Bachmann one of 9 'most embarrassing' members of Congress

Rep. Michele Bachmann's remarks about President-elect Barack Obama's possible "anti-American" views have earned her distinction as one of the year's "most embarrassing re-elected members of Congress."

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW) released a list Monday of eight U.S. House members and one senator who "stand out for their inability to conduct themselves in a manner that respects the office they hold."

CREW, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to "promote ethics and responsibility in government and public life by targeting government officials … who sacrifice the common good to special interests," referred to Bachmann's Oct. 17 appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" as "Joe McCarthy politics."

"Rep. Bachmann gained notoriety for claiming God had told her to run for Congress, and for grabbing President Bush's shoulder after the 2007 State of the Union (address) and holding him there until he kissed her, as well as calling for (an) investigation into the anti-American views of fellow members of Congress," CREW said on its website.

The organization detailed the backlash that followed Bachmann's appearance on "Hardball," including former Secretary of State Colin Powell's denunciation of her remarks as "nonsense" and editorials in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Cloud Times that endorsed the congresswoman's DFL opponent, Elwyn Tinklenberg.

Bachmann, who dismissed the furor last month as an "urban legend," was first on CREW's alphabetical list, which also included Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla.; Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif.; Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Calif.; Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.; Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Calif.; and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.