Oh, that lovable, nutty Michele! She says the darnedest things!
Don't let the pretty face fool you; she's a master of oratory:
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and submit my statement to the record on this job-killing bill that will cut $500 million from Medicare and potentially collapse the economic economy.
And a formidable intellect:
Except when she, oh, makes stuff up or just plain gets things wrong.
Don't let her wacky, happy-go-lucky frankness fool you, either; as fun as it is to laugh at all of this, she's a very dangerous demagogue. She thinks the Department of Education is unconstitutional. Her plan for long-term solvency of Medicare and Social Security is to "wean" people off the programs.
If elected, she promises to subordinate the Presidency to Congress, but won't take any guff from those activist yahoos on the Supreme Court. I guess some branches of government are more co-equal than others? When she isn't calling for a complete restructuring of our division of powers model, she is out promising $2 gas and claiming Irene was God sending a message. She'll also tell anyone who will listen that it's only "radical environmentalist" who would oppose drilling in the Everglades. Guess Allen West and other Republican luminaries didn't get the memo.
Her masterpieces, though, tend to come from her speeches and not when she is speaking on a specific issue; the more spontaneous and inspired, the better! That's when she truly brings the crazy and leaves no doubt as to just how dangerous of an idealogue she really is. The following is a combination of paraphrasing/verbatim transcript:
In 2008, people voted their values because they wanted change fueled by their values. But the policies they got are ones that aren't even recognized by most in our society, like "government takeover" of health care, GM etc.
The pursuit of happiness; it is not about hedonism. It is the right of people to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The government doesn't create wealth, doesn't create money. We do. But now they're trying to be our doctor, banker, etc.
Tea party believes governments are instituted by men, believe consent of the governed, and GOD gives us power. Power emanates from an almighty God. He confers power on people, who confer a small portion to the government.
When any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it becomes our legal right to alter it or abolish it. So do you want to alter your congress? Would you like to alter the presidency? Would you like to alter the Supreme Court? What about those federal agencies? The Declaration goes on to say and to "institute a new government." That’s what we get to do this November!
People are reclaiming their "God-given" rights.
I think the government will be fearing the people and liberty will be refreshed in our country.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
- Thomas Jefferson.
Disturbing overtones aside, I thought the Teapublicans were the patriots? Isn't that what they always say? Maybe her mile-wide and inch-deep understanding of words, events and history is catching up with her. Let's hope so!
Sadly, it seems Australian television is more interested than our own Potemkin Press. They've actually bothered to interview our own Bill Prendergast and compile yet another montage of Michele's greatest hits. She truly is fantastically entertaining in that rambling person on the bus kind of way. As one Kossack put it:
She teh ignorant, lightly pan-fried in rabid froth, wrapped in a warm crazy, smothered in a heavy layer of stupid sauce, and served up with a side of bizarre on a layer of crisp, shredded cluelessness.
Yes she is...crazy scary. Even more dismaying is the fact that Rick Perry is every bit as New Apostolic Revolution Reformation scary as she is and he's surging in the polls, probably as I type. There really isn't a hair's breadth of difference between them, except that Perry, being of the penis set, probably has a better shot in the general.
His advantages notwithstanding, Bachmann is not to be dismissed. For one thing, she has now spent years developing a national following, whereas Perry was largely relegated to Texas. It's also true that she is quite the media darling, despite her gaffes that make Biden look like Cyrano de Bergerac. It really doesn't matter what she says or how outlandish it is; she gets heaps of airtime and her fans remain devoted.
Even crazier is that she is now pulling out the big guns on Perry for tea party primary dominance...and the ad is 100% accurate. Ron Paul is also going after him and refers to him as "Al Gore's Texas cheerleader" in a new ad.
Bachmann could well bounce back once Perry's honeymoon is over and I shudder to think what might happen if either of them should be running in the general. We saw what turning out the fundie fringe does to an election and it ain't pretty. I can't believe I'm about to type this, but I really, truly hope Mittens wins their nomination.
So, what's a democrat to do? Well, we can make sure that any republicans we actually still speak to fully understand just how batshit kooky some of Bachmann's beliefs are. I know plenty of not-exactly-liberals who have no more interest in a theocracy than I do. Some will be better swayed by pointing out that she's far too daft to be entrusted with the nuclear codes. Or you could get wacky with it and use her strengths against her: opine that if she were the goodly Christian she lets on, she would leave governmentin' to the menfolk as God intended!
If you happen to live in Minnesota, Texas or one of the primary states, you can write Letters to the Editor pointing out that Perry and Bachmann are, well, delusional. They are not campaigning; they're on a crusade. Hell, write letters in praise of Mittens, if that's what it takes! Given the other options, it would only be the teenciest bit insincere.
; P