Continuing the odd habit she has of attacking challengers to Mitt Romney while rarely actually attacking Mitt Romney. Why, it’s almost like she’s making a play to be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential nominee.

Last month her spokesman said:

Bachmann is trying to grow an organic base of supporters, and Newt Gingrich is trying to buy off tea party groups. … Newt Gingrich knows the only way he can get the tea party vote is to buy it.

Recently Bachmann was asked to support or deny the allegation. Her response:

Well, Wesley would have to speak to that himself with what evidence he has, but this is something that we’ve been hearing all across the country, that money is changing hands, and that’s not how I do business. In fact I’ve told people, I’ve told evangelicals, I’ve told tea partiers, I don’t pay people to come out and be my supporters, that’s not what I do. When we have tea party groups and all of the rest, I don’t do that because I’m just a real person.

“We’ve been hearing”. No evidence, or at least none the campaign is willing to provide. Just allegations based on hearsay, if the allegations existed before the campaign brought them up at all.

This follows her previous statement that some anonymous woman who has never been found came up to her after a debate and warned of the evils of the vaccine Gardisil. You’ll recall that was an issue for Rick Perry at the time, and she was attacking him for it.

(So Rick Perry challenges Romney and she levels unsourced allegations based on hearsay. Newt Gingrich challenges Romney and she again levels unsourced allegations based on hearsay. It’s like there’s a pattern forming here.)

Tea Party groups deny the allegation, for the record. A combined statement from more than 12 of them in South Carolina:

The South Carolina tea parties have a well-developed network and history of working together on statewide campaigns and legislative issues, and we are disappointed and angry that the Bachmann campaign is using this negative strategy in an attempt to divide us.

She’s making a play for Romney’s VP nod. Guaranteed.