Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann is still reaping the whirlwind from her comments on Hardball calling Obama’s view anti-American and calling for an investigation of members of Congress for anti-American views. After the comments were widely attacked as McCarthyism, Bachmann denied saying them but the damage appears to have been done in the sixth Minnesota district race. Challenger Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg has experienced an influx of donations after Backmann emergence on the national stage.
Backmann clearly went on Hardball to continue the highly negative attacks on Obama as not being “pro-American.” On the show, when asked directly if she share the view that Obama is anti-American, she stated: “Absolutely, I’m very concerned that he may have anti-American views. That’s what the American people are concerned about.”
After the national outcry, Bachmann went on television to say “I’m not saying that he has anti-American views, that is a misreading of what I said.” The Daily Kos had a field day with the two interviews.
Bachmann also called for an investigation of members with “anti-American views” in the Hardball interview. However, in her later interview, she did not address that statement. Here is the interview.
Bachmann’s comments are unfortunately an example of how, once unleashed by a campaign, these attacks quickly de-evolve into a form of fascistic rhetoric. From Palin’s reference to “pro-American” parts of the country to Bachmann’s call for the investigation of anti-American views, the all citizens should be equally concerned. At best, Bachmann’s comments were irresponsible and worthy of condemnation. At worse, it is a reflection of how politicians have unleashed the scourge of McCarthyism again in this country.
In the meantime, the McCain camp is facing another potential defection of a “Joe-Six-Pack”: Family Guy has portrayed McCain supporters are neo-Nazis. This follows the loss of Homer Simpson. The McCain camp is going to have to close this cartoon gap before it swallows up the campaign. While this was a portrayal of a brown shirt supporting a McCain/Palin button, the possible loss of Stewie (who falls right in the demographic for the campaign) should be alarming. There remain uncommitted characters like Pinky and the Brain who need to be courted. Scrooge McDuck is already leaning toward the campaign but Futurama’s Hubert J. Farnsworth is remained independent.
It is interesting to see these popular shows have gone so openly in favor of Obama — and their impact. The portrayal of the McCain/Palin campaign as a bunch of brownshirts should be no laughing matter for the campaign. Yet, if they object, they seem petty and fighting with cartoon characters.
These type of scenes reinforce a view by the opposing camp and are watched by tens of millions — much like the portray of Palin on Saturday Night Live. The images tend to stick. The result is that few people note Biden’s recent gaffes (as he is not portrayed as subintelligent) but every possible gaffe sticks on Palin.
Well said Gyges!
Gino,
I don’t usually throw around the word evil, I think like hero it’s used to much. I’m also not entirely sure how I would define evil, except to say that needlessly inflicting pain on any person is evil. So when you have a party led by men who sanction torture, I think it’s safe to call it evil. That’s not to say that every person who runs as a Republican is evil, just that the Party leadership, and the current philosophy of the party are.
That being said, anyone in political power that doesn’t speak out against torture needs to be held accountable, no matter which team they play for. I think the Democratic party holds a large chuck of the blame for the current state of America, and the individuals responsible should be held accountable. The other side of the coin is that I’m more than willing to vote for a Republican who will fight the degradation of the U.S. Constitution.
From what I’ve read, you’ll agree that voting for a “team” is what got us into this mess. Politicians feel (rightly so) they can count on their team’s votes no matter what their actions are, which is why we have a quasi-dictator in the executive branch and Congressional Leadership more interested in not rocking the boat than pursuing justice.
Buddha,
Along with what you said I notice many conservative Republicans have come out in favor of Obama. I’m certain most of them have not seen the party as representative of actual conservatism for years. A letter to the editor in “The Blade” was instructive of this. This man has been a precinct committeeman and he quoted from the instruction sheet he received from 1960 explaining why, “I should always vote for the GOP…Government is to serve the individual, never to dominate him.” He ended with: “What’s happened to my Grand Old Party?”
“They are now demonstrably evil.”
It’s statements like that that keep me coming back and posting comments like the one above.
Mespo, do not go so hard on the residents of Crete, since those Cretans are not cretins. But we get your meaning
I witnessed Bachman’s rant on Hardball live and it was amazing. It was like watching somebody channel McCarthy. Matthews took the opportunity to lead her into deeper water, but she didn’t need much encouragement. It’s incredible that she was ever elected to anything.
And Jill, I heard about the ‘Boogie Man’ documentary on NPR and it sounds really interesting.
Well Gino, I guess Raff pointed out why you looked like a GOP hack. An appeal to propaganda is weaker than an appeal to authority as far as argument goes. In case you didn’t catch it, I was mostly agreeing with you ABOUT TACTICS. So you respond with yet another attack against liberalism? You even have the social skills of a Republican. If you aren’t, it’s a good disguise. Methinks the lady doth protest too much to not be in league with them.
The morale of the story is don’t act like their puppet and you won’t get treated like one. The GOP’s days are numbered in their current configuration and with their current strategy. Again, feel free to back the Neocons by carrying out their fascist agenda of demonizing liberal thought. It didn’t work for Hitler, Mussolini or Franco. It’s not going to work for you or the GOP either. Any victory fascism makes will always be short lived. History shows it’s an ultimately myopic self-destructive form of governance, second in stupidity only to theocracy. Hm, corporatism and profit over all vs. belief over logic and fact. In the history of bad ideas, it may be a stupidity tie, but I digress. Technology is democratizing education. It is a proven trend that education breeds liberalism. Liberalism is antithetical to authoritarianism, also a key component of fascism. Think about that next time someone with an (R) behind their names votes against education. You’ll just keep losing in the long term as it becomes harder and harder to conceal the truth about their criminal organization and lies. Tools have changed. The way people learn has changed. Times have changed. The people you defend haven’t and probably can’t. Simply put, they are power mad. Emphasis on “mad”. As in insane. As in willing to destroy the world rather than lose “power”.
Screw that.
I am not for Obama for partisan reasons. I don’t care what his party is any more than I care what color he is. His ideas are solid and his respect for the Constitution is required to fix this mess. DNC or RNC? What kind of choice is that? I would prefer more options than two. The DNC are weak, graft swilling half-wits by in large, unwilling to uphold their sworn Constitutional duties when it means a fight or pulling their noses out of the lobbyist’s slop trough (cough cough Pelosi cough cough). If all of them had the brass cajones of Rep. Kucinich, it’d be a different story. I am not against the GOP for partisan reasons. I have voted Republican in the past. No more, but we once had common ground. I am against them because they are now way beyond being graft pigs. They are the party of bad ideas. They are now demonstrably evil. Suspension of habeas corpus, illegal signing statements that circumvent Congress, torture, the Patriot Act, ignoring legal orders by the judiciary, abused and abusive domestic spying, outing a CIA operative for political gain, contracting mercenaries, no bid contracts to the VP’s true employer (Halliburton), poking our allies in the eye, illegal (and unethical) war against a country that did not attack us while sucking up to one that did (that would be Saudi Arabia in case you missed where the men and money behind 9/11 came from, it was in all the papers), the destruction of our international credibility . . . the list goes on and on. I won’t even mention the deregulation they pushed since Reagan that has caused the financial crisis currently sweeping the globe.
In eight years, they have done more damage to this country than ANY terrorist was or is capable of. And they did it for the basest of motives: profit/greed and the illusion of power.
Although I may see you on a march (I kinda doubt that), I’ll see you on the eight fold path as soon as you get your mind and your actions right. Right now, they are cloudy at best. The path you are on now only leads to more and greater suffering. Read up on fascism if you doubt it. By attacking liberal thought, you have sided with evil men or, at a minimum, with their agenda. If you don’t see this as incompatible with the eight fold path, then I cannot open your eyes for you. I can only point the way.
Independent Perspective,
I have to agree tht Bachmann has no shame, but I don’t think that she is stupid. She is just a spinmaster who does not get deterred by facts or reality. She has bought into the neocon kool aid and I think she does this dirty job as a way to “pay her political dues” in the Republican Party by serving as an attack dog. She yells the crazy stuff so McCain can stay above the fray. I don’t thinks she has anyone fooled, however.
Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has obivously never heard of Joseph McCarthy, and yet here she is making $ 150 thousand a year as US congressional represenative.
She got in with her face, ( guess, but not her brains or the lack thereof.
I want an investigation of members of Congress to see if their too stupid to be in office. We know Ms. Bachmann is far to stupid to be there. Clearly, she had no idea who McCarthy is, of course, dumb *ass Chris Matthews doesn’t say a word, but could have said, “you investigate for communism?” That would have pretty much nailed Bachmann on the spot (not that she wasn’t already nail, I guess). Chris could have said, ” a long last, have you no shame congresswoman?”
Let’s hope the Democratic challenger runs ads with McCarthy and Bachmann side by side, followed-up with words from Edward R. Murrow to top it all off. And then say, Bachmann obviously knows nothing of history, what is she doing in congress without knowing basic American history? How can she be a lawmaker, know nothing about law or witch hunts, something along those lines?
I apologize for doing back to back posts, but I forgot to mention that Rep. Bachmann’s statements were as bad as you can get. She literally claimed that Obama’s views were anti-American and also asked the media to do look at all Democrats who might be also “guilty” of voicing anti-American views. She is the new and improved version of Sen. McCarthy, the namesake of McCarthyism.
Gino,
If you want to publicy claim that you are an independent and are not voting for McCain/Palin, it might be a good idea to not link to a far right web site as your evidence that the “left” is doing or does the same bad things that the Republicans are doing. Your big evidence is one law professor who was a bit over the top and you try to compare that instance to the Coulters, the Malkins, Rush and his racist views, Glenn Beck, O’Reilly and the rest of the Fox News crowd and even McCain and Palin themselves. If you want to find the high road in this campaign or any campaign, you won’t find it in the Republican camp.
There was even a “change” sticker on the show House a couple of months ago that looked a lot like an Obama sticker (and it was before McCain stole the whole “change” message later) and that was on Fox, too.
Buddha Is Laughing,
Here’s a tip for free. Don’t assume I support the GOP because I criticize the left. I’m not a Republican. I’m not voting for McCain-Palin. I’m just pointing out, again, that the left also engages in the tactics they decry.
See you on the eight-fold path, or maybe the thousand li march.
And Go Prof. Farnsworth! We need a party that supports the interests of atomic monsters.
Jill,
winnacostals.
rofl – I need to party with you, funny woman.
I can’t wait to use that. They’ll probably think it’s a compliment though.
Gino,
Here’s a tip for free. Never end an argument with “whatever” unless you’re a 15 year old mallrat.
As a rabid independent (I think both parties suck but for different reasons), I’d like to say feel free to keep supporting the party of hate, corruption and blatant crimes against our own citizens. In a few years, Hollywood will be looking for a new “stock” villain. The GOP will fill the bill nicely. And I mean playbill, not bill of attainder as much as the GOP would like to bring that back in addition to stomping on habeas corpus.
Different? No, not at all. Both sides fight dirty. Both have read Machiavelli and Sun Tzu. They just didn’t understand them or purposefully misapply the lessons therein. (Example: Niccolo or Sun would never have hired Blackwater, but they both would have pounced on impeachment.) However, who was piloting the ship when the iceberg(s) showed up? That would be Bush Co., PNAC and the GOP obstructionists in the Senate. Politics is a rough game but the bottom line is this: you broke it, you bought it.
See you at the movies.
Fortunately, liberals who support Obama-Biden don’t engage in such antics. Oh, wait …
http://overlawyered.com/2008/10/in-which-i-get-called-thought-police/
Before you say it, let me guess. This is different, right? Right?
Whatever.
Directly to this point I do want to recommend the film: “Boogie Man, the Lee Atwater Story” as it lays bare this technique to win an election. It was Lee’s contention that people would vote against their economic interests based on their “higher” interests–that is patriotism, abortion, guns, etc. (which he personally ridiculed), but knew others were sincere about.
Questions of patriotism loom quite large in this nation and its campaigns. Kitty Dukakis was rumored (by the RNC) to have burned a flag at a protest rally. The patriotism described is: “my country right or wrong, go back to where you came from, how dare you question your govt.” version of patriotism that I have seen many places, including this blog.
In order to avoid showing his own fingertips on accusations of “lacking patriotism” they would be made in their ugliest forms by lackies, although candidates would pick up on the rumors/themes thrown out by the lackies.
This is scary and despicable. It should be exposed as the act of cynical, hateful people they are. They are not patriots, only wins at all costers or as I’m calling them now: “winnacostals”.
Lastly, here’s a wonderful take on Rep. Michelle Bachmann from Michael Tomasky writing in The Guardian:
“I would not call Bachmann herself a fascist. Odd as it sounds, to do so would be to grant her far too much credit. For one to embrace an -ism, even a repugnant one, one needs to have read a certain amount of history and political philosophy. Bachmann is just an idiot. She wouldn’t know Edmund Burke from Billie Burke (she played the good witch in the Wizard of Oz), and she obviously has no idea that, in her rejection of the two bedrock American principles of separation of church and state and freedom of thought, she is the one who is as anti-American as they come.”
I was pleased to learn that the “Lord” told her to run for the House, and that in 2006 she called herself a “fool for Christ” (or for anyone else too it seems). These neo-cons are just so predictable!
On a serious note, the incessant drumbeat of right-wing talk radio incites many of these wackos to become more strident in voicing their prejudices. Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck et als give cover to these Cretans by providing a veneer of pseudo-intellectual* support to attitudes that were once banished to base camps in Idaho and Klan rallies in Mississippi. This propaganda of the right has emboldened the angry white male (and in some cases white females–e.g. Bachmann and my personal favorite, Fraulein Coulter) to take on societal constraints against intolerance, and we are all the worse for it. Trustees of the public airways? Short pants fascists if you ask me.
* Interestingly none of three finished college but some hold “honorary” degrees.
Bachmann, Family Guy, Homer Simpson–Cartoon characters all!