Bachmann called this rally a 'press

conference' so taxpayers could fund it.

No questions were taken from press.



On Nov. 5, 2009, at the behest of Rep. Michele Bachmann, thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol to vent their rage over the health care overhaul bill pending before Congress. The assembled activists chanted, "Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" and waved signs opposing a government takeover of health care — but they may not have known that the same government was paying for the event.

Bachmann and her Republican colleagues spent $13,000 on the rally, and in order to skirt rules against using public funds for political activities, they lied about the format of the event.

Bachmann billed the event as a "press conference," which can be funded from official accounts. But no questions were taken from the press and, unlike most press conferences, it opened with a prayer, the national anthem and a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

So despite the nonstop stream of hot air from Michele Bachmann and her Republican buddies about how they want to cut spending and make government more transparent, they saw fit to not only spend public money on a political rally, but also to lie about it in order to avoid getting caught. It's a good thing (for them) that they didn't accidentally tweet any photos of the rally, otherwise this could end up becoming a really damaging scandal.