This afternoon we received a copy of a new fundraising letter from the Michele Bachmann campaign, which has been beset lately by news of Bachmann’s public ties [1] [2] to a former convict who appears to be implicated in the Tom Petters scandals, Frank Vennes Jr., and likewise by the transfer of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee dollars to Bachmann’s Sixth District race. Earlier today, as Paul Demko noted, the DCCC officially added the Bachmann/Elwyn Tinklenberg race to its national Red-to-Blue campaign.

The letter is reproduced in its entirety below the jump.

Short version: The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Send money!

Dear Friends:

We appear to be witnessing an October surprise here in MN-06 and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann needs your help now – before the reporting period ends on Wednesday, October 15th.

I know that the conventional wisdom has been that the Bachmann seat would be one of the safer Republican seats this year.   And, for good reason:  for months, things have looked extraordinarily good, particularly thanks to strong financial support from people like you.

In contrast, our opponent’s fundraising has been somewhat anemic.  And, his inability to raise much on his own helped to ensure that outside money would find other more promising races to fund.

Apparently, he’s only been biding his time.

He released his 3rd Quarter report today and his fundraising has picked up phenomenally.  In fact, in the five-week period between filing of the pre-primary report and the end of September, he raised $312,560.  That’s double what he raised in the five-week pre-primary period.

In fact, it far exceeds anything he raised in any of the full quarters this cycle.

He’s already attracting outside money.  Alliance for a Better Minnesota – a liberal front group – is running television ads smearing Michele Bachmann’s record.  And, the NRCC is reportedly shifting money to cover Michele Bachmann’s race.

A Republican victory in Minnesota’s Sixth District is far from a done deal.  In fact, this race has become the last line of defense for Republicans.

It can still be a strong win – but we need your help and we need it now!  Please go online and make a secure online donation at www.michelebachmann.com or FedEx your contribution to:

Bachmann for Congress
6053 Hudson Road
Suite 360
Woodbury, MN 55125

The end of the Pre-General Reporting Period is Wednesday, October 15th.  We need your help to make this a strong one and keep the 527s and DCCC from pouring millions into this race in a final push to turn it from Red to Blue.

Please do not hesitate to call me at 651-735-7512 if you have any questions.  Thank you for your prompt reply.

Sincerely,
Zandra Wolcott
Finance Director
Bachmann for Congress