Pawlenty and Bachmann rumble

For weeks, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been taking shots at his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

Pawlenty has repeatedly questioned Bachmann’s experience, and his recent videos have focused on criticizing more charismatic candidates like Bachmann by touting slogans like “results, not rhetoric.”

Now Bachmann is fed up, her campaign manager, Ed Rollins, told the Washington Post.

Bachmann “just [got] tired of [Pawlenty] taking cheap shots…Even if he’s at 2 percent in the polls, we are not going to let anyone take free shots at us.”

Over the weekend, Bachmann sent out two press releases about Pawlenty, one of which compared Pawlenty to President Barack Obama. “Executive experience is not an asset if it simply means bigger and more intrusive government,” Bachmann’s statement read.

Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant responded by telling the Associated Press that Pawlenty and Bachmann’s stances were the same.

“The difference is that when governor Pawlenty was scoring conservative victories … Congresswoman Bachmann was giving speeches and offering failed amendments — all while struggling mightily to hold onto the most Republican house seat in the state.”

Bachmann pointed to the mess Pawlenty made of Minnesota’s finances, as well as his earlier support of TARP, while lauding her own role as Tea Party chairman. ”Real world actions speak louder than the words of career politicians,” the statement read.

Despite the fact that Pawlenty has spent years campaigning in Iowa, he’s fallen way behind in state polls, while Bachmann has rocketed ahead. Pawlenty is focusing his attention on next months Iowa Straw Poll, where experts say he’ll need to perform well to stay in the race.