her stepping down. but also, i do think what was most important

roland, all of you let me start with you roland, are you going to miss michele bachmann? >> of course the crazy talk and the constant correcting of her comments. the bottom line, i've watched the whole video the music was crazy as well, but let's just be honest. she spent is $12 million in her last campaign and lost by 1.2%. mitt romney carried her district by 15 points. she saw the writing on the wall. she knew it would be tough to win a reelection. just like we have scared democrats who don't want to run a tough campaign? what did she say do? she said i'm not going run for re-election. she knew she was likely to lose next year. >> cenk: right, before we get into more why she left, these two in the studio might miss michele bachmann more than anyone else. you have made 200 or 300 jokes about her. >> i'm going to miss her. who is going to miss her more is the intelligence committee in congress because she's on the intelligence committee and in her own speech in the eight minutes it took her that she's not going to run she had another fact wrong. it said as president you'r

do they not know the constitution that has a little protection clause for michele bachmann? yeah, she was in deep, deep trouble. it was only going to get worse. i think now that the fbi involved, just stepping down will not stop it, but it will allow her to raise some money and may pay for lawyers to obstruct the fbi. >> and that is part of it. people who say crazy things end up become president of the heritage organization, or -- >> or invited to "dancing with the stars." >> just by virtue of being an inflammatory conspiracy theorist doesn't mean your career in the public eye is on the floor. >> certainly not. in a sense it's a loss leader, you develop this reputation, and then you can cash in, instead of becoming a lobbyist like you might do if you were more of a mainstream politician. she's more disciplined that is sarah palin, i think she'll have a successful career doing that, but a real problem she's a symptom of is this large strand of the republican party that doesn't care about governing and engaging productively, they don't really care about winning policy fights.

discuss our fifth story out front, michele bachmann calls it quits. nounced early this morning that she will not run for a fifth term in congress. bachmann dismissed speculation that investigations into her campaign finances or the possibility of a tough re-election were the reasons behind her exit. >> i've always in the past defeated candidates who are capable, qualified, and well funded. and i have every confidence that if i ran i would again defeat the individual who i defeated last year who recently announced that he is once again running. >> and while she was a darling of the tea party, she also created a number of headaches for the republican party because she was often, how do i say this? fast and loose with the facts. >> within a day or so the president of the united states will be taking a trip over to india that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day. he's taking 2,000 people with him. >> the executive director of planned parenthood in illinois said they want to become the lens crafter of big abortion in illinois. speaker pelosi

michele bachmann is leaving, alan west.this tea partyism in the party migrating over to the adult wing, to the senate. so now you do have rand paul, ted cruz, marco rubio. so now the senate side, which was supposed to be the place that was more adult conversation is now also a bastion of tea partyism. ted cruz is perfect for the tea party in a couple of ways. he's a very articulate spokesman. he may say things that we think are extreme but not embarrassing and crazy like michele bachmann, but he also has that hispanic piece as welch is something that demographically the republican party really needs. i think it's fascinating watching him and marco rubio battle it out to be the supreme sort of latino tea partier. >> as we shift gears to talk about the breaking news we had earlier in this hour, jonathan dienst reporting that the president was also sent one of those ricin-laced letters found at a sorting facility in washington, d.c., based on the fact there were two others, one sent to mayor bloomberg in manhattan, the other s

michele bachmann blinks.ad the tea leaves on her sudden exit and what it means for the gop identity crisis. >>> josh barrow, joy reid, andrew ross sorkin and richard wolffe will be here to discuss. >>> and president obama treads the thin red line. the president on the council on foreign relations richard haas weighs in. >>> three years later, has wall street figured out how to unravel the laws? barney frank will discuss the legacy of dodd/frank coming up next on "now." hey, look!k! a a shooting s st! mamake a wish!h! i wish w we could lie e here forevever. i wish thihis test dririve was , so we e could headad back to thehe dealershihip. [ [ male annououncer ] it's p practicallyly yours. testst dri! bubut we stillll need your s signature.. vovolkswagen s sign then d drie is back.k. and d it's neverer been easisir to get a j jetta. that's t the power of german n engineerining. get $0 dowown, $0 due at t signing, $ $0 dep, anand $0 firstst month's p pt on any n new volkswawagen. visit vwdedealer.com t today. on

he's the child of michele bachmann. reagan was a deal maker, and a governor. >> okay, i think joe mccarthy was a little old -- a little old for michele bachmann. >> i didn't say it together. don't put that in my mouth. >> thank you. having fun here and i'm going to have fun with cruz because he is really something. it's a little scary to say he might just catch on. >> not just joe mccarthy, he's roy cohen, he's both of them of okay. >>> let me finish tonight with this. senator cruz suggests that the voters don't know the difference between the two major political parties. that, he suggests, is the reason they voted for president obama last november. i tend to assume rationality on the part of voters. they vote for the party that meets their concerns, the party with the best track record for doing what they want done. senator cruz suggests the republicans should be the party of the 47%, nearly half the electorate has been misinformed. had they known what mitt romney stood for, they would have lined up to vote for him. th

michelle bachmann is fighting back. congresswoman, the irs admitted to targeting conservative groups in deciding if they get nonprofit status, the same group is charged with implementing an charging and put nothing obama care. should we trust them to do it in a fair and balanced way? >> already the irs is a foreed federal agency and they made their lives worse, they understand that the american people catching on. they are set to enforce obama care for all americans. no one willscape the bony grip of the irs. i am the author of the bill it repeal obama care, that is an important bill and got through the house of representatives and i am chair of the tea party caucus. it was not only the tea party targeted by the obama administration through the irs, it was also christians and those who support israel and aspect- debt can conservatives and tea partiers. and this is an instance where political oppons of the administration are punished and the alloys of the administration were begin award and fast tracked. we should be wor

august 13th, 2011, michele bachmann wins the ames straw poll. two months, two great months in which she rose to become -- and we saw this happen time and against, she is rose to become the mitt romney alternative. what happened on that same day, rick perry, the governor of texas entered the presidential race. he sapped momentum from bachmann. she trueled to unite conservatives behind her and her penchant for speaking off the cuff, comments about vaccines, food stamps, ultimately fact checkers found them to be false, that ended up dragging her down as much as anyone else. she was her own best friend. she has a charisma, an ability to know what the base gets excited about, but she took it too far. i think that's why you see her ending her career here. >> mark murray, let's look at what happened when matt lauer asked her about the vaccine. this was on the "today" show. >> i will tell you that i had a mother last night come up to me here in tampa, florida, after the debate. she told me her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she s

michele bachmann denies any wrongdoing.ore are the subject of an fec complaint filed by peter wall driven who served as national field coordinator on bachmann's presidential campaign. peter joins me now. thank you very much for joining me tonight, peter. >> thank you, lawrence. you did a good job going through that litany of charges. you're absolutely right. >> well, tell me what you think is the most serious charge in all of these complaints that you know about. >> i think the most serious charge within the context of the complaints is that first one, and that is that the political action committee, michele-pac, did fund -- guy short was funded. he happens to be michele's chief fund-raiser and executive director of michele-pac. if you will, he wrote himself checks, totaling $40,000 in 30 days. while serving as the campaign's national political director. so i think that's the most serious. but i think the most serious issue on the horizon that may have contributed to the candidate's decision to retire is that there was no s

a great article about michele bachmann. he wrote "bachmannism is far from over.erfected a tactic well suited to the current media environment. continually toss out outlandish, bracelet charges and eventually some of them will enter the mainstream media." i think we've got it there, where she's in that good-bye speech of hers, it wasn't exactly bipartisan. she's trashing the president, again, for obama, you know -- the only bill she's introduced in her whole career apparently were 37 -- i don't know how many times she introduced the same thing to get rid of obama care. i think that's why she's leaving her seat because at home they know she's not effective. nothing to do with ideology. she's not an effective congressperson. >> the point e.j. dionne makes, it is a good one, she's not an isolated case. what you really do have right now is a policy party in the democrats and emotionalism party, a talk radio party in the republicans. they haven't proposed, like, a solid sort of tangible new idea that i can remember in a very long time, but barack obama gave them this e

would have been michele bachmann's fifth term. presidential campaign. jim grapes fell short by fewer than 5,000 votes last year. bachmann said he also considered not running again because she didn't want to risk republicans losing her seat. so joining us now from politico headquarters, the chief white house correspondent, mike allen. this story broke yesterday. what do you make of this? >> two take aways from this. one, when they say it's not about the money, it's about the money. and when she says this is not about the competition that she faced or these investigations, you know that was a big factor. here's the give away. just on thursday, less than a week ago, she started airing advertisements for her re-election. she bought two weeks of ads in the twin cities area. 14 months, 16 months ahead of an election, so you know this was an unexpected decision. we have known that the federal election commission, that the office of congressional ethics were looking into how she handled some money for her campaign. this is serious. second

look who was there today right next to michele bachmann. senate majority mitch mcconnell and today speaker boehner was repeating the line about the president's so-called arrogance. >> nothing dissolves the bonds between the people and our government like the arrogance of power here in washington. that's what the american people are seeing today from the obama administration. remarkable arrogance. >> joining me now, richard wolffe and krystal ball. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks for having us, reverend. >> krystal, let me start with you. have the gop gone off the deep end here? >> i think that they have never quite understood the election and up until now that the american people do not feel about the president that they do. they have all this hatred towards him and always assume the worst of him. so anything that they can see and find that ties into their caricature of him, they grab on to and they assume that the broader american public is going to make the same connection. they don't. they don't see him that way.

he's the child of michele bachmann.or. >> okay, i think joe mccarthy was a little old -- a little old for michele bachmann. >> i didn't say it together. don't put that in my mouth. >> thank you. having fun here and i'm going to have fun with cruz because he is really something. it's a little scary to say he might just catch on. >> not just joe mccarthy, he's roy coen, he's both of them of the you make a great team. it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do

the republicans win today by having michele bachmann step aside.hat is probably the most republican district in the state of minnesota. she was perhaps, many republicans believe, likely to lose it. so, the republicans gain today. and make no mistake about it, the national republican party quietly told people, this is not a place you want to put a lot of money in. you wanted her to get the message that she should not run, because they would prefer, despite any public statements you saw today, the leadership would prefer a different candidate. >> david, as a political celebrity, she certainly commanded attention, she generated headlines, she drove fund-raising within certain quarters of the republican party. as a legislator, was she successful at all? >> no, she had a very thin legislative record. she wasn't taken as seriously as many others were, as dana bash reported, but she did make an impact politically on the country. it wasn't that she was just a shooting star that went across the sky, and you know, she was a front-runner briefly for the presi

. >>> minnesota congresswoman and former republican presidential candidate michele bachmann is calling it quits. >>> home prices rising. consumer confidence at five-year high and stocks hit another all-time record as the economy fights bac >>> tornado watch. our bill karins joins us with the latest forecast. >>> plus myrtle beach's newest attraction has local be officials scrambling. >>> a flash mob of an unusual group. >>> and if you're going to climb to the top of everest, why not just jump off, too? "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for wednesday, may 29th. >>> good morning. i'm dara brown. how about this to start off your wednesday? some good news on the economy. not just some but a lot. from the housing market to consumer confidence and auto sales. new reports led to a surge on wall street, but economists say the recovery still has a long way to go. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: dara, good morning. we're waiting for the opening bell to see if the market can replicate big gains from yesterday. just

why has michele bachmann suddenly decided not to run again? trying to solve the mystery ahead on "360". >>> "ac 360" is brought to you by america's natural gas. think about it.org. la's known definitely for its traffic, congestion, for it's smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. just like a tablet. so easy to use, it won a best of ces award from cnet. and it comes inside this beautifully crafted carrying case. introducing the all-new 2014 chevrolet impala with the available mylink system. ♪ [ beeps ] ingeniously connecting you to your life and the road. that's american ingenuity to find new roads. lets you connect up to 25 devices on one easy to manage plan. that means your smartphone, her blackberry, his laptop, mark's smartphone but i'm still on vacation. still on the plan. nice! so is his tablet, that guy's hotspot, the intern's tablet-- the int

. >>> but coming up next, should michele bachmann step away from congress before 2014? we'll ask someone who may know, straight ahead. [ tires screech ] whoa! hey, we got a weather alert for this location... golf-ball sized hail and damaging winds are on the way... kids... eh, don't worry. it's tornado-proof. anyway, i'd put the car in the garage and secure these things. they could become flying debris. kids! watch this. [ beep ] [ children screaming ] [ car alarm chirps ] awesome. [ male announcer ] mobile weather alerts from your home insurance? that's allstate home insurance. great protection plus helpful tools to make life better. talk to an allstate agent... [ doorbell rings ] and let the good life in. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male

he's the child of michele bachmann. reagan was a deal maker. log but a deal maker and a governor. >> thank you. it's fun here. >> it's not just joe mccarthy. it's row. >> we'll be right back after this. ome repair to healthcare written by people just like you. if you want to save yourself time and avoid a hassle, go to angie's list. at angie's list, you'll find the right person to do the job you need. and you'll find the right person quickly and easily. i'm busy, busy, busy, busy. thank goodness for angie's list. from roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angie's list -- reviews you can trust. oh, angie? i have her on speed dial. see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive, but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel. the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact wi

michele bachmann has announced she'll not seek reelection in 2014.ve been her fifth term in a

joining me now by skype michele bachmann's former faith coordinator for her presidential campaign peter waldman. peter, you brought charges against bachmann having to do with campaign finances. they're being investigated by the house ethics committee. tell me about that. what are these charges? >> sure. i filed a complaint with the federal elections commission in january and in the complaint i had five allegations. allegations that dealt with payments to a city senator and the iowa senate. i dealt with issues of michele pac a political action committee contributing to the compensation for an employee of the bachmann for president. there are five allegations in total. >> do you think that's why she is not running again or do you think, do you take her at her word that she just wants to move on to some other challenges? >> i believe that any reasonable person who is under investigation by five separate entities to include the fbi, the office of ethical -- of ethics at the house, there is the senate ethics committee in iowa. there are so many investigations, five investigations. there is a