MELTED: Michele Bachmann Suspending Campaign!

The National Journal reports that Bachmann, who has scheduled a press conference for 11am ET this morning, is out of the race: Rep. Michele Bachmann is suspending her presidential campaign, said a senior Republican official with direct knowledge of the lawmaker’s plans. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Minnesota lawmaker, a favorite of the tea party wing of the party and a harsh critic of President Obama, realized after her sixth-place finish in Iowa’s caucuses that “there was no viable way forward.” By suspending her campaign, Bachmann is effectively dropping out.

BACKLASH: Bachmann Insists Paul Bribed My Guy!

Michelle Bachmann may be down in the polls, but she's certainly not backing down. The GOP candidate yesterday continued to insist that her Iowa campaign chair defected to Ron Paul's camp because he was bribed to do so, reports Bloomberg. Kent Sorenson "told me that he was offered money, he was offered a lot of money by the Ron Paul campaign,” Bachmann said. "No one else knows about that conversation other than Kent Sorenson and myself." Sorenson continues to maintain that he "was never offered money from the Ron Paul campaign or anyone associated with them and certainly would never accept any."

DITCHED: Bachmann's Iowa Chair Defects to Ron Paul!

With the Iowa caucuses just days away, it's not looking good for Michele Bachmann: Her Iowa campaign chair has defected to Ron Paul. Kent Sorenson, an Iowa state senator, says it was a tough decision, but he felt obligated to defend Paul against the Republican establishment, the Washington Post reports.

"We're going to take Ron Paul all the way to the White House," he told a Paul rally just a few hours after appearing at a Bachmann rally where he declined to speak, citing dental work. "I still maintain an immense amount of respect for Michele," Sorenson said in a statement. "But the fact is, there is a clear top tier in the race for the Republican nomination for president, both here in Iowa and nationally. Ron Paul is easily the most conservative of this group." Bachmann told reporters that Sorenson left her campaign because Ron Paul's people offered him a large sum of money. The Paul campaign says it is not paying Sorenson.

BITCH SLAP: Marcus Bachmann Announces His Anti-Gay 'First Spouse' Agenda!

Marcus Bachmann told the NYT what his agenda would be should his wife be elected President: “I’ve decided my cause is not going to be happy meals,” he said during a stop at the Family Table Restaurant here, apparently a dig at Mrs. Obama.

“We are going to be the message-givers,” said Mr. Bachmann, who runs a Christian counseling service that has been accused of trying to “heal” gays by persuading them to become heterosexual.

“We are going to get this message across,” he said. “Marriage is between one man and one woman. We are going to promote families.”

STILL GAY: Marcus Bachmann Decides He Doesn't Want a Public Battle Over Fees for Unused 'Ex-Gay' Therapy Sessions!

You may recall that back in July, John Becker, from Truth Wins Out, a group that works to expose the "ex-gay" movement, paid an undercover visit to Marcus Bachmann for a set of "pray away the gay" therapy sessions which he then wrote up to apply pressure to the Bachmanns for accepting public funds for this discredited and damaging practice.
You may also recall that in November, Bachmann began demanding payment for the sessions that Becker didn't use.

Bachmann has decided to let it all drop, which disappoints Truth Win Out's Wayne Besen: “The last thing we expected was for Marcus Bachmann to behave rationally and abandon his specious and spiteful claim that we owed him money. It is a shame that he wasn’t foolish enough to allow a $150 billing dispute to turn into free publicity that highlighted the harm caused by ‘ex-gay’ programs.”

MISGUIDED: Michele Bachmann Says She Doesn't Hold Herself Above Gay People, But.....

Michele and Marcus Bachmann talk to People magazine about their positions on gay people, the HuffPost reports: In the Oct. 31 issue of People, the couple defended themselves against accusations of harboring an anti-gay bias. "There's never been a bias," Marcus Bachmann said. "I'm no better than anyone else," Michele added.

People also talked to Michele Bachmann's gay stepsister, Helen LaFave, who Bachmann said she loved. LaFave said, "Yes, we are family and love each other, but she seems to have a disconnect. Her statements and actions related to gay rights are very hurtful, whether she understands that or not." Their once-close relationship reportedly strained over Bachmann's anti-gay activism.

NOT CURED: Former 'Ex-Gay' Activist John Smid Tells Chris Matthews He's Gay!

Former Exodus International leader John Smid, his acknowledged that he is gay, and his remarks that homosexuality is unchangeable:
"One cannot repent of something that is unchangeable. I have gone through a tremendous amount of grief over the many years that I spoke of change, repentance, reorientation and such, when, barring some kind of miracle, none of this can occur with homosexuality."

Smid took his story to Chris Matthews last night and talked about "ex-gay" thera[y, the Bachmann clinic, and Marcus Bachmann's statements about "barbarians [needing] to be disciplined".

Said Smid: "I think that's horrific and an amazing denial of human experience."
Smid and Michelle Goldberg from the Daily Beast then go on to discuss why GOP candidates glom on to the "gay is a choice" meme.

TIME TO GO: Bachmann, Gingrich, Huntsman All Broke!

Campaign reports reveal a GOP presidential field whose members are on vastly different financial footing. While Mitt Romney and Rick Perry raised a combined $30 million in Q3, three of their competitors are deep in debt, WNYC reports.

Michele Bachmann raised $3.9 million between July and September, but currently owes $550,000, including $30,000 to her ex-campaign chairman. Another expense: $130,000 spent on chartered flights. Jon Huntsman is also in the hole, but it's Newt Gingrich who owes the most: some $1.1 million. Gingrich shelled out $5,250 for a "Hispanic Outreach Consultant"; a "social media consultation" cost him $724. And Herman Cain might be a former pizza boss, but he isn't exactly rolling in dough. While his "fundraising and contributions have literally quadrupled" in recent weeks, at that pace, he'll likely have just $11 million by the end of the year—not much to carry him through the tight primary schedule.

CURED: Michele Bachmann's Friend Claims She's No Longer a Lesbian!

Janet Boynes used to be a lesbian. No longer! She's over that now. The before-and-after pictures prove it. And she's helping others get over their homosexuality at Janet Boynes Ministries.

Interviewed on a radio show, Boynes was more than happy to talk about her past drug and alcohol addictions, her failed engagement to a man, and her painful experiences with rape. But don't ask her if she's friends with Michele and Marcus Bachmann - because that's personal.

FUNNY: Lip-Reading Michele Bachmann!

She's making a lot more sense now.

BOO: Michele Bachmann Spooked by Gay Protesters at Iowa Pumpkin Farm!

Michele Bachmann attended a fundraiser thrown by Iowa's leading anti-gay group The Family Leader at a pumpkin farm in Iowa last night, but canceled her scheduled speech outside the barn because of 60 protesters that had shown up from Iowa's Grinnell College, CBS News reports: The students joined the crowd in the barn waiting for Bachmann to speak, while the lawmaker's staff huddled, apparently concerned about the protestors, who carried signs saying, "Have my gaybies" and "My body, my choice" and "Female Gay Student 99%, where's my future?" The police arrived and cordoned off an area outside the barn where the Grinnell students were made to stand.

An hour and a half after the event was scheduled to begin, Bachmann came out of the nearby house, took a quick tour of the farm, fed some goats and fielded a couple questions from reporters about why her speech was canceled. She said the event was supposed to be private and that she wanted to be able to talk with the people who had paid to be part of the $25-a-head fundraiser. 

Bachmann then walked to a van, waving to the students as some of them yelled to her.

CHAMPION: Henry Winkler Says Marcus Bachmann's Ex-Gay Therapy Is LIKE refurbish [gays] like sofas!

On Sirius radio recently, actor Henry Winkler - Fonz from Happy Days - said he adores Lady Gaga and thinks Marcus Bachmann is trying to refurbish the souls of gay people: inkler – an avowed Lady Gaga fan who admits he’s in awe of her flamboyant footwear and that he really wants the pop diva’s John Hancock – also called out Marcus and Michele Bachmann’s so-called reparative therapy, saying, “Marcus Bachmann is trying to refurbish [gays] like sofas!”

Or replace them like old curtains. Or straighten them out like couch pillows. The interior decorating metaphors go on and on, and they seem somehow appropriate when we're talking about Marcus.

RESPONSE: Dan Savage Talks About the End of 'DADT' and Michele Bachmann's Dumb Gay Joke!

Dan Savage appeared on The Last Word last night to discuss the end of 'DADT' and Michele Bachmann's awkward joke on Jay Leno about "praying the gray away".

SACRIFICE: Flash Mob Targets Michele Bachmann with 'Like a Prayer'!

Activists from the Courage Campaign objected to Michele Bachmann's presence at a California GOP convention yesterday by breaking out in a coordinated dance to "Like a Prayer." If only Marcus were up front, leading the pack, twirling his boa... Boa scarf.

WITCH: Bachmann thinks Anti-Gay Bullying Is "Not a Federal Issue"!

In Michele Bachmann's universe, bullying gay kids is a matter of states' rights. And that's all she has to say about it, thank you very much.

CBS reports: Alex Limon says he came to a Michele Bachmann rally here for one reason: To ask the Republican presidential candidate what she intends to do about school bullying in her district that reportedly targets gays.

He got to ask his question, but he didn't get a lengthy answer. "That's not a federal issue," Bachmann said, before moving on to the shake the hand of the next person waiting to speak to her.

TAKE THIS: Mom of Bullied Gay Son wants Bachmann to stop the Nonsense!

Tammy Aaberg, mother of Anoka-Hennepin gay teen suicide victim Justin Aaberg, delivered a box containing petitions bearing more than 130,000 signatures to Michele Bachmann's office yesterday, urging the congresswoman to address the issue of anti-LGBT bullying.

BITCHIN': Anderson Cooper Points Out That Michele Bachmann is a Big (FAT) Liar!

Anderson Cooper talks with Bachmann's former Chief of Staff Ron Carey and David Gergen and asks if Michele Bachmann's lie about the HPV vaccine Gardasil and mental retardation will be the one that makes people realize she flat-out lies all the time.

"So are these 'things' written out in advance for her, or are these 'things' in her head and pop out?"

OUT: Bachmann's (Campaign Manager) Steps Down!

Trouble in political paradise? Senior Republican strategist Ed Rollins, who helped Michele Bachmann win the Iowa straw poll last month, is stepping down as Bachmann's campaign manager, citing health issues, reports Politico. "I wish I was 40 years old, but I'm not," he said. "I'm 68 years old, I had a stroke a year and a half ago. I'm worn out." 

Earlier yesterday, Rollins made waves when he admitted that the Bachmann campaign had lost momentum. “The Perry-Romney race is now the story, with us the third candidate,” Rollins told the Washington Post. Rollins, who has worked on campaigns for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George HW Bush, will remain with the Bachmann campaign as a senior advisor

KARMA: Bachmann Gives Up on NH!

Where’s Michele Bachmann? Well, she’s certainly not in New Hampshire. She hasn’t visited the state since two months ago, and she canceled her last planned visit, after the Ames straw poll. In fact, every single 2012 GOP candidate other than Bachmann has been to New Hampshire since the straw poll. Residents had already suspected their state was being written off, and Bachmann’s campaign practically confirmed that yesterday, Politico notes, stating that Iowa is the campaign’s “main focus,” followed by South Carolina.

“We do plan to build on our efforts in New Hampshire in due time,” the spokesperson added. People in the Granite State are “baffled,” says a former state GOP chairman—perhaps especially so since before launching her campaign, Bachmann made multiple stops in New Hampshire and looked like she would campaign there intensely. Some suspect her withdrawal is a strategy to help her stay in the race, since she dropped in the polls after Rick Perry threw his hat in. But it may not be a good move, notes the former chairman: “I can’t point to a success story of someone who decided to not campaign in New Hampshire.”

YETA: Jewish Donors Think Bachmann Is ... Jewish?

Michele Bachmann likes to talk to crowds about "the creator of the universe, our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ." Yet for some reason, some Jewish donors think she's ... Jewish. And what may be good for her campaign coffers is bad news for Romney's, according to the New York Post. The paper reports that he's been trying to court Jewish donors who are fed up with Obama, but what he's hearing is that they'd rather fork over the cash to a Jewish candidate than a Mormon one. Except the Jew they're throwing their cash to is actually a Lutheran. "It's a real problem," says one Romney fundraiser. 

"We're working very hard in the Jewish community because of Obama's Israel problem. This was surprising." And it may also be underhanded! At least, according to sources, who tell the Post that Team Romney thinks Bachmann and her supporters might be fueling the Jewish rumor. So what are Bachmann's ties to Judaism? The Post notes that she frequently talks about her time on a kibbutz as a teen in 1974, and in a speech this year she mentioned that she makes sure she attends at least one Jewish-theme play or movie annually.