Third time a charm for new Bachmann chief of staff?

For the third time in 15 months, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has a new chief of staff. Michelle Presson replaces Rich Dunn, who resigned in February. Presson comes from the office of Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., where she was chief of staff for nine months.

Bachmann’s office has had high turnover throughout her short time in Washington. Her first chief of staff, Brooks Kochvar, departed after just two months. Bachmann never announced Kochvar’s departure and famously claimed he was “out” a month after Kochvar had left to work for Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore.

Presson may be a good fit for Bachmann’s office. The former Giuliani campaign co-chair for northern Virginia has been described as a “sound-bite flamethrower,” and there is anecdotal evidence to back that up. When Rep. Garrett conducted a survey to gauge the mood of the 202 Republican representatives after the 2006 midterm elections, Roll Call interviewed Presson about the results:

When asked what Democrats were credited for doing right, Presson said, “They stole our ideas, they ran as Republicans.” Presson pointed to candidacies such as Sen. Bob Casey (Pa.), a pro-life, pro-gun Democrat who defeated Sen. Rick Santorum (R).

They finally woke up to the fact that you have to accept some people who may not believe in everything you believe in,” she said.

Continued: Click “Read more”Pressman may have to hone a new message. Bachmann’s ideas to this point have been limited to funding cuts for Amtrak and the return of the incandescent bulb. Bachmann also has demonstrated difficulty in accepting people who may not share her beliefs, unless spying on those people from behind a hedge is part of her acceptance process.

No immediate changes to Bachmann’s office policy were noticeable and business as usual seems to be the rule of the day: There has been no response to Minnesota Monitor inquiries at the time of publication.