Bachmann Daily Beat: Holy Warrior?
A daily roundup of news and commentary about U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.
U.S. Rep. Michele Bahchmann, who represents the Woodbury area in Congress.
Kyle Stucker
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The Latest:
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann will tour the crucial Republican primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina after rolling out her presidential campaign in Iowa next week, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The L.A. Times also notes that her planned announcement in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, on Monday will mark the entry of the first woman into the 2012 presidential race. She also plans to hold a party in Iowa on Sunday night that will be open to the public.
For those keeping track, a new national Zogby poll now puts the 6th District congresswoman at the top of the 2012 Republican field. Meanwhile, a statewide poll finds her gaining favorability among Minnesotans but still trailing other presidential candidates.
Commentary:
If you're tired of seeing praise heaped upon Bachmann, today might be your lucky day.
Rolling Stone has published a lengthy profile piece on Bachmann, and be forewarned: it's not flattering. To give you a taste, here's how author Matt Taibbi describes the congresswoman in a nutshell: "Bachmann is a religious zealot whose brain is a raging electrical storm of divine visions and paranoid delusions." And the city of Stillwater: "a Midwestern version of a Currier & Ives set piece, complete with cozy homes, antique stores—and no black people." A number of locals are also quoted in the piece.
Readers who prefer less satirical fare might read Meghan Daum's latest column in the L.A. Times, which actually offers a quite similar take on Bachmann, but with far less invective. Daum predicts that Bachmann will be the candidate of choice for Christian conservatives, and finds her to be a more serious politician than her would-be competitor, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
If you're thirsty for even more Bachmann criticism, The Guardian serves up a column from one of their U.S. correspondants blasting her "anti-gay agenda" and accusing her of "naked prejudice."
Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin is much kinder to Bachmann, but says the candidate needs to reinforce her newfound credibility by crafting a serious policy agenda and proving that she can appeal to more than just the Republican base. Rubin predicts that Bachmann might have the clearest path to the Republican nomination, despite her perceived underdog status.
Is Bachmann the favorite to win the GOP endorsement?
Tell us in the comments.
Edward
1:55 pm on Thursday, June 23, 2011
A fact checking piece published yesterday on Bachmann:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/bachmanns-nonsensical-medicare-obamacare-claim/2011/06/20/AGkqpPdH_blog.html
Shawn Hogendorf
2:19 pm on Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thanks for sharing, Renee.
mike
8:17 am on Friday, June 24, 2011
What the washington post is reporting is the "on the face of it" about Obamacare and medicare. They are not taking into account that although the writing says one thing, they miss the fact that the law forces people to take another option. For instance the cost of healthcare for small businesses will force them to drop healthcare for their employees, and force them to the single payer system (except for the waivers given since it was happening too fast and would not look good for the election).
Even the writers of the health care law may have had the best of intentions, we bit off more than we can chew leaving the field wide open for people to take advantage of it. Another instance is that Congress is not exempt from the healthcare law... and there is a specific paragraph stating that ... but why make it a separate paragraph? It is easier to change the law for everyone else, but not affect the congress... since it is dealt with separately ... an option for later.
There are a lot of good things in the health care "obamacare" law, but there is a lot of really nasty traps... again trying to do too many things too quickly, and there are a lot of people waiting to take advantage of it.
mike
8:21 am on Friday, June 24, 2011
The Rolling Stone is a perfect example of what is to come for Michelle Bachman ... name calling, and generalizations without any details. If she is a religious zealot, then are 90 percent of the people I know across the country...
If an article starts name-calling without evidence (whether it be Barach or Michelle), I quit reading it ... but I am running out of news sources...
Edward
10:06 am on Friday, June 24, 2011
Taibbi's piece carried the same tone and style as everything else he writes. He aims for shock value, and if he wrote about Romney or Obama it would be the same style (but I don't think he'd choose those topics; he goes for the extremes to fit his extreme language/style. MB easily fits with her thoughtless misspeaks and wild speculation -- she's a perfect subject for Taibbi to skewer) .
Read his stuff on the financial meltdown (he has a book out on it). He has no sympathy for Goldman Sachs.
Taibbi gives every topic his brand of tough love, and Bachmann's past "macaca moments" (calling for investigation of unAmericans in Congress, advising people to not fill out the census, calling Americorps a "re-education camp") play into Taibbi's hand.
Michele is a lovely woman, but she'll have trouble with her messaging style outside of her gerrymandered district. Too extreme and too many missteps. No executive experience.
Michelle
9:22 am on Friday, June 24, 2011
They obviously did not talk to this Minnesotan!! I would not vote for that nut if she was the only candidate on the ballot. If the Repubs want another 4 years of Obama, then yes, put her up as your candidate. I am embarrassed to say that she is a rep in my state!! I live in the 6th district,but, I surely did not vote for Ms. Bigot.
mike
10:46 am on Friday, June 24, 2011
Nut.... Bigot... a classic example of name-calling... give some examples of what made you not like her...
Keep in mind advising people not to fill in the census was just about the extended census that wanted a lot of personal information that was not necessary for the census. Most people did not get this form which is the mis-information that was used against her during the last local election. I don't know any details on the "MACACA moment"... please provide some details.
As for Too extreme ... more name-calling... no executive experience? ... lets apply that to ALL candidates present and past ...
Edward
10:57 am on Friday, June 24, 2011
Name calling occurs on both sides. Nothing new. Too extreme is based on her positions . . . the majority of Americans (if you trust polls) hold positions to the left of Bachmann's stated positions. It's not name-calling, it's simply where she is on the political spectrum. I don't think you'll find many candidates (maybe Santorum?) to the right of Bachmann.
No executive experience is simply a fact. Pawlenty is using his executive experience as an advantage against Bachmann (he was a governor). It was used as a knock against Obama in the last election. Just pointing out a hole in her resume . . .
mike
11:21 am on Friday, June 24, 2011
Being to the right vs. extreme ... sounds like a nearsighted scale... it is an opinion and name calling.
Granted "Executive experience" is a legitimate comment, I stand corrected.
If you trust polls, most Democrats hold positions to the left of the majority of Americans, but I don't call them extreme... when we talk polls, we need to take into account that we have a dual bell curve, which is awfully close to 50/50... some overlap. Polls can too easily take advantage of that fact, and I am not sure what the answer is to get a real reading.
Edward
12:17 pm on Friday, June 24, 2011
"most Democrats hold positions to the left of the majority of Americans"
Same could be said for Republicans (they are to the right of majority of Americans), and especially since the rise of the TEA party, which is the right wing within the Republican party. Bachmann is chair of the Tea Party caucus.
I believe the Republican party has moved further to the right since Reagan years. Democratic party has taken more of a chunk out of the middle. I used to be a Republican, before the party moved further to the right. On the local level I voted for people like Peg Larsen and Gary Laidig (Republican moderates), before those with more right leaning views took over (Bachmann). I'm a fiscal conservative, but not getting my undies in a bundle over gay marriage. It's hard to find a moderate Republican in our statehouse; Kriesel is probably the only one who marches to his own drummer these days. The rest appear to be strict ideologues who never deviate from the party line.
We need moderate, sane voices. Bachmann is not one, IMO. She has always been a polarizing force, a divider.