WASHINGTON — In the insular community of Congress, there are a few Capitol Hill-specific publications that seek to cover the every movement of lawmakers on the Hill and off.
Every so often they hit on the same thing at the same time. Today, it was Michele Bachmann — or, more precisely, the sudden silence of Michele Bachmann.
Both National Journal and Roll Call wrote pieces on Bachmann’s post-election quiet spell on Tuesday and made them the main art on their respective front pages. National Journal used her weekend appearance at CPAC to delve into her new messaging strategy, while Roll Call looked at the political ramifications of it.
This story has made the rounds in the local press for a while (I’ve written a version of it, as has the Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio and just this weekend, the St. Cloud Times, though not everyone has bought into the story line). On Tuesday the D.C. press seemed to pick up on it, at least for two of this city’s most ubiquitous political papers.
Bachmann, as one of my colleagues in the Senate press gallery notes, has reached a new level of fame wherein by specifically trying to not make news, she makes news. There are just a few folks on Capitol Hill where that’s the case.
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.