Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign hit a snag earlier this month when the Republican candidate lost campaign manager Ed Rollins and his deputy. Now The New York Times reports that Bachmann has another problem: raising enough cash to stay competitive. The Times cites three reasons why this may be the case:

1. Texas Governor Rick Perry is winning over much of Bachmann's conservative base
2. Bachmann's gaffes and aversion to seeking contributions from the party establishment mean that she's depending on small donors rather than big-money donors
3. Rollins, since his departure, has repeatedly gone on television to criticize Bachmann

But wait, back in March we highlighted Bachmann's fundraising technique of making controversial statements that spur her base to donate. Can't that help? "When you raise small-donor money, you go on Fox and say something more or less outrageous and that's what people contribute to," Rollins tells The Times, in yet another critique of Bachmann. "You throw a hand grenade, and people respond." But that grenade might not propel her far beyond Iowa, he adds. To attract deep-pocketed donors "you've got to be a serious candidate with serious solutions."

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Uri Friedman