Olson blasts ‘offensive’ Bachmann comments

Calling her comments “offensive,” DFL Congressional candidate Bob Olson lashed out at Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

In remarks supporting a 25 percent corporate tax cut, Bachmann had said that she was proud of Minnesota, which she called “the workingest [sic] state in the country.”  Bachmann praised Minnesotans for working “longer hours” and “two jobs.”

“Folks don’t take extra hours or extra jobs for fun, congresswoman,” said Olson in a statement.  “They’re trying to survive. If you got out and talked to real folks, not handpicked audiences, you’d realize that health care costs are soaring; that college tuition is beyond the reach of many deserving students; and that gas prices are putting a pinch on many families-resulting in higher prices at the grocery store.”

Olson, an attorney who briefly ran for the U.S. Senate before deciding instead to challenge Bachmann, was harsh in his criticism of the freshman legislator.

“Minnesota would be better served if you became the ‘workingest’ congresswoman in Washington and started seriously addressing the challenges our country faces. The people of our district didn’t send you to Washington to cozy up to the oil companies that are polluting our environment; the corporate titans that outsource our jobs; or the health insurance companies that jack up our premiums. They sent you there to work.”

Bachmann’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.