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 Why Not Bachmann?Posted on Apr 5, 2011
In early November of 1963, the Gallup Poll gave President John Kennedy a 55-to-39-point lead over his probable 1964 Republican candidate, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona.
Good news for the White House. Very good news.
"This could be fun, if it’s Barry," said Kennedy, who liked Goldwater a lot. Everybody did. A lot of them, specifically Kennedy, thought the Arizona senator was too conservative or just too dumb to become president. "Give me Barry. I won’t even have to leave the Oval Office."
Then he told his staff and political people: "Don’t waste any chance to praise Barry. Build him up a little. Don’t mention the others." (The "others" were New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and Michigan Gov. George Romney, whose son, Mitt Romney, is a candidate this time.)
If history recycles, we can expect people in Barack Obama’s White House to start building up Michele Bachmann, the feisty congresswoman from Minnesota who has said she considers the Obamas to be "anti-American." Obama would not have to leave the White House either. In fact, compared with Bachmann, old cowboy conservative Goldwater is Thomas Jefferson.
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But if you look to the right of those entries, there is a link to a site to donate to the Bachmann campaign, and it’s a safe bet that thousands of people are doing just that.
What a piece of work is this woman. This energetic woman, anyway. When, during the 2008 campaign, the lady from the 6th District, said that it was time for voters to assess candidates by whether they were "pro-America" or "anti-America," she raised a million dollars in a few days.
The attractive lady, attractive when her mouth is closed, which is rare, made it to big-time politics the hard way, beginning by working on local school issues and getting enough attention to be elected to the state Senate. She was elected to Congress in 2006 and made her name by vicious and continuous attacks on gay people and pro-gay legislation. She has five children and 23 foster children, and is an attorney. She and her husband run a pair of Christian counseling centers in the Twin Cities area. She became a Republican, she says, when she read Gore Vidal’s 1973 novel "Burr." She thought Vidal was anti-American. Among her achievements is five years working as an Internal Revenue Service lawyer.
Like Goldwater, she keeps her name in the news by fronting conservative rallies and saying dumb things. The latest is that the American Revolution began in the New Hampshire towns of Lexington and Concord. She has blamed Franklin Roosevelt for the Great Depression because he signed the "Hoot-Smalley Act," raising American tariffs. Actually it was called Smoot-Hawley and it was signed by Herbert Hoover.
Among many other things she found important enough to fill Google slots are remarks noting that when Jimmy Carter was president there was a swine flu epidemic, and that there was one when another Democrat, Barack Obama, entered the Oval Office. Hmmm, do Democrats bring the flu? Probably not because Gerald Ford, a Republican, was in office when the first swine flu appeared here in 1975. Then there is her assertion that the Founding Fathers abolished slavery.
As Kennedy said of Goldwater, she’ll be a lot of fun. And why not? I expect she will declare for president now that Sarah Palin seems happy in show business. The fact is that the Republican Party, for all its success in 2010, has no candidates who are obvious potential presidents. Mitt Romney is probably the most accomplished, but he has a real problem changing his political skin every couple of years. Newt Gingrich is a nostalgia show. Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman are ... something. Mike Huckabee ... I don’t think so.
So, why not Bachmann? Kennedy would have loved to run against her. It would be fun.
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By hawkny, April 13, 2011 at 12:31 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Interesting…..
Goldwater’s education stopped at the 12th grade. So, did Limbaugh’s, Beck’s and Hannity’s. Do you suppose this is at the heart of the Conservative GOP’s unrelenting attack on public schools? (just kidding)
I know I know, it is all about destroying the teacher’s unions. They are getting too mouthy and have to much money to thwart a total GOP takeover of our entire political system so that they can destroy it too.
Report thisBy BrunoDiderot, April 10, 2011 at 8:43 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Comments:
(1) Reeves brings up an interesting point ... but back in those days what the
public saw/heard was more easily managed. Couldn’t happen today, I think.
(2) Goldwater didn’t NEED any help from the Kennedys to get the nomination
... those who anticipated the introduction of civil rights bills (not passed until
after LBJ became president, but fully discussed and feared by the Right) would
have seen to the nomination of Goldwater all on their own. The Kennedy
Brothers had sent unmistakable signs that they were OK with helping the civil
rights movement to a limited extent (at least) and this started the turn of
Southern Democratic whites away from the Democratic Party to ... you guessed
it ... the Republican Party.
(3) One major thing that’s different today from back then is ... back then the
religious nutbars weren’t very well organized, and they didn’t much care for
Goldwater. I remember him NOT making a Big Deal out of religion and I
remember one campaign flyer not only acknowledging his Jewish grandfather
(“Goldwasser”) but stating that he was “proud of his Jewish heritage”. And he,
himself, was a sometime Episcopalian, sometime something else ... NOT a
Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, or other type of religious yahoo.
(4) The core of the Republican Party back then was turning from the
Report thisRockefeller-Scranton types to the Goldwater types, and the change was
irreversible (yeah, I guess I already said that). And the chance to escalate the
War in Vietnam filled the right-wingers with glee.
By fearnotruth, April 8, 2011 at 4:02 am Link to this comment
again - characters like this are total distractions - a psy-op in an of themselves -
why the hell does TD even bother with this lot?
seems we’re being encouraged to imagine what this woman would do to
Report thisbasic safety-net benefits within the empire, as it extends even further its bloody
billion-$-a-day global war of terror and hegemonic interests
By surfnow, April 7, 2011 at 5:42 pm Link to this comment
Maani:
Report thisDon’t be so sure of Obama’s chances. As the economy tanks even more and the Amerikan public becomes more desperate they may follow some very dangerous characters- like this demagogue Bachmann. Don’t forget Adolf Hitler was freely elected in 1932 by a desperate German public. What makes you think we’re any better?
By Tim, April 7, 2011 at 4:20 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The 2012 election is one big smoke screen. We don’t have elections we have
Report thisselections. They trot out some people portending to actually care. People need to
wake up. All this talk about elections means nothing. Do actually believe any
candidate is going to do anything the power elite don’t want him to do after the
Kennedy public execution. They blew his brains out and absolutely nothing
happened. He woul,d was going to end the cold war the elites control, and they
put an end to him. The same people who put Hitler in power run this country.
Don’t believe every word they say. Turn off the TV, go outside and listen to the
wind. Turn off the noise they are broadcasting and learn to think again.
By omop, April 7, 2011 at 4:17 pm Link to this comment
This quote aught to at least bring in a few dollars as well as votes ;-
” I am convinced in my heart and in my mind that if the United States
fails to stand with Israel, that is the end of the United States . . . [W]e
have to show that we are inextricably entwined, that as a nation we
have been blessed because of our relationship with Israel, and if we
reject Israel, then there is a curse that comes into play. And my
husband and I are both Christians, and we believe very strongly the
verse from Genesis [Genesis 12:3], we believe very strongly that nations
also receive blessings as they bless Israel.”
A Googled Michele Bachamn quote.
Report thisBy surfnow, April 7, 2011 at 12:16 pm Link to this comment
Bachmann is just the kind of moron conservatives love and will vote for in droves. Obama better stop being so cocky however, because he’s not excatly what I’d call in the driver’s seat either. Nearly anyone they put up will beat him- maybe even a complete nitwit like Bachmann.
Report thisBy Maani, April 7, 2011 at 7:16 am Link to this comment
PH:
“Whoever rigs the voting will trot out Bachmann if Obamas poll numbers fall. She will scare people into re-electing Obama.”
I would go even further. I would say that almost any of the TP/GOP candidates (with the possible exception of Romney) will scare people into voting for Obama (or a third party candidate, or not at all). Palin? Pawlenty? Huckabee? Barbour? Trump?! Please. GWB was a mental giant next to this group. LOL.
The backlash against the TP (particularly its loony Palin/Bachmann/Trump wing) has already begun, not only among independents, but even among some conservatives.
I say, bring on as much loony, absurd TP extremism as possible! It can only backfire.
Peace.
Report thisBy RayLan, April 6, 2011 at 9:06 pm Link to this comment
Bachman and her ilk is a new breed of scary fanatic.
Report thisThey make a religion out of stupidity and an ideology out of being a callous asshole.
By PatrickHenry, April 6, 2011 at 7:20 pm Link to this comment
Whoever rigs the voting will trot out Bachmann if Obamas poll numbers fall.
She will scare people into re-electing Obama.
Report thisBy glider, April 6, 2011 at 6:09 pm Link to this comment
American “democracy” deserves Bachmann.
If they can not govern, at least they can entertain.
Report thisBy SarcastiCanuck, April 6, 2011 at 4:45 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I am anxiously awaiting this election more than the release of Hangover 2.Both will be ridiculous,surreal and funny.Both however will not have a happy ending.
Report thisBy bluesman, April 6, 2011 at 3:31 pm Link to this comment
I pray that Bachman will really run.
Report thisCan you imagine the late night comics and the material she will give them.
If she does run, and I think she won’t, but if she does, it will be an hilarious year as she competes with herself in trying to outdo her outlandish remarks day after day.
Maybe then she will disappear in embarrassment never to be seen or heard from again.
We can only hope!
By Dale Headley, April 6, 2011 at 2:50 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Perhaps Obama supporters should look before they leap. If they are making the
Report thisassumption that the American people would never elect such a clearly ignorant,
intellectually vacuous, mean-spirited, egomaniacal candidate, they should
remember George W. Bush, Frankenstein, and the fact that over half of all
Americans do not believe in evolution.
By JoeT, April 6, 2011 at 1:49 pm Link to this comment
The RNC is sort of operating under the Kennedy assumption in reverse. Bachmann is unacceptable to most conservatives. The folks at the RNC know she is a nut ready to crack and they know the voter will compare her to less unacceptable candidates and settle for one of them. Look for Romney, Pawlenty or both to go against Obama in 2012. I suppose with racism and voter suppression in play, as it always is, it will be a close race. And, I’m afraid it might turn out poorly for the better, or least worse candidate of the three: Obama.
Report thisBy Magoogle1, April 6, 2011 at 12:17 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
save the huge expense of elections. they do not matter. the winner will be chosen by the thugs who have the money.(stolen) of course. our only chance is massive and I mean massive protest. flood washington streets with Pitchforks and torches and don’t feed the corporations by not buying or selling for a few days. anything else is just useless blather. wake up. I am not a democrat or republican, both are corrupt. I am an american and ready for some real anarchy.
Report thisBy prisnersdilema, April 6, 2011 at 10:23 am Link to this comment
Imagine, Michelle in the White house, now imagine the movie Idiocracy… Now Imagaine, Michelle again, now Imagine the movie Idocracy…
Report thisBy William Brooks, April 5, 2011 at 10:16 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I worry Mitt Romney might be taken seriously. He is a private equity business man and they love to take over companies and chop them up. I can see him really taking off with the privatization scam. He scares me the most, except for Obama who is clearly Bush III.
Report thisBy John M, April 5, 2011 at 7:44 pm Link to this comment
“The latest is that the American Revolution began in
the New Hampshire towns of Lexington and Concord.”
Is no more of a blunder than remarking that you have been
in all 57 states. Yawn.
Be careful what you wish for you may just get it.
Report thisAlthough she has no executive experience for the oval office
neither did Obama. She is a proven money raiser and vote getter.
By TDoff, April 5, 2011 at 7:04 pm Link to this comment
If figments are going to ‘run’, why not Trig’s Fairy Godmother?
Report thisBy Queenie, April 5, 2011 at 7:01 pm Link to this comment
Hoot-Smalley Act? Really? She really said that?
More like Brain-Smalley. And it isn’t an act.
Report thisBy TDoff, April 5, 2011 at 6:44 pm Link to this comment
The problem here is toeing the fine line so as not to be accused of making sport of a demented, psychotic, shorn-of-her-senses witch, especially in these days of ‘Females Uber Alles’. Obviously, no one other than a similarly-afflicted creature would actually support Bachmann, so it would be difficult to be taken seriously by sane folks if you appeared to support her, should they not recognize the farce.
Report thisThe best approach would seem to be to just accept her for what she is, extraordinary comic relief for what promises to be an extremely comedic campaign. The number of clowns jostling for space in the GOPer VW alone is nearing astronomical numbers, with strange dwarf and exploding ‘stars’ individually present, and watching them all fall out into the center ring should be more than amusing.
The addition of Michelle as RingMistress, in leather tights, waving her whips, trying to corral them, will add a delightful touch.
The best way to assure her demise is to leave her to her own devices.
By berniem, April 5, 2011 at 6:26 pm Link to this comment
Bachmann is who Magda Goebbels would have been if hubby Josef had not been prominent!
Report thisBy Chris Herz, April 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The Republicans have no shortage of fruit cakes. Indeed one of them is the only thing that could save Mr Obama from his careful alienation of his own constituencies.
Report thisBut that said, Michelle Bachmann is hardly any crazier than the free-trade, militarist liberals in the Obama regime.