(Question: Does Russ Feingold simply seethe inside every time someone refers to Barack Obama as the most liberal member of Congress? Does he call up Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders to go commiserate over a beer? Just wondering.)
If you have not seen this video clip on any number of other blogs, here it is. Be sure to watch Katrina vanden Heuvel's follow-up response. She hits the nail on the head. While it is easy to dismiss Bachmann as another far right nut job, what she is saying, combined with the bile that the McCain campaign has been churning up, is very scary. You can also go here to ask the rest of Congress to censure Representative Bachmann -- an entirely appropriate response her performance.
But that's not all Bachmann is speaking up about. The Star-Tribune reports that Bachmann is advocating for consumer choice with the introduction of a bill called "The Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Bill." She believes that government has no place telling consumers what kind of light bulbs they can buy (although apparently it is a-okay with Michele for government to tell women that they have to carry an unplanned/unwanted pregnancy to term, for example.)
Titled the "Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act," the bill seeks to repeal the nationwide phase-out of conventional light bulbs, the kind that have been used for more than a century -- pretty much since the invention of the incandescent light bulb. Read more.I know that becoming outraged over her wing-nuttery is just one more distraction in a time when serious issues abound, but it really gives me pause. It reminds me that things could get even worse than they have been under BushCo, and that's just plain terrifying. For 8 years I have been saying that bullies at the top give rise to bullies at all levels of society, and that is perhaps the most harmful legacy of the Bush years. Here is hoping that Bachmann's 15 minutes are up.
9 comments:
Bachmann is the perfect example of why the Republican Party needs to be out of power for a while.
I hope they use the time to regroup and revisit their roots rather than than spend more time figuring out how to do the bidding of the rancid offshoots that have a stanglehold on them now.
I don't know. This kind of Republicanism seemed to come in with Reagan, but Gingrich codified it in 1994 and it is going to take a long time for them to cleanse themselves ... and that is assuming they have the will to do so.
This woman is certifiable. I mean, really.
Katrina was shaking with anger in her response. I have watched and read her for years, and I have never seen her so obviously incensed.
Bachmann should be censured by the House. TOMORROW.
Bachman is whacked beyond humanity... And David is right, Katrina was beyond incensed and duly so.
What part of MN is she from? Who elects these people?
Seems to me there are bullies at every level of society. They recognize each other and do feed off each other. The idea she will be censured is as laughable as her ridiculous comments. This is a Congress that can't manage to censure the head bully. Does anyone think they're going to censure this person? Why should I care about her comments at all? Should I be scared? Isn't there another direction to go rather than playing into her game, making a big fuss about her, whoever she is? Now she gets what she wants. Attention. So what. Geez, the Left is giving in to the politics of fear by annointing these folks with credibility. There's bigger fish to, um, fry....
I think there is fear and there's fear. I don't walk around being afraid of foreign terrorists attacking me. However, the fact that she has already been given a large forum, I believe requires a response. We are living in an era where, to too many people, what she says makes sense. And that scares me. Will Congress censure her? I doubt it. But she needs to be called out for saying those things, if not by Congress, by the media and her constituents. Hopefully they will register their displeasure on election day.
yes, hopefully
I think there is a line that somehow in the last 8 years, people of a certain bent have gotten the impression they can cross. It reminds me of arguing with a young Dutch guy on a train in Spain -- it seems as if we argued for a good portion of a night -- as he danced around his neo-Nazi philosophies. At some point he blurted out, "Hitler was right!" and immediately shut up. It was kind of shocking.
That's what Bachman reminds me of. How do you deal with that crossing of the line? It opens up too many possibilities of violence to simply ignore it. I don't know what the answer is.
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