Blogs and Stories
Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Wackiest Moments
Lately, the Republican representative from Minnesota is rivaling Vice President Biden and GOP Chairman Michael Steele for inappropriate public comments. But Michele Bachmann’s “psycho-talk” began years ago—here are 12 incidents you may have missed.
She’s the gaffe-prone congresswoman who made waves last week for wondering aloud about the Democrats’ role in the swine-flu epidemic. But long before U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann became infamous for her outrageous public statements, she was just a gay-bashing, God-fearing pol from Minnesota who sometimes said and did things that caused even her fellow home-state public servants to call her assertions “psycho-talk.” From hiding in the bushes at a gay-rights rally to boasting about the marriageability of her 13-year-old daughter, Bachmann has the gift of gab that keeps on giving. Here are 12 of her greatest hits.
Her Divine Calling
Michele Bachmann has friends in high places. Pastor Mac Hammond of the Living World Christian Center, a mega-church in suburban Minneapolis, twice risked his church’s nonprofit status for Bachmann’s campaigns. When he offered her his pulpit during her first run for the House in 2006, she took the opportunity to talk about an even more powerful friend who had endorsed her candidacies: the Lord in Heaven. After God chose her husband for her and then told her she should “submit” to him (he, in turn, told her to study tax law), she says God “called me to run for the Minnesota Senate… God then called me to run for the United States Congress. And I thought, ‘What in the world would that be for?’ And my husband said, ‘You need to do this,’ and I wasn’t so sure. And we took three days, and we fasted and we prayed, and we said, ‘Lord, is this what you want? Is this your will?’ And long about the afternoon of day two, he made that calling sure.”









US Rep. Bachmann does not compare with Joe Biden who is in a league by himself. O'Connor ridicules Bachmann for her opinions and speculations. Obama is the "57 states" man. Why are liberals permitted to get facts wrong, but conservatives are attacked for their opinions? Is there a large group that believes that there are 57 states? There is a large group that shares Rep. Bachman's views. Why do journalists make fun of political positions of Republicans, but praise irrational comments by Democrats? This is journalism? Isn't it more like propaganda or public relations? What Joe Biden meant to say is . . . Journalists can fool some of the people all the time. That does not justify what they do.
There is absolutely no basis for comparison between Joe Biden and this fanatic. She has actually stated in public that there are people in Congress who ought to be investigated for being anti-American.
I couldn't care less if you like Biden or not, but to compare him to this nutjob is dishonest.
Absolutely ...
There is a difference between being completely CLUELESS and a slip of tongue ...
Bachmann NEEDS to further her education or just shut the heck up if she is NOT sure of what she is about to spew ...
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mencken-
It's the Lord's
Will that you
Watch those clips
Again
But this time
Listen to the
Words.
All of your
Questions
Shall be
Answered.
There is a difference between a tired individual on the campaign trail mispeaking 47 and 57 and a person who is knowingly ignorant of basic facts like Bachmann is. There is no comparison between the two on any level.
Both Biden and Obama are ignorant of basic facts. Both are blindingly ignorant on how raising taxes generates lower revenue. The fact that lower taxes generates more revenue has been documented and proven for years. Of course the Democratic Party doesn't believe it either, so I guess I called them ignorant too. :-)
Tankertodd**
he says that 30 yrs of trickle down economics has made us successful.. just take a look at your 401ks, deregualtion of the corps, the fact that 80% of the top US earning companies have paid 0% of their tax liability. Yep it's working real good. Who was it that is ignorant again..?
emPulse: don't cherry-pick your facts. Look at what else happened in the last 30 years. Cell phones, iPods, incredible technological developments. Those cool gadgets and technologies didn't shit themselves. They required a climate where entrepreneurs could take risks to become rich. Do you think the government could come up with the iPod?
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Tank
Anyone, and I mean anyone from neoliberal to marxist to free marketeer, who has taken a basic macro-economics course at any university in the last 5 years can tell you that the tired theory you are putting forward was disproven in the early 90's after the disastrous Reagan policies left the nation indebted and inequality became rampant. It took Clinton 6 years to balance the budget, which it then took bush 1 year to undo.
Seriously - There is no comparison between the two. I'm guessing that you are joking because no rational person would make such a comparison. (I'm giving you an out ... take it.)
While it is true that Joe Biden does misspeak, it is evident that there is something going on between his ears. I have seen absolutely not evidence of that with Ms. Bachman.
That was said during the primary when he was fighting for votes in places like Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and other areas that aren't states but as far as primary votes go they are pretty close.
Oy vey, I'm sick of that "57 States" canard... there were, in fact, 57 separate contests in the Democratic primary. So while he may have misspoken, at least it's a pretty understandable one with SOME basis in reality... as opposed to most of this nutjob's blatherings.
I've never heard Joe Biden say anything as arrogant and stupid as Bachmann's claim that she was called to politics by God. It doesn't matter to me if Bachmann were a flaming liberal, an independent or a conservative Republican. The bottom line is that the woman is a whack job and anyone with an IQ above room temperature knows it, irrespective of their politics.
I'm glad several people already replied to this... person. Menckenlite, there's a difference between misspeaking and speaking out of your rear end. It's one thing to say one number accidentally when you meant another, and another thing to be a uber-right religious lunatic like this woman. Why, in the 21st century, should women still be 'submissive' for instance? Haven't we gotten past that in this day and age? And most importantly, are you menckenlite, in fact a retarded person?
"Why do journalists make fun of political positions of Republicans, but praise irrational comments by Democrats?" You sound like Ann Coulter, constantly complaining about how the democrats have it so easy and always whine about being victims, when the whole time you don't realize the inherent irony of you trying to victimize yourself as you're saying it. "They're always the victims, when is it our turn... ::sob::"
People like you with blind idiotic faith in something with no logical basis are the reason why America is/was so unpopular. You think you own the world and can't see outside your bubble. Open your eyes: the media rips on everyone, no matter how much you cry about the bad things they say about your side.
Aw, don't put down retarded people by relating that idiot to them.
People don't make fun of her political positions. She's a conservative and that's OK. This lady has a serious psychiatric problem. Ideas of grandiosity ("God chose me"), narcisistic symptoms, delusions of grandeur... This isn't propaganda. She needs serious psychiatric intervention. She shouldn't be in Congress influencing policy. People from MN should be more carefully in choosing the people they send to Washington.
The difference is, slipping up and saying there are 57 states, or even truly believing said statement, didn't hurt anyone like her anti-everything movements do.
Wait wait wait, you're comparing a mental hiccup with a crazed religious fundamentalist spouting craziness? Your journalism complaint is equally invalid, until the day you quit watching FOX News and listening to talk radio you can't talk.
Wow, please work on your analogies menkenlite, using a few gaffes by Biden (including the 57 states comment???), with a woman who is on record as equating homosexuality with pedophelia are not one in the same. This woman is truly in a league of her own when it comes to demagoguery and hate!
"There is a large group that shares Rep. Bachman's views."
There is? I hope you're wrong about that. If not, then we are doomed.
"There is a large group that shares Rep. Bachman's views." Any of you ever watch the documentary 'Jesus Camp'? Right in the heart of America is a virtual army of like-minded religious sycophants just waiting for the sinners to be fried by Jesus' triumphant return. Someone as psycho as Bachmann could never be able to hide her insanity from her constituents for too long, so they must have known all they needed to know about her. Even Al Franken is a nutjob in his own right...maybe we should just give Minnesota back to the Native Americans or sell it off to Canada for some Molson Export Ale, or maybe a case of moose antlers.
What do you think, Palin/Bachmann 2012?
I think that would be perfect! I'd *love* to watch the debates...
menckenlite, I think you make my point for me. There is NOT a large group who believe we have 57 states, and Obama is not in that group. It was a quick one-second mistake, not part of a continuous thread. Why the obsession with "57 states"? This was clearly a mistake, not a policy statement.
The left
wants the
right to shut
up or face the
consequences.
See! I too a poet.
Get thee to
The bath house
Banjo-
For the three hundredth
Time
It's not poetry.
Besides, rita...
Everyone knows the last thing
The "Left" wants
Is for Michelle Bachmann
To shut up.
Keep
'Em
Comin'
:-)
TWench-
It's true.
I love her
A lot.
Ritarita,
Lovely Meter.
I don't want the left or the right to shut up. I want them to make sense and not march in lockstep.
Registered Independent
Well said! After all, we are all in this together! Everyone's opinion is valid. Let's just be civil and make intelligent arguments.
How many time shave you heard Republicans come forward and say "We were wrong, we made a mistake.." ? I will help you -- ZERO.
Dems will shit on their own in a heartbeat. Lockstep.. holy shit.. i wish.
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This ugly hag is the worst elected person in office. She was an ex lesbian who now is a fundie adn completely off her rocker. Hell bound and nutty - she should be arrested.
Bachmann is many things but "ex lesbian"? Is that all you can come up with after all she's done? And exactly what should she be arrested for? Perhaps you should learn about about the First Amendment before making such ignorant comments.
You insult Gore Vidal with your screenname, and lesbians everywhere with your assertion that Bachmann was one of them!
Bachmann is bonkers!
She is the laughing stock of the Congress - I hope she stays in office becuase each year she does, Republicans lose 10 seats! What a shame for Minnesota to have this noose around their neck....but I think she has run her course and will be voted out soon enough so she can go back to housecleaning like the dutiful fool she is.
while i do think that bachmann is wacky (especially if that christmas card thing is true!) I tend to agree with menckenlite. She is being attacked for her (and her husbands) personal beliefs. While I dont agree with all of them, I wont attack her for her beliefs. Just like I will not attack Biden for believing that his family should not get on subways or planes with the swineflu scare. If this is what Biden belives is best- that is fine (kind of a shame though that the President is trying to give the country a different message...)
The "bush hug that wouldn't end"- please! this is no more bizarre than Pelosi's cheerleader moves for Obama when he addressed Congress.
Also, those pictures from Bachmann at the gay rally-- she is not "crouching" behind a bush. It looks like she really is just sitting on a ledge of some sort-talking to someone. Not even facing the rally! Several people on that blog dismissed those photos.
Maybe she had to pee! Actually, I don't think that people are attacking her for her views, but for those crazy and illogical comments she makes. How in the world would a Democrat being in office have anything to do with a flu epidemic?
some of her comments are crazy, no doubt! Blaming flu epidemic on democrats is ludacris and calling out a politician as a terrorist is too! But, I don't think it is sooo crazy that she talks about religious guidance and submission...they are her christian beliefs.
Most especially since she was wrong and it was a Republican president last time we had a flu epidemic. If she would fact-check, she could at least choke back her prejudices for another day. (Every pol has staff to do the scut work.) Her world view is narrow and narrow-minded.
The fact is, it's not just her "personal belief" anymore. She is an elected official and uses her platform to promote her beliefs in her policies and politics.
She can "believe" whatever she wants, but she has no business trying to legislate her morality (if that's what we can call it) on everyone else. She is a nut job and I can't believe she has been reelected.
I'm more a fan of saying "while everyone's entitled to their own opinions, they're not entitled to their own facts."
Or, in Bachmann's case, their own bizzare garbled fantasies imagined whilst huffing airplane glue.
I'm surprised at the number of postings that don't distinguish between Bachmann's weirdness vs. Biden (or other pol) suffering from foot-in-mouth disease. This is not about politics: Bachmann would be crazy if she were a Dem, but she IS crazy anyway.
I'm also surprised to read postings that think Bachmann is being attacked solely because of her personal beliefs. She's not. She's being attacked for bringing witless "thinking" into Congress and speaking about that "thinking" in front of a microphone for the world (AKA YouTube) to listen to. I don't care what a person's personal beliefs are IF they remain personal, but Bachmann tries to influence others with her mindless -- or like Palin, "magical" -- beliefs.
I can only pray that Minnesotans know how bad a representative she is and how embarassing it is to send her back to Congress next time. I don't live in MN, but will support her Democratic opposition during the next election because I don't want people who are dumb as a post voting on national legislation. She scares me.
She has made her views re homosexuality well known; and not appropriately. So what in the blue blazes was she even doing there???
Indeed Scary. I have some experience with Christian fundamentalists and fundamentalism. Most of them are very well meaning and sincere Christians and Americans. The scary thing about them, including most especially Michelle Bachman and her husband, is that they have been trained not to think. Some, however, think very well and use this fundamentalist philosophy for personal gain, i.e. they have figured it all out but keep that little fact to themselves while preying on the vulnerability of those who haven't figured it out yet. The Bachmans could be in either category because it is very difficult to tell the two (categories) apart. This religious insanity is almost always associated with so-called political conservatism.
Now, not discounting the rest of the article, and I know I'll take flak for this, but I would wish ALL of my state's representatives prayed and fasted for what they were supposed to do next.
Yes, but you would not exclude "thinking", would you? It's the absence of cognition that is most alarming in Bachmann's case.
I never discount faith, but being rational, cognizant and well informed is very important, too. Faith and rationalism are like the wings of a bird: the human spirit only will soar when they are equally developed. I'm OK for asking guidance from a higher authority, but she needed to have all ducks in a row: "why do I want to be in Congress, what do I want to accomplish". That's what is missing in Mrs. Bachman's views.
No flak from me. Indeed, I say "Amen"... :)
Tell you what. The LAST thing I want writing my laws is somebody who is starving himself and hearing voices that aren't there...
...or wants "Joe Six Pack" in the white house, along with "real Americans"...There's a lot of insanity that has come out of the woodwork since 2008 and some of it is IN Congress.
Fundamentalism is scary in any religion because it locks out reason. (And science) I have a cousin who is schizophrenic, and I love him. But I know that I can't take his world view as legitimate. If you know the disease... you know what I'm talking about. (He can't help it.)
But this woman knows nothing of Christianity. I think Jesus would be ashamed. Everything that comes out of her mouth is just filled with bile. It makes me sad, and I pity her. Even if you think homosexuality is a choice, (which makes absolutely no sense... like wanting to be a Jew in Nazi Germany) they are people too.
Being originally from Minnesota... I can't believe this otherwise progressive state would ever elect this woman.
I am going to send her money that way she will keep it up. This woman is the best ongoing commercial that normal thinking adults can have. This woman is without question even more ignorant then Sarah Palin & that is saying something. I wish both of them would form a tour together & both just wonder the nation "TALKING", that would get give the House Democrat's say another 20 seats & the Senate might gain say another 7 seats. Keep it up ladies, we the normal of the land love to see & hear you both.
That this woman could be elected to public office is a strong argument against becoming overly infatuated with democracy, She may be the poster girl for what Madison was talking about in the Federalist #10 when he discussed "faction"
So, your answer is dictatorship?
Ask a Saudi Arabian about that one.
Or a North Korean.
As Churchill said - "Democracy is the worst form of government....except for all the others"!
@GREGORYABUTLER: Way to jump to an extreme point of view! Democracy is not perfect, as you acknowledge in your Churchill quote. While I believe it is the best form of government that humans have come up with, it still has very human flaws that should be well understood and not glossed over.
In fact, Federalist #10 was discussing one of them, the tendency of one group or faction to unite against the rights of another group.
http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm
The problem isn't democracy, which we don't really have (democratic republic, folks...big difference). The problem is that we are still beholden to the vagaries of human thought, as in the inability of most humans to actually think rationally. All too often we take our 'facts' and talking points from others rather than spend the time necessary to formulate cogent arguments and understand the true nature of any situation. Sure, it's a lot easier to do that when there are so many other things that seem to demand our attention, but we shouldn't use the stupidity of our elected representatives to absolve us of our responsibility to make sure that those idiots don't represent us in the first place. WE put all of those scumbags in office, and if we band together and demand a better product we will get one. As long as we allow the two-party system to define our thinking we will only experience two sides of the same coin, and we can't blame anyone else but ourselves. Maxine Waters, Bachmann, Biden, Bush, Obama...WE are to blame for their inabilites and their inadequacies.
Bachman is INSANE!
Being "held hostage" by lesbians in a ladies room?
I suspect that she was having the female version of a Larry Craig moment - she was "held hostage" by her secret closet lesbianism...she was probably flirting with the women, and then realized that, as a good Xtian, she's not supposed to be gay!
She was fleeing her own lesbianism!
Why else would she be hiding in the bushes at a LGBT rights rally?
She secretly wanted to "come out" and attend - but her knuckleheaded Xtianism got in the way!
She has to go on about "submitting" to her husband (even though, as the congresswoman in the family, SHE is the "breadwinner" and the dominant person - the Sarah Palin contradiction redux) and how "marriageable" her 13 year old daughter is to hide the true her... the true GAY her!!!
And that whole chatter about how sexually attractive her kids are - that's just straight up pedophilia! And we all know that most kids are sexually abused by their parents - and that women pedophiles are almost never caught!
As for the stuff about Rep Ellison - that's just garden variety anti Black and anti Muslim racism - it's pretty standard, she's just nuts enough to say it in public!
GREGORY-
Held hostage
By lesbians in
A ladies room...
I'd give money to see
Her Netflix order
Wouldn't you?
One could feel sorry for her, if she wasn't so scary with her nasty rhetoric. It is these kinds of "fanatical" Christians that give Christianity a bad name. I somehow think if Jesus were to return to earth as a "lesbian", Ms. Bachmann would not recognize our Lord, and would be the first to have Her crucified for a second time.
Bachmann makes god sound like a pimp:
"I didn't want to go but god said I had to. Why on earth would I want to go to law school and then study tax law. But god said, be submissive. I had no idea, no desire to be in prostitution -- I mean politics -- but god said I had to."
And he sent his little henchman, her husband, just to make sure she complied ....
And at the end of it all, she realized that she was a FOOL FOR CHRIST.
Oh, for Christ's sake - how about just a FOOL, plain and simple?
Why is it that most of today's public "Christians" are the most vile, judgemental and hateful people out there. Think of Palin and Ms. Bachmann. I really doubt that Jesus wouldn't have anything to do with them. Yet, they are so full of themselves and their "Christianity" that they think they are "doing the work of the Lord. Sick, really sick.
Okay Folks,
Here's another one for the Book of Weird. Very recent video of Michelle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhZHevFj688
"We have seen an orgy ..... the government spent its wad."
Okay, she knows WAYYYYYYY too much about orgies for a self-professed family values person...
This woman is beyond and idiot and moron.
Two words: "certified nutcase"
Judge Judy vs. Michelle Bachmann
http://jezebel.com/5236632/comic-confrontations-judge-judy-vs-michele-ba chmann?skyline=true&s=i
Let's see....Bachman is ignorant, stupid, and a religious extremist, check. That makes her a prime candidate for Republican VP. Bachman submits to her husband. Does this mean Michele asks him how to vote in the House?
Why do people have to fight so hard for separation of church and state in this country? And the only people we have to fight are the people on the "Christian" right. If any Muslim would dare to stand up and say, "I prayed to Allah to give me guidance on whether to run for the House of Representatives, and He said to go for it," the "Christian" right would go NUTS. And I put "Christian" in quotes because they're just using their so-called religious beliefs as a shield so that you can't call them on their bigoted hate-filled speech and actions. "It's my faith, so you have to accept it. Can't touch me." Well, I call BS on that. If someone wants to bring their "faith" into the public arena, then its tenets become fair game for open debate. Or at least what they say its tenets are. I don't believe that Jesus espoused the hatred that is ascribed to Him.
And Hawnzz...you said:
"Even if you think homosexuality is a choice, (which makes absolutely no sense... like wanting to be a Jew in Nazi Germany) they are people too."
Do you really think:
a) That's a logical, valid, parallel comparison? Are governments systematically putting homosexuals in camps and gassing them?
b) Some homosexuals say that it is a choice. If you're not a homosexual, what gives you the insight to say it's not? How could you possibly know? Granted, it's more difficult to be homosexual in this society, but that doesn't mean homosexuals would choose otherwise. You're implying that, given the chance, they would become heterosexual. If I were gay I would really your comparison and implication.
Bachman obviously can believe anything she wants, but when her beliefs infringe on other people's rights, she's stepped over the line.
I grew up with an Uncle Gene and an Aune Jack. And I live in California and have 5 gay families within a 4 block radius. So I can claim to know a little more than say... some person who lives in a farm house in the middle of the hills who has never left the house, regarding the subject. (Oh, and we have some wonderful dinner parties because of it.)
I had to take a seminar for a job a few years ago. It was for a university. The latest research shows that human sexuality isn't one of the other, but a range... say from 1 to 10. 1 being "gayer then Christmas at Bloomingdales" and 10 being "straight as an arrow". From the research they have done, they believed about 8 percent of the population to be totally gay, and 8 percent to be totally straight. The rest of the population is a range in between. (Don't ask me to prove it, I was just there surrounded by professionals and it was 5 years ago... my memory is not nearly that good.)
A) Look at the world as a whole... homosexuals are killed and there are large areas of the U.S. (which is a relatively tolerant nation) in which they probably would not want to live.
B) I would say that the "homosexuals" that say it's a choice, are bisexuals... not homosexuals. It's very possible to play for both teams. LOL People become so stupid when it comes to this topic. It is either black or white. Nothing is life is every simple. When are we going to get that.
Bachman is stupid... why? Because she uses a faith of love and only sees hate and judgement. (S)He who lives in glass houses.... All moral situations, at least the difficult ones are complex shades of grey. (Or is it gray... I can never remember... LOL)
Olympia Snowe & Susan Collins of Maine stand with the 'Git' Michelle on the Republican side of the aisle. EEEEEW!
You are so fortunate to have both Snowe and Collins representing you in the senate. Just remember they voted with the dems on the stimulus bill and their cooperation will be important for the President policies to succeed.
yeah, I live in Maine too and I am really happy with both of my Senators, even though I am a Democrat. I think that they are truely two of the most moderate people in congress. It just goes to show that not all republicans are crazy like Bachmann.
She's a typical Christian: an anti-science bigot.
Why is anyone surprised? Look at Anita Bryant. They are cut from the same cloth. I'm sure in private she says anti-semitic things.
Wow. Hilarious actually, a comment from a liberal, I presume, about Christians. Imagine that: someone chooses to take a stand on truth, or even hint that it might exist (saying they believe homosexuality is wrong) or declaring the universe could have been created by something other than a gigantic accident (look around you ignorant fool - perhaps you should focus your studying on any one cell in this entire world and just try, just try and explain it to anyone with half a brain, then rule out intelligent design).
Oh, nice touch by the way, going for the Jewish comments. Classy. Perhaps all Christians are like her? Just like all those of Jewish descent are like, or any other stereotype are like the one most misrepresented in public?
You sir, are in fact a typical liberal: hating the existence of truth, and mocking any who declare it.
Perhaps, being a Republican, you have never heard of quantum physics, After all, the theory only came out in the 1920s, far later than any of your political or economic ideas. Oh, well.
Well, there are Christians, and then there are Christianists.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1191826-2,00.html
"My Problem with Christianism" by Andrew Sullivan
Bachmann is firmly in the Christianist camp. It's a political party, not anything to do with the teachings of Christ.
This is the same women who said that there was an anti-Americanism in the US Congress on Hardball to Chris Matthews, then told people that she didn't say that.....even though it was on tape.
Yeesh
Naaaaah, she did not say what she said. It takes unfathomable stupidity to be Michele Bachmann. Congress Republicans take themselves seriously and the venerable GOP --------> HAS STANDARDS!
The GOP has standards, does it not?
Uh, puhleeeze, GAG ME WITH A SPOON!!!
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