Search results for "michele bachmann"

The Hill has a strong article on the challenges facing John Boehner. The Republican majority in the House has been strong and unified, making Speaker Boehner’s job easy. They all wanted to repeal health care reform. They all wanted to make cuts. But now he’s faced with the vote to raise the debt ceiling, and the new guys may not go along.

If we don’t raise the debt ceiling and the government defaults, things could get ugly. Tim Geithner warns that interest rates will rise, house values will fall, and payments will stop for military salaries, Medicare, and Social Security. Some Republicans think he’s being melodramatic, but even Boehner said not acting is not an option:

That would be a financial disaster not only for our country, but for the worldwide economy. Remember, the American people on Election Day said we want to cut spending and we want to create jobs. You can’t create jobs if you default on the federal debt.

The period of agreement will end, as Michele Bachmann and some number of members of the Tea Party Caucus will refuse to vote to raise the limit, regardless of spending cuts attached to it.

There could also be another disagreement between some Democrats. Those that don’t want huge cuts because they worry about the affect of such cuts on the economy will likely be unhappy if a deal similar to the Bush tax cut extension is made that gives Republicans a lot of cuts.

Boehner called this an “adult moment.” I think that sums up what this is going to mean for many of the Republican newcomers that had huge ideas of saying no to any debt and spending. It sounds good, but in practice it just isn’t that easy.

I think it’s similar to how Boehner promised $100 billion in spending cuts then proposed $32 billion in spending cuts. If they’re talking about getting the debt under control, this is a feeble attempt. It seems well and good to say, “Let’s cut $100 billion” (with pinky to mouth), but once you set out to do it you see it is a very difficult process.

Following through on bold talk isn’t always the best move, and we’ll see if the newbies are adult enough to realize this.

Enjoy what should be an interesting amount of showdowns.

Adam Feser

After President Obama’s speech, Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan will deliver a rebuttal. It is a difficult job to do and is often only remembered if it is bad. It is expected that Ryan will focus on fiscal issues.

What I think is interesting is that Ryan’s won’t be the only rebuttal. Minnesota crazy person Michele Bachmann will also deliver her own rebuttal.

I am super excited about this. Who knows what she’ll say? Will she mention Kenya? Maybe she’ll go on a diatribe against Muslims and claim Obama is one of them. Perhaps she’ll talk about the dreaded re-education camps. Either way, I’m sure it will be awesome.

This should trouble Republicans, as it is more evidence of the rift between the Republican leadership and the Tea Party that is largely responsible for the mid-term success Republicans had. It may serve to demonstrate the differences between what Bachmann lovers and establishment Republicans believe.

I, for one, hope Bachmann is full out crazy. If she is, it will only serve to overshadow Ryan’s rebuttal and bring the focus to the fracture in the Republican party.

Of course, I could be reading this wrong. I guess there is a chance that Bachmann’s speech will bring more focus to the rebuttals in general, taking away from Obama’s speech. It’s even possible that Bachmann will dial it down (ha). Any way you look at it, it at least serves to make the night more interesting.

Enjoy the show.

Adam Feser

If you thought the last presidential election was nuts, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Michele Bachmann is considering a 2012 presidential bid. Oh glorious day!

I think it would do the country a lot of good to have Bachmann’s insanity paraded out in GOP debates. Other Republicans might even be forced to respond to it, and you know she wouldn’t have a problem going after less crazy Republicans. And the amount of support she would probably get would be great in exposing just how many people agree with her lunacy.

Perhaps seeing Bachmann’s candidacy would even convince some Republicans that Palin isn’t so bad. They could nominate her, all but assuring a second term for President Obama.

National politics would be hard to take if so much of it wasn’t so crazy. Bachmann definitely is about the craziest politician going. I think this would be hilarious. Do it, Michele.

Enjoy getting on those resolutions.

Adam Feser

Updated with new material (in italics): I just found an amazing quote from conservative Bruce Bartlett. He is a conservative who was an advisor to Reagan. In 2005, he spoke out against some of Bush’s policies. He was fired from a right-wing think tank, much like David Frum was for his bold statement on healthcare reform. Here is what Bartlett had to say after Frum was fired:

It saddened me to hear this. I have always hoped that my experience was unique. But now I see that I was just the first to suffer from a closing of the conservative mind. Rigid conformity is being enforced, no dissent is allowed, and the conservative brain will slowly shrivel into dementia if it hasn’t already.

This dementia seems to have set in. Just look at this.

A recent Harris Poll has made me fear for the future of the country. As John Avlon argues, the fringe has come to dominate our political culture. Fear and hate politics have come to dominate campaigns, and campaigns last forever.

But let’s get down to the poll. What Americans think is bad, but look at what Republican respondents thought about Barack Obama:

He is a socialist (67%)
He wants to take guns away (61%)
He is a Muslim (57%)
He wants to sacrifice U.S. sovereignty to a one-world government (51%)
He has acted against the Constitution (55%)
He resents America’s heritage (47%)
He does what Wall Street and the bankers tell him to do (40%) – makes you wonder how he’s also a socialist
He was not born in the United States (45%)
He is a racist (42%) – Beck viewers I guess
He wants to use a crisis (economic or terrorist attack) to assume dictatorial powers (41%)
He is doing many of the things that Hitler did (38%)
He may be the Anti-Christ (24%)
He wants the terrorists to win (22%)

Get all that? This is absolutely ridiculous. Over half of Republicans still think Obama is Muslim?! Over half think he wants to give up our sovereignty to a one-world government, and 41% think he wants to be a dictator. There must be no overlap because these are mutually exclusive. Same goes for the claim that he’s a socialist (67%) and that he just obeys Wall Street (40%), but numerically there has to be overlap there. This is akin to telling government to get their hands off of Medicare.

Let’s get to the really fun stuff. Over a third of Republicans believe he is doing many of the things Hitler did. Over a third. Damn near a quarter believe he may be the Anti-Christ. Seriously. Over a fifth think he wants the terrorists to win. This is shameful.

Republicans read and write here. How does this make you feel about your party? Do you like that just under half of your party doesn’t think Obama was born in the U.S.? I am embarrassed that 8% of Democrats think that. How is that number not 0? There is a small contingent of Democrats that answered yes to all of these questions.  What in the hell is going on here?

How can over half believe he wants to give up U.S. power to a (non-existent) one-world government? How? Michele Bachmann? We act like Glenn Beck and Bachmann aren’t scary, but they’re obviously having a large impact. I wish they would have included a question about favorite newsmen. I guarantee a strong correlation with Beck and the craziest of the bunch (crazy minds think alike?).

The poll did find that you were much more likely to hold these views if you had never been to college. So education seems to mitigate the craziness factor. Bottom line: we need to educate people, because this is crazy.

Or perhaps conservative dementia has started to set in.

Enjoy wrapping your head around this poll.

Adam Feser

Update: If more people would realize that what Coburn says is true, we’d have less stuff like this going on.

Tom Coburn had a town hall with some fiery guests, and he shocked many of them with his defense of Nancy Pelosi. When he discussed his policy differences with Pelosi, he called her a nice lady. The crowd booed and hissed, and he replied, “Come on now. She is nice – how many of you all have met her? She’s a nice person.”

He has a great point here, and we’re all guilty of forgetting it. Just because we disagree with someone does not mean they are evil. I try to remind myself (and you) that we all have friends that hold positions opposite our own, and this means that any politician that we disagree with could be our friend.

Although I hate Glenn Beck and Michele Bachmann and believe they are insane, but I don’t have any friends that crazy.

Coburn also had harsh words for Fox News. A woman complained that she would be thrown in jail for not getting insurance, and Coburn quickly said that is not the point. “The intention is not to put any one in jail. That makes for good TV news on FOX but that isn’t the intention.”

He also said, “So don’t catch yourself being biased by FOX News that somebody is no good. The people in Washington are good. They just don’t know what they don’t know.”

A valid point from a man I rarely agree with.

Enjoy a free MLB Extra Innings preview.

Adam Feser

The Tea Party movement has had its problems, and their convention seems as though it may have one. Representatives Michele Bachmann and Marsha Blackburn have pulled out as speakers. Their offices said it was because they aren’t sure how the proceeds from the event can be used.

The event is being run by Tennessee lawyer Judson Phillips, and he says he hopes to turn a profit. This, along with Palin’s $100,000 speaking fee and the ticket price of $549, has many tea partiers boycotting the event.

I realize politicians get paid large amounts of money to talk, but this seems like an odd decision. This group is protesting what they deem to be pointless spending, and they are willing to spend $100,000 for a woman who was governor of Alaska for a few years. In addition to that, they expect people to pay $549 to hear what they already know she will say and likely agree with.

This isn’t the first split for the partiers, and I doubt it will be the last.

People have questioned their “grass-roots” status since its inception (many called it astroturf and others question how Fox News was a huge promoter) and I doubt this will help their image.

Enjoy Parks and Recreation tonight. Also, Archer is on FX tonight and is an awesome show. Check it out.

Adam Feser

A census worker was hanged with the word “Fed” written on his chest. This apparent homicide occurred in Kentucky and not many details have been released. But judging by the circumstances, I’d say it was someone afraid of the horrors that could be perpetrated by the census.

Bill Sparkman was a 51-year-old single father who pursued a teaching degree in his spare time. He worked for the census part-time since 2003.

This is why lying can be dangerous. Michele Bachmann comes out and says a number of crazy, scary things about the census, and people are bound to believe it. I’m not sure if whoever did this was enraged by Bachmann’s irrational claims about the census, but I wouldn’t doubt it.

The instinct of some may be to say it isn’t her fault, that whoever did it was crazy. But let’s think about it. If politicians or pundits say the census people are working with the socialist Obama in order to send people to camps and someone dangerous believes it, how are they going to react when the bad man comes to the door?

More people need to call out insane ramblings like Bachmann’s. Another great step would be to simply not let her spew such garbage on TV. An even better idea would be for Minnesotans to vote for someone less crazy.

The fear mongering has apparently gotten to Sarah Palin, who apparently must not read everything. If she did, she would realize the government is not going to kill people. Palin, on her facebook page (perhaps this is how she will better serve Alaska?), claimed the “death panel” would decide if her Down Syndrome baby would live or die. Proving just how justified her fear is, Palin used noted lunatic Michele Bachmann as a source.

How does she get off acting as though the government is inherently evil? She was recently a part of it and strived to be the Vice President. But I guess killing old people and Down Syndrome babies is just government as usual, of which Palin cannot be a part. What a joke.

Enjoy the stepped up Nazi rhetoric.

Adam Feser

Here’s a great little quote: “…we’re the only state that has gone Democrat longer than any other state in the country.” That has little to do with the interview, it just cracked me up. I had assumed that there were several states that had gone Democrat longer than any other state in the country.

I stumbled upon a beautiful little website and they posted a transcript from an interview Bachmann did. It’s filled with some insanity, some lies, and a lot of unwarranted praise for her speaking crazy to power. That’s what I shall call it from now on. I can’t take credit, I first heard it from Jon Stewart.

I figured I should link to a transcript, because I often just discuss specific things she says, and you may be interested to see all of the craziness. She visits crazy town so often it’s getting hard to keep track of, so I’m not sure what all you’ve already read. Reading the entire interview is equal parts hilarious, horrifying, and infuriating. She still seems to think Geithner is going to change our currency, which no one ever even mentioned. Also, a snow storm in Minnesota means global warming isn’t real. There is plenty more where that came from. If you feel the urge, you can check out the transcript. Here it is:
Michele Bachmann transcript

Also, Bachmann hates Muslims. That can be the only reason she says some of the stuff she does. The same state to produce the first Muslim member of Congress also elected a woman who apparently can’t stand them. Read the part where they talk about Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim member of Congress. Her hatred is obvious. Apparently the media needs to investigate Ellison because he supposedly recommended talented Muslims to Obama. What is wrong with Bachmann?

Enjoy the transcript, between periods of rage.

Adam Feser

I think Michele Bachmann and Glenn Beck could have a really good crazy showdown.  Bachmann, once again, seems to have lost her grip on reality.  This time the Republican Congresswoman from Minnesota is claiming that the hugely popular Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act contains provisions for government-sanctioned re-education camps. Also, the volunteer programs aren’t actually volunteer programs.  She stated this in a radio interview, which she probably assumed was a communique for aliens.  At any rate, here is a link: A member of Congress actually said this. I am almost starting to feel bad for her. Perhaps she should seek help.

Enjoy the next Bachmann lunacy, because they seem to come in pairs.

Adam Feser