CNN's Avlon: Bachmann Survived a 'Bad Night for Wing-Nuts'

CNN contributor John Avlon dumped on Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) early Wednesday morning, when he quipped that she was re-elected on "a bad night for wing-nuts."

"And I mean, look, it was a bad night for wing-nuts last night, but Michele Bachmann is straight through in a redrawn district that was drawn to be more conservative," Avlon said after CNN projected that Bachmann would win re-election. [Video below the break. Audio here.]

Liberal panel member Roland Martin cracked up at Avlon's "wing-nut" reference for Bachmann. The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza blamed Bachmann for Mitt Romney's "crisis" in the primaries.

"And if you want to point fingers at someone who created the crisis that Mitt Romney faced, in terms of moving him to the right during the primaries, Michele Bachmann," stated Lizza. Anchor Soledad O'Brien then brought up the fiscal cliff and questioned how a decision would be made.

A transcript of the segment, which aired on November 7 on Early Start at 5:44 p.m. EST, is as follows:

[5:44]

JOHN BERMAN: We have a projection to make in a high-profile House race. You will recognize the names here. Michele Bachmann, CNN now projects that Michele Bachmann has been re-elected to the sixth Congressional district in Minnesota. It was a really, really close race against wealthy businessman, Jim Graves, just about 3,000 votes separating them.

Now Michele Bachmann is no stranger to close races. She's actually just won her last two Congressional races by a fairly slim margin, but this district was redrawn to make it safer for her, but not safe at all. Both candidates spent well over a million bucks in October on ads and she barely squeaked through again by just over 3,000 votes. So, a narrow win for Michele Bachmann. Soledad?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks. John Avlon, you covered a lot of this race and that candidate.

JOHN AVLON: I have. And I mean, look, it was a bad night for wing-nuts last night, but Michele Bachmann is straight through in a redrawn district that was drawn to be more conservative. She got her first serious competitor Jim Graves, self-made centrist businessman, put up a really good fight.

O'BRIEN: Three thousand votes.

AVLON: Three thousand votes. And it was amazing. Michele Bachmann's final ad in this race was presenting herself as an independent-minded thinker and someone who could reach across the aisle to solve problems. I mean, it was an SNL skit.

(Crosstalk)

MARTIN: Talk about fiction.

AVLON: Oh yeah.

LIZZA: And if you want to point fingers at someone who created the crisis that Mitt Romney faced, in terms of moving him to the right during the primaries, Michele Bachmann. I mean, he had to –

O'BRIEN: Brings us back to the fiscal cliff, doesn't it? How you get to some kind of resolution when –