Matt Yglesias

Oct 17th, 2008 at 10:16 pm

Michelle Bachman Calls for Media Investigation of Anti-American Members of Congress

This rant from Rep. Michelle Bachman on Hardball that starts out criticizing Barack Obama and winds up claiming that there’s a vast nest of anti-American activity in the congress (I half expected her to start claiming to be in possession of a list of Communists) that the press needs to investigate really needs to be seen to be believed:

I think this is the “second time as farce” repetition of the Joe McCarthy era. Alternatively, maybe she’s auditioning for a spot as a Corner blogger.






65 Responses to “Michelle Bachman Calls for Media Investigation of Anti-American Members of Congress”

  1. dizzyg Says:

    liberals need to start buying guns.

  2. central squared Says:

    This story has raised some serious money for Bachman’s opponent Elwyn Tinklenberg through Actblue. Close to 50k in around 4 hours. He’s within 4 points of Bachman, so let’s show her that we do take her seriously – serious enough to know that she’s nuts and to send her packing!

    http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18660

  3. Heather Says:

    After that interview I donated to Tinklenberg, the Democrat running against her (even though I live in Florida and never even heard of him or her before.)

    Apparently I wasn’t the only one. On Rachel Maddow, she reported that in the hours after the interview, Tinklenberg received over $30,000 in donations.

  4. rapier Says:

    It’s a shame I never got to advise Obama because long ago I had the idea that he should start every campaign appearance speech with the words “It’s great to be here in the heartland of America” Say it in NY City. Say it in Chicago. Say it in Atlanta. Say it in San Fransisco.

  5. patriot games Says:

    give money to her opponent, Tinklenberg. I did.

  6. 55 Says:

    I hope someone investigates her and digs up something especially juicy.

  7. ssa Says:

    This is really frightening stuff. You wonder how these folks will reconcile with an Obama presidency. Hopefully not with violence…

    http://sunstateactivist.org/ssablog/

  8. James Gary Has A Small Checkbook Says:

    give money to her opponent, Tinklenberg. I did.

    I kicked in a couple bucks too. I’d love to see her lose an election over this.

  9. Retarded Love Child of Sarah Pailin and Joe the Plumber Says:

    That women is barely more intelligent than my mother.

  10. Gherald Says:

    Thanks for the link to donate.

  11. Jim Says:

    My Uncle lives in her district, about 30 miles from Minneapolis/St. Paul. I don’t think I’ve seen an Obama sign out there yet. My uncle spends all his time fishing and shooting, which is pretty typical out there — it is small town, red America for the most part. But I get the sense that she can be beaten in this environment. Even my uncle is voting for Obama — mainly because of Palin, believe it or not. That has shocked my family on many levels. And it would shock you, too, if you knew my uncle.

  12. Ed Marshall Says:

    liberals need to start buying guns.

    I picked up a Mossberg 500. Just sayin…

  13. Jayhawk Max Says:

    She could have at least had the decency to hold up a list of 205 names that she fabricated.

  14. aleks Says:

    Jim Says:
    October 17th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
    My Uncle lives in her district, about 30 miles from Minneapolis/St. Paul. I don’t think I’ve seen an Obama sign out there yet. My uncle spends all his time fishing and shooting, which is pretty typical out there — it is small town, red America for the most part.

    My dad works in her district. His coworkers are total rednecks.

    # 55 Says:
    October 17th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
    I hope someone investigates her and digs up something especially juicy.

    You’re welcome.

  15. Paul Says:

    I live in Bachmann’s district.

    I’ve said before and elsewhere that its unfortunately a much more republican leaning district than statistics suggest.

    This is the part of Minnesota where ProChoice America billboards litter the landscape.

  16. pacer521 Says:

    yep — looks like your right.

    http://culturedecoded.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/overview-was-sarah-palin-worth-it/

  17. Chris_ Says:

    The Dems can win anywhere in Minnesota. Up north, w/ all its hunting/fishing/woodsy types, has always been really liberal. The Dems are crushing the GOP in the state house, and are 5 seats away from a veto-proof majority.

    But it’s like you make a short drive toward Wisconsin and enter bizarre-o world. The Dems got a great candidate there, but he’s been quite a bit behind in the past. With his recent gains, any donations would be super helpful.


    (a great local blog has been attacking her since she was elected)

  18. anonymiss Says:

    You know, shit like this is really funny until somebody gets shot.

    Seriously, you call people anti-American terrorists enough times, that’s how it ends.

  19. K Says:

    Lipstick on a pig named Joe McCarthy. That lady is f#king insane.

    But on the plus side, her opponent has raised 65K+ in the 6 hours since she showed her id on Hardball (and that’s just on ActBlue).

  20. Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle Says:

    anonymiss:
    At some point, liberals/Progressives are going to get sick of this shit and they are going to take out their anger on people like Bachman. Needless to say, her types will flee for the hills when that happens.

  21. Chris_ Says:

    WOW. Check out Katrina Vanden Heuvel’s response.

  22. pseudonymous in nc Says:

    Crazy Michele Bachmann is crazy. And, sad to say, gerrymandering plus loons-of-a-feather plus the normal distribution almost ensures a handful of genuinely crazy people end up being elected by an electorate which includes lots of crazies.

  23. MR Says:

    The good people of Minnesota should be ashamed that this awful person represents them in Washington DC. What a horrible, horrible person. Those who voted for her should be ashamed of themselves.

    What a travesty. She should crawl back under the rock from whence she came.

  24. Rafe Says:

    I donated $25 to her opponent’s campaign immediately after I saw her, and I live in North Carolina.

  25. Chris_ Says:

    His donations are almost over 70k!

    It would be awesome if the story could become El’s huge fundraising after her appearance –> The whole “crazy Bachman says crazy things and opponent gets money” story would keep the narrative about McCain and his crazy supporters alive (SNL skit, etc), while the coverage would spur even more to donate to El. Hopefully other bloggers will pick this up so the MSM will notice.

    KEEP THE DONATIONS COMING.

  26. Chris_ Says:

    er… KEEP THE DONATIONS COMING.

  27. ed Says:

    The modern Republican party. Nice job Nixon, Atwater, Rove, Schmidt, Limbaugh, Fox News, National Review et al. Mission accomplished.

  28. Glen Tomkins Says:

    And alternatively

    Maybe the arrests will be starting before dawn, but definitely before they lose control of the prosecutors and custody of the evidence.

  29. 55 Says:

    Matt, you’d probably like her opponent. Dude loves infrastructure:

    http://www.tinklenberg08.com/bio.html

  30. rapier Says:

    Isn’t she the one caught on tape rubbing up against and rutting on W at some event a year or two ago?

  31. sunsin Says:

    liberals need to start buying guns.

    Yeah, as if that would help. There’s only been one armed insurrection in all America’s post-Revolutionary history that even came within shouting distance of overthrowing the Federal Government, and if that has succeeded, you’d be auctioning Obama, not electing him.

    People with that gun fantasy need to take a deep breath and try a little experiment: imagine that gun in the hands of a black man, a Hispanic, a Native American. Still like the picture? I didn’t think so. Guns are for rich whites to hold down the poor, and for poor whites to imagine they have bigger dicks. That’s all.

  32. Patrick Says:

    imagine that gun in the hands of a black man, a Hispanic, a Native American. Still like the picture?

    So I am trying to figure out how this is not racist. But it is late, so I will put that off and simply answer the question. I have no particular problem with people of those races having guns. Why this question is relevant given that you don’t know the racial identity of the person who said that liberals need to start buying guns is something I don’t know. Unless that is you think that everyone who uses the internet is white. That it?

    Is this a reason to buy a gun? No. This woman is not particularly relevant. She is some nut from Minnesota who probably won’t survive the election with her current job.

    But the counter-democratic policies of the Republican party might be. Scenarios in which the Republicans declare martial law for fake reasons and get away with it are much more plausible now (after they stole two elections, after they got us into a war based on made up intel, and after they were given the right to run internal spying operations without real oversight) then they were 10 years ago.

    No state lasts forever. We aren’t some magic exception to that rule. Is it likely that the Republicans will try this? No. Is it likely that they will succeed even if they do try it? No. Is it foolish to be worried about such a scenario to the point of preparing yourself against it? Maybe it used to be. I don’t think it is now.

  33. John Emerson Says:

    Bachmann’s district has one smallish city, exurbs, and some farmers but not very many. It’s the most conservative district in Minnesota, more conservative than the predominantly rural districts, but would still be more liberal than the average Texas district.

  34. Brad Says:

    is it me or does she look like Katherine Harris.

    Is there some rule that bat-sh*t crazy Republican women must look alike?

  35. El Cid Says:

    I strongly support the idea that someone named “Elwyn Tinklenberg” should have a prominent public position.

  36. Becca Says:

    Next “Joe” up to bat on the campaign trail- McCarthy.

    It does occur to me that fewer and fewer people are aware of the Red Scare and HUAC. If Bachmann knows anything of McCarthy, it’s probably through the wistful eyes of Anne Coulter.

  37. Angellight Says:

    Michelle Bachmann along with Sarah Palin’s recent comments to a crowd about “Pro-American parts of the country” is confirmation that the Republican Party has always been adept and evily clever at pitting one segment of America society against the other in a “divide and conquer” rule. They are the party of Division! I am so glad they are being found out!

    However in a call to “national unity” it was a Wise and Judicious Barack Obama in 2004 who spoke these Uniting words in regards to America’s oneness and what we can be:

    “Even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits, the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states.” –Obama, 2004.

    It should be a crime against the “good” of the American Public and a Betrayal of the Public Trust for McCain and Republicans to be able to get away with obvious lies and distortions by false and misleading Robocalls which try to link an 8 year old Barack Obama with acts committed by Ayers over 30 years ago. It is down right dishonest, dishonorable and misleading. There should be laws against this type of unethical behavior to knowing lie and mislead for gain. This is like one lying on their Resume when applying for a job. It is moraly wrong and unethical!

    As for Joe the Plumber who lied to Barack when he falsely said, “I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year,” “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?” when it has been reported that Joe makes $45,000 a year and owes back taxes! This is the very middle-class person Barack Obama’s tax plan would help! And Joe the Plumber belies the fact that if one has $250,000.00 dollars to invest in a business, and because he has to pay his fair share of taxes, he is unable to Purchase that business, he is just plain greedy because middle-class people deserve a break especially now after 8 years of paying more than their fair share while the rich got away scott free and devastated the economy to boot!

  38. duBois Says:

    The Up Dos are coming! The Up Dos are Coming!

  39. MattinPA Says:

    Volunteer for Barack, folks. Now is when it counts. That’s how to make the wingnuts go away.

  40. duBois Says:

    http://www.tinklenberg08.com/

    Send him some money. Even if she thinks she’s in a safe seat, it ain’t necessarily soap. Mean Jean Schmidt’s agressive whackball views got her a close race in ‘06, and a close race at least shut her up a bit.

  41. DBX Says:

    Without Elwyn TInklenberg and Jesse Ventura, the Twin Cities would not have light rail. It was the perfect tag team; Ventura reprised his WWF role as the ham, and Tinklenberg as the good smart guy who could instantly answer any question no matter how arcane; Ventura threatening legislative Republicans with loss of pet programs, Tinklenberg informing the waverers with his knowledge. Light rail had been a longstanding priority of both of them for many years, and within a single legislative session they had broken a logjam that had been in place for more than a decade.

    Bachmann is an insult to humanity, sort of a caricature of Sarah Palin with all the charm removed. It’s a tough district for a Democrat but Bachmann has become increasingly unpopular and I think this seat is very winnable.

  42. AZ Desert Rats for Obama Says:

    Can someone explain to me why the press gives McCain a “bye” on his connections to G. Gordon Liddy, and John Singlaub?

  43. Frank Wilhoit Says:

    Michelle Bachmann speaks for half the country.

    The worst mistake we could make (and often do) is to imagine that she speaks for less.

    The worst mistake SHE could make (and unquestionably does) is to imagine that she speaks for more.

  44. gordonminor Says:

    Not my idea of a “rant”. More a robotic repetition of one talking point.

  45. serpounce Says:

    I’d also point out that this video is an example of how Chris Mathews can be a very good questioner when he’s on the ball. His repeating of that central question, “what is the connection between liberal, leftist, and anti-American” was exactly the right line of questioning, and her refusal to answer directly really tore her argument apart.

  46. John Emerson Says:

    30% at most, not 50%.

  47. Karl Says:

    I think Palin has found her running mate for 2012

  48. Sarah Says:

    So this is the McCain campaign buzzwords now?

    - spreading the wealth
    - socialist
    - anti-american

    I’m guessing the next progression is communist.

  49. Roddy McCorley Says:

    You bet your ass there are anti-American members of congress. Why, one of them went on Hardball just yesterday and delivered one of the most un-American rants imaginable. An investigation of such people is definitely called for.

  50. Nara Says:

    Why is everyone so surprised? Did you read the titles of the recent right wing books – The party of death, Liberal Fascism and Godless. The authors of these books are the standard bearers for today’s conservatism. They write for some of the most prestigious newspapers.

    If you read the corner regularly (National review)you know this is pretty standard stuff. Read Mark Steyn and you would thik Michelle Bachman is a moderate.

  51. Tyro Says:

    Why is everyone so surprised? Did you read the titles of the recent right wing books – The party of death, Liberal Fascism and Godless. The authors of these books are the standard bearers for today’s conservatism. They write for some of the most prestigious newspapers.

    One of the big blindspots that liberals have is that they never seem to believe that Republicans mean what they say and retaliate accordingly. There’s this bizarre belief of liberals that when Republicans say they’re an anti-American traitorous “party of death” that, somehow, “they don’t really mean that.”

    No, really, the Republicans believe these things and think liberals are wimps for calmly sitting around and absorbing these attacks.

  52. duBois Says:

    No, really, the Republicans believe these things

    No, really. Their pundits don’t. Republican pundits are cynical hacks pandering to the dumbos.

  53. MplsKid Says:

    Just when I thought I was tapped out on donations for this election cycle – here goes another $25.

    Michelle Bachmann is truly, deeply, dangerously insane. She’s like a caricature of a liberal nightmare about a conservative wignut – except she’s real. It kills me that she was put in power by voters in Minnesota. By and large we’re sensible folk, even most of the conservatives.

  54. Colatina Says:

    “I think this is the “second time as farce” repetition of the Joe McCarthy era.”

    We’ve seen it for as long as Cheney’s been president. In Bachmann’s case, I think it shows that the McCarthyist personality still exists, even when it doesn’t have a concrete blueprint for a smear campaign in hand. Unfortunately it will probably take another 50 years before conservatives stop trying to connect mainstream liberals directly to Cold War “anti-American” left radicalism. Some kid who’s pooping his diaper right now is going to be smeared as an associate of the Rosenbergs when he runs for the Senate.

  55. socctty Says:

    I’ve heard of her saying some pretty silly stuff before, so this prompted me to look at her wikipedia page.

    I can’t say I’m surprised to find out that she went to Oral Roberts University. She’s also prone to hyperbole, calling the future ban on incandescent lightbulbs a “massive Big Brother intrusion into our homes and lives.” She supports the administration’s abuse of the FISA law, though…

    Oh, and since she’s on the House Committee on Oversight and Investigations, maybe she can start doing some of this pressing oversitin’ and investigatin’ that we apparently so desperately need.

  56. JT Says:

    http://censurebachmann.com/

  57. cialis Says:

    cialis
    I want to say – thank you for this!

  58. zyban Says:

    Great site. Good info

  59. tramadol Says:

    I bookmarked this site. Thank you for good job!
    tramadol

  60. tramadol Says:

    tramadol
    I want to say – thank you for this!

  61. brand viagra Says:

    If you have to do it, you might as well do it right
    buy cheap viagra

  62. viagra cheap Says:

    thanks !! very helpful post!
    viagra


Jump to Top

About Wonk Room | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy (off-site) | RSS | Donate
© 2005-2008 Center for American Progress Action Fund
imageRegisterimageimageRSSimageimageimage image
image
Advertisement

Visit Our Affiliated Sites

image image
image 

Books By Matthew Yglesias
Book Cover

Heads in the Sand

Buy the book


imageTopic Cloud


Featured

image
Subscribe to the Progress Report




Contact Matthew Yglesias
Use this form to contact blog author Matthew Yglesias.

Name:
Email:
Tip:
(required)


imageArchives


imageBlog Roll


imageAbout Matt YglesiasimageimageContact MeimageimageDonateimage