The Bachmann Files: From Scandal In Scandia To Farm Subsidies

WORK IN PROGRESS

This is certainly not a comprehensive list of Michele Bachmann’s gaffes and exploits, but it does give insight to Bachmann and Bachmannites.

If anyone has additional links, please feel free to refer to them in the comments section. Thanks.


1. During a televised Hardball appearance in 2008, Bachmann told Chris Matthews,

"I'm very concerned that (then-candidate Barack Obama) may have anti-American views. That's what the American people are concerned about. That's why they want to know what his answers are... I think the people that Barack Obama has been associating with are anti-American, by and large, the people who are radical leftists. That's the real question about Barack Obama... I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out are they pro-America or anti-America. I think people would love to see an expose like that."

Subsequent to these inflammatory remarks, the Republican National Committee suspended $1M in advertising they had planned for Bachmann

2. The Census:

The 2010 census will likely determine whether Minnesota loses one of its eight U.S. House seats; population determines seat allocation. Political experts agree that a few thousand people not filling out census forms may be all it takes for the state to lose a congressional advocate in the nation’s capital. If Minnesota were to lose a congressional seat, Bachmann’s district appears to be candidate for absorption. Bachmann has been careful to say that she’s willing to tell the census how many people live in her household, the basic information that will determine whether Minnesota keeps a congressional seat. But that’s a message that’s easily lost in her fear-mongering; Beck didn’t help when he pantomimed flushing census documents down the toilet.

3. McCarthyism:

I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that.

4. “Armed And Dangerous” on Cap & Trade. Perhaps her most clueless gaff - it shows that she shows uses judgment in chooses phrases for her speeches and flings around catch-phrases willy-nilly.


5. Americorps Program = Re-education Camps

During an appearance of the Sue Jeffers show, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) claimed that the recent expansion the Americorps program is a dream comes true for those who want to rid America of capitalism because the Americorps program is really reeducation camps for young people.

BTW: her son joined an Americorps program. Go figure.

6. Bio-partisan economics same as Mussolini’s fascism:

"Let's remember really what this is. This has a lot in common with Italy in the 1930s and they way Italy dealt with economics," she said. "It still continues private ownership of business but government is in control."

7. The French culture is “going away” 

On the face of it, Bachmann observed, “multicultural diversity … sounds wonderful. But guess what? Not all cultures are equal. Not all values are equal. And ... those who are coming into France, which had a beautiful culture, the French culture is actually diminished, it’s going away.”

8. On evolution:

“There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design.”

9. On Terry Schiavo:

There was brain damage, there was no question. But from a health point of view, she was not terminally ill.”

10. Fears of a “global currency”:

“I’m very concerned about the international moves they’re making, particularly … moving the United States off the dollar and onto a global currency, like Russia and China are calling for.”

11. Unscientific attack on global warming:

“Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.”

12. Senseless link of Democratic Presidents to swine flu:

“I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out under another, then under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter. I’m not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it’s an interesting coincidence.”

13. On the sinister intentions of Obamacare:

“Does that mean that someone’s 13-year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have [her] abortion, be back and go home on the school bus? That night, mom and dad are never the wiser.”

14. Another premise on the evils of the Obama Administration:

Bachmann then continued, in her own words: "We will talk a little bit about what has transpired in the last 18 months and would we count what has transpired into turning our country into a nation of slaves."

15. Her heels were suspiciously killing her. 

April 8, 2005: When Bachmann tried to force a floor vote to create a state constitutional amendment to ban civil unions for gay couples, the Senate told her to take a hike. So she did -- outside to the Capitol grounds, where she spent an unknown amount of time lurking behind the shrubbery, spying on the rally OutFront Minnesota organized to protest her homophobic legislative tendencies. Her excuse: she was just sitting to rest because her heels were killing her.

Right.

16. Ebonics is not her strong point:

There's nothing more embarrasing than a middle-aged woman speaking ebonics, proven when Bachmann big-upped the chair of the Republican National Committee during the CPAC conference last March. You go on with your bad self, gurl! Ugh.

17. Wherever goes Israel, so goes the United States: 

 “I am convinced in my heart and in my mind that if the United States fails to stand with Israel, that is the end of the United States.

18. One of the primary contributors to Bachmann’s campaigns has been Club for Growth, dedicated to ferreting out RINOs and seeing that they are properly chastised or ousted. The other major contributors have been: Hubbard Broadcasting (major Minneapolis media expanding to other cities), Target, and TCP Financial, a holding company for one of Minnesota’s largest banks.


19. Playing one fear off the other:

“It’s clear that a bill that is silent on eligibility means a bill that includes illegal immigrants.”


NOT TRUE. NEVER HAS BEEN.


20. On control of our food supply:

"President Obama said we can't eat as much food as we want and think the rest of the world will be okay about that -- as if that matters to freedom-loving Americans," said Bachmann. "Well, we just heard last week that the Federal Government now under the Obama administration is calling for a re-ordering of America's food supply. What's that going to mean? Now will the White House decide how many calories we consume, or what types of food we consume?"

21. Now Nostradamus:

"I said I had very serious concerns that Barack Obama had anti-American views," she said. "And now I look like Nostradamus."

22. Foreclosures are the homeowners’ fault:

A Minnesota Independent investigation reveals today that Minnesotans in Bachmann’s district face the worst effects of the foreclosure crisis — but she’s doing the least about it. Bachmann calls homeowners “irresponsible”

23. Bachmann and Bradlee Dean:

Rep. Michele Bachmann will be headlining a fundraiser in November for controversial ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide (YCRBYCH).

Based in Annandale, Minn., the group has made a name for itself as an anti-drug Christian punk rock band that organizes motivational student assemblies to bring Christ to public schools. But over the last several years, parents and school administrators have complained that the ministry misrepresents itself, claiming that the group is not transparent about its Christian mission. And since schools pay using public funds, some are concerned that the group is violating the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state.

23. Then, of course, there’s the famous Bathroom Hysteria Scandal in Scandia!

24. Historical mangling #435: Bachmann claimed that Franklin Roosevelt started the Great Depression by signing an Act that, in actuality, Herber Hoover signed.

25. There are some birther-type concerns about Bachmann’s bar exam and her University’s accreditation at the time.

26. Recently, Anderson Cooper hacked away at the issue of the farm subsidies Michele Bachmann's family has been receiving a number of years:

So, when the congresswoman says she has never gotten a dime from the farm, she's contradicting her own disclosure filings. It's possible her disclosure filings have been wrong year after year or maybe her recollection is wrong.

In any case, you saw what happened when we asked her about it this evening. We invited her on the program tonight. She declined. Did the same thing last night. She did, however, appear on all five network morning shows today, where not a single interviewer asked her directly about the family farm and her statements about it. Sunday, when CBS's Bob Schieffer asked the right question, he got even less of an answer than we did. Mrs. Bachmann simply changed the subject. 

The Season's First Storm of Righteous Indignation: The SPLC Tells The AFA, FRC, KKK and FWBP to SFTU

The proverbial sh*t has hit the fan: The Family Research Institute, along with various other religious and "family values" association,  has been named by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a "hate group." That's right, the FRC has been given the same designation as the KKK! But given the reaction of the FRC et al, it's unclear as to what fan was hit or with what kind of ...fecal matter:

Tony Perkins:

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a massively funded liberal organization that operates under a veneer of public justice when, in fact, they seem more interested in fundraising ploys than fighting wrongdoing...It's a sad day in America when we can not, with integrity, have a legitimate discussion over policy issues that are being considered by Congress, legislatures, and the courts without resorting to juvenile tactics of name calling.

Tony Perkins sometimes stumbles over his own platitudes: "integrity" is something the FRC has marginalized for years. There is no integrity in making "homosexual activists", "compassion", "liberal", or "social justice" into pejorative terms.

Another angle pushed by these groups is that the SPLC is very anti-Christian, but to the SPLC, it's more of a case of using power to disseminate false and demonizing information and certainly more name-calling on the part of the hate group:

These groups’ influence reaches far beyond what their size would suggest, because the “facts” they disseminate about homosexuality are often amplified by certain politicians, other groups and even news organizations. ...claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities — and repeated, groundless name-calling. Viewing homosexuality as unbiblical does not qualify organizations for listing as hate groups.

The ever-entertaining Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association (listed last year as a hate group by the SPLC) chimed in with Perkins:

"In a strange way, it is a badge of honor for these groups to be tagged now by the SPLC as hate groups. It’s a sign of desperation on the part of the SPLC, and a sign that they are so threatened by the truths that these groups speak that they are now flailing about trying to silence them rather than to debate them."

Fischer has it right about trying to silence the groups: their hate speech is lethal. But he was wrong in the assertion that the SPLC has given up trying to debate them. Mark Potok of SPLC debated Tony Perkins on Chris Matthews' Hard Ball last Tuesday. Perkins made a spurious accusation against gays stating that research has shown that homosexuality poses a danger to children and referencing the American College of Pediatricians. The aftermath of this debate, however, revealed several serious problems:

Problem #1: the American College of Pediatricians is a group of 200 Christian Right pediatricians who have earned the scorn of the established American Academy of Pediatrics. Problem #2: the ACP's chief "researcher" was George "Rent Boy" Rekers. Problem #3: Chris Matthews "straighten(ed) these things out" the other day by pointing out the difference between the ACP and the AAP. Kudos to Matthews.

OK, so the SPLC wants the FRC and the AFA to STFU. So what about the rest of those gay-hating acronyms? Let's see, there's the CWA Concerned Women of America; the ATM (Abiding Truth Ministries); the IFI (Illinois Family Institute); HOME (Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment); the TVC (Traditional Values Coalition); the FRI (Family Research Institute); the AFTAH (Americans for Truth About Homosexuality); the CADC (Christian Anti-Defamation Commission); CRM (Coral Ridge Ministries); the DWOC (Dove World Outreach Center); and the FWBC (Faithful Word Baptist Church) which should also go by the acronym of DBH -

Dumb But Honest.

If you remember anything at all about Steven Anderson, the pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, AZ, it's that he hates President Obama with a passion and has prayed that Obama would die. Another memorable point is that he's outspoken in his hatreds, so it should come as no surprise that his little storefront church was labeled a hate group by the SPLC: "I do hate homosexuals and if hating homosexuals makes our church a hate group then that's what we are." 

He forthrightly wishes that homosexuals would die, since  the King James Version of the Bible  is "without error." His ministry opposes "worldliness, modernism, liberalism and formalism." After viewing the video below, however, you will be convinced that he also opposes having an I.Q.  

Anderson is such an embarrassing anomoly that even Tony Perkins wishes he would STFU.

Other anti-gay hate groups featured by the SPLC:

Abiding Truth Ministries (ATM) While its acronym is ATM, this group has always been short of money, perhaps because the entire ministry is based upon the sales of one book, The Pink Swastika and the lectures of one man, author Scott Lively. Both the book and its author have been discredited for the last fifteen years, but that does not stop Lively from having an (albeit minimal)  income, especially when exporting his hatred of gays: he is allegedly one of the chief architects of Uganda's "kill the gays" bill.

Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) This group was formed in 1996 by Peter LaBarbera in 1996. LaBarbera has a penchant for going to gay events (undercover), taking the most salacious pictures and purchasing sex toys. He has earned the nickname "Porno Pete."  The SPLC, however, recognizes AFTAH as a dangerous and influential organization because of the publicity he generates as well as his view that gays are horrible sexual predators.

Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (CADC) Retired Army Gen. William Hollis, founded this organization, which might explain itsa dogged and militaristic attitude concerning anyone who even considers speaking out against Christians. His is the “first line of response to anti-Christian defamation, bigotry and discrimination.” Although it waned for years, its new leader, Rev. Gary Cass, has brought it to the fore by claiming that Christian-bashing, “the last acceptable form of bigotry in America."

Concerned Women for America  (CWA). Before Rapture author Tim LaHaye left his wife behind to write his successful series of novels, Beverly LaHaye was reacting to feminism  by forming Concerned Women for America. She wanted to match the power of the National Organization for Women. Instead, it has developed as a chief bulwark against any form of liberalism, including equal rights for gays. Spokeperson Candi Cushman recently appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 to convince viewers that while CWA and other right-wing groups abhor the rising number of gay teen suicides in the country, they do not want any homosexuals in schools teaching tolerance or anti-gay bullying defensives.

Coral Ridge Ministries (CRM). This group was founded by the late fundamentalist Rev. D. James Kennedy in the late 60s. The mega-church now boasts. over 15,000 members and an annual income of $18 million. Much of the money from donations ($6 million) goes into television and radio "outreach efforts" against various groups.

Dove World Outreach Center(DWOC) The Center was founded in 1986 by Don Northrup, but did not exactly reach out to the world until this year, when  its new leader, Pastor Terry Jones decided to hold an "International Burn a Koran Day" focusing on the Ground Zero Mosque. Although Jones' background resembled that of a two-bit Elmer Gantry (in Germany, of all places), people took the threat very seriously. It should also be mentioned that his mentor (of sorts) was Westboro Baptist Church's Fred Phelps of God-hates-fags fame.

Family Research Institute (FRI). Founded in 1987 by discredited psychologist Paul Cameron, the FRI claims to have "cutting edge research" even though Cameron has been  ousted from three professional organizations. One of Cameron's chief outlets has been Family Research Council while one of his main "studies" proposes that homosexuals have a shorter life span by some twenty-five years.

Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (HOME). Although HOME was founded over twenty years ago, its profile has only recently begun to pick up steam. Its focus is (obviously) on gay issues and morals, although the founder, Wayne Lela, now describes himself as an agnostic. Much like Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, Lela coins new words, the most notable being "illegalizable." This is the term he uses in relation to "homosexual activity."  Criminalization of this activity is HOME's chief proponent. He would definitely be at HOME in Uganda.

Illinois Family Institute (IFI). The IFI was once headed by Peter LaBarbera (see AFTAH),  so at this point, we could say "enough said." However, it recently launched Illinois Family Action as a political-action sister organization. Therefore, it may be the group to watch for 2011. With its ties  to FRC and the Alliance Defense Fund (a Christian-only legal defense fund founded by Regent University/Pat Robertson alumni), IFI might be able to do a lot of damage to gay rights issues.

Traditional Values Coalition (TVC). With his Traditional Values Coalition, Rev. Lou Sheldon has been warning Americans about the “gay agenda” for over thirty years. TVC has also targeted liberal activists. Ironically, going in somewhat a different direction than "traditional values," Sheldon was strongly implicated in the Jack Abramoff scandal (the TVC received $25,000 from ELottery).

The Dangers of Reconstructionism


Of the worst hardliners of the anti-gay movement (as well as other hate movements), Reconstructionism plays a large part due to its focus on the Bible and biblical law: the "father of Reconstructionism," R.J. Rushdoony, advocated global theocracy by gradual takeover of governments. If this seems to rank with conspiracy theories, remember that believers in Dominionism (strident anti-environmentalists) and Reconstructionism have increased in the last ten years. Of all the hate groups, the ones that espouse Reconstructionism are perhaps the most insidious: once scorned by mainline curch denominations, Reconstructionists have managed to place people on to the political stage. Its two primary groups are American Vision and the Chalcedon Foundation.

The war between religious homophobes like the FRC and "social justice" groups like the SPLC and the ACLU is just heating up in the "Season of Sharing." Brad O'Leary (author, America's War on Christmas) has hysterically predicted that soon the above organizations (and more) will be subject to criminal charges via the Hate Crimes Prevention Act:

Their crime? These groups represent millions of Americans and speak for tens of millions more who support traditional marriage and believe that homosexuality is biblically wrong...Calling an organization a “hate group” used to be nothing more than a slur. But in today’s America, such a pejorative may have serious legal connotations.SPLC knows this, because in 2009 the group was instrumental in getting the Democrat-led Congress to pass, and President Obama to sign, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.

Forecast for this Christmas Season: Hot As Hell With Frequent Gusts Of Righteous Indignation.