Yesterday Was April Fool's Day-- And Michele Bachmann Still Walks Among Us

When I was growing up my dad emulated the Rat Pack and my teenage rebellion against him led to me hating alcohol, cigarettes and... Frank Sinatra. I've still never tried alcohol, other than a few sips of wine years ago, and only one puff of a cigarette 4 or 5 decades ago, but, I wound up as president of Reprise Records, the company Sinatra founded. In fact, he and I were the only presidents of Reprise ever. I even inherited his first row Laker's seats, the two best seats in the house. Before I get into one of my stories about the Mafia bandits who once kidnapped me and how much I've come to love The Way You Look Tonight, this is about the RAT PAC, not the RAT PACK.

The RAT PAC is something that our friends at StopBachmann.com have started in their hope to rid their congressional district of what is arguably the most wasted House seat in American history. They say they want to inform their neighbors "about Bachmann's insanity, lying and bigotry. RAT PAC stands for Residents for Accuracy and Truth PAC." And it only costs one dollar to join!

"There's something symbolic about making this announcement on April 1," said David Day, an Anoka County resident and spokesman for the RAT PAC. "But with Bachmann, everyday really is April Fools' Day. As millions of Americans have seen over the past three years, if there's a camera crew on-hand, Michele is more than willing to provide them with all the bloopers YouTube can handle."

Fortunately, the campaign to get rid of Bachmann this year doesn't force progressives into an untenable position of supporting a Blue Dog-type conservative. Her opponent, state Senator Tarryl Clark, is a worthwhile Democrat who won't just be not-Bachmann; she'll be a positive improvement to the Democratic caucus.