Last night's CNN match-up between controversial lawmakers Michele Bachmann and Alan Grayson largely traded fisticuffs for talking points and lasted far shorter than this reporter had expected (about seven minutes). In Bachmann news, there were two notable moments:
First, Bachmann managed to evade Larry King when he asked her why reconciliation (the new legislative route Democrats are pursuing for health care) was wrong if it was used to pass the Bush tax cuts.
KING: What's wrong with majority rules?
BACHMANN: Well, because that's not how the Senate works. The Senate works with 60 votes. And now, what the president is promoting is a nuclear option, which is 50 votes. So we should have an up or down vote but it --
KING: But it used that majority rules on the Bush tax cuts. It was 51 votes.
BACHMANN: Well, the House uses straight majority rule. The Senate doesn't. So what this would mean, Larry, is that the Senate has to break their own rules in order to pass the bill.
KING: And that's wrong?
BACHMANN: Oh, I think so. Sure.
The second notable moment, which was a bit more out of the blue, came later in the interview when Bachmann asserted that president Obama may be trading federal judgeships for votes on the health care bill.
The claim is based on this Weekly Standard story yesterday which notes that Obama offered a judgeship to the brother of Rep. Jim Matheson, the same day the lawmaker was invited to the White House for some health care arm twisting. All parties have denied the allegations, but Bachmann called for an "independent investigation" into the matter.
"But I think a big question that has to be addressed right now, Larry, is, what in the world is going on in the White House? Because today, the president offered a judgeship to the brother of a member of Congress. Tonight, the president has that same member of Congress at the White House, pressuring him to change his vote on health care. We really need to have an -- an independent investigation into this matter, because we've seen the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, the union loophole. And now, the big question is, is the White House trading health care votes for judgeships? This is a pretty serious issue, Larry.
When Grayson hit back that this was a "weapon of mass distraction," Bachmann countered that, "Corruption isn't a distraction. Corruption is an issue."
UPDATE: White House spokesman Matt Lehrich slapped down Bachmann's accusation, calling it "bizarre and outlandish."
"Scott Matheson is a former US Attorney and faculty member at the University of Utah College of Law, where he served as Dean," Lehrich wrote in an e-mail. "He was nominated with the support of [Republican] Senator [Orrin] Hatch. This accusation is as bizarre and outlandish as it is false."
It's also worth pointing out that Salt Lake Tribune (Utah paper with D.C. correspondents) says Matheson has been a front-runner for the spot "since almost the day Obama walked into office."
