Bachmann battles nefarious socialists with Twitter

"Washington didn't listen to you at the Town Hall Meetings. Washington ignored the tea parties. They're plowing forward with their government-run health care, their gangster government takeover of private industry, and their reckless spending spree," says a message on her campaign Web site. "Send them a message they simply cannot ignore. Make a contribution today to the woman that drives the Left CRAZY. Please give what you can to show Washington that Michele Bachmann stands for the Constitution and she stands for the People! Help her stand strong against the Left's march toward socialism!"

If you have a Twitter account, you can click on the link and it takes you to your page, where this message automatically pops up in your "what are you doing?" box: "Help Rep. Bachmann send a message to the left  http://www.michelebachmann.com/messagetotheleft.php" All you have to do is hit "update," and you're keeping the America haters at bay.

Raised so far? $8,851.

Sound like a lot? We checked in with OpenSecrets.org, which profiles politicians based on data supplied by the Federal Election Commission. In the 2009-1010 cycle, her campaign committee has raised a total of more than $600,000 and spent more than 220,000. That $8,851 raised so far from the Twitter campaign? It's less than the top five donors to her 2010 campaign so far:

1. Starkey Laboratories: $13,600

2. Hubbard Broadcasting: $10,600

3. Dart Transit: $9,600

3. Johnstone Supply: $9,600

5. Crown Iron Works: $9,200

It's more than the remaining top 10 donors for her 2010 campaign:

6. Slumberland: $6,900

7. PricewaterhouseCoopers: $6,500

8. Zurich Financial Services: $5,800

9. Brehm Group: $5,600

10. ACA International: $5,000

10. American Crystal Sugar: $5,000

10. Associated Builders & Contractors: $5,000

10. AT&T Inc: $5,000

10. Computer Packages: $5,000

10. Every Republican is Crucial PAC: $5,000

Bachmann, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, has campaigned hard against the current proposed overhaul of the U.S. health care insurance system. With that in mind, it's also worth a look at where she gets her campaign contributions from, sorted by sectors of the economy.

1. Retirees: $50,500

2. Insurance: $45,250

3. Pharmaceuticals/Health Products: $21,600

4. Misc Finance: $20,050

5. Securities & Investment: $18,100

6. Building Materials & Equipment: $17,750

7. Accountants: $14,750

8. TV/Movies/Music: $13,100

9. Misc. Manufacturing & Distributing: $12,300

10. Leadership PACs: $12,223

Here's a graphical representation of the same data, via OpenSecrets.org. 

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