Michele Bachmann is an ignorant, bigoted, soulless human being

Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, a member of the most extreme elements of the conservative movement (and a Grade-A bigot to boot) has taken to smearing the reputation of Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. In a manner reminiscent of the anti-communist witch hunts of former Republican U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy.

Ms. Bachmann’s letter, signed by four other Republican congressmen, asserts that Ms. Abedin’s father (who died when she was a teenager), mother and brother are “connected” to the Muslim Brotherhood. It calls on the State Department’s inspector general to investigate the organization’s supposed influence in the U.S. government. In a separate letter, Ms. Bachmann asks how Ms. Abedin, who is Ms. Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, received her security clearance.

Ms. Bachmann’s accusations are tissue-thin garbage of the someone-said-something variety — or, as Mr. McCain put it, “nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”

Much to my delight, the maverick version of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona took to the floor of the Senate to come to Abedin’s defense.

The kinds of attack Michele Bachmann is leveling against Huma Abedin- an attack that seems motivated by nothing more than Abedin’s religion – defies the very principle of religious freedom that our nation was founded on. As a nation, we should be better than this, and I’m beyond disgusted that Bachmann’s vile and bigoted comments haven’t met with universal condemnation from anyone who has a soul and values the principles our nation was founded on.

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8 thoughts on “Michele Bachmann is an ignorant, bigoted, soulless human being

  1. Michelle bachmann is systematic of the republican party, their desperate and vile! see these rat bastards don’t offer any intelligent human being anything of worth so they must depend on divide and conquer, hate, fear and outrageous ignorance! Like I’ve said before the republican party is dying! their base consists of racist, homophobes, misogyist, and phony so called christians who are as CHRISTLIKE as Stalin!

  2. We all remember Joe McCarthy, right? He did the Commie witch-hunting thing for publicity, did he not? And he got it, until the publicity turned negative.
    Well, since today’s publicity machine is usually nothing BUT negative, there is only one way to deny the publicity-seekers their quarry.
    Don’t give it to them. Ignore this crap. Whether she means it or not is as irrelevant a question as whether or not McCarthy and Roy Cohn were into red-baiting for anything other than the cameras they could hook into.
    Any rational responses to Ms. Bachmann’s ridiculous propositions not only dignifies them with said response, it puts her assertions into the media stream, which is her only real goal. She is so much like the Angela Landsbury character in The Manchurian Candidate, looking for the publicity at any cost. She is not an Islamic mole, nor is she looking to brainwash any specific person into becoming a mindless assassin. She IS, however, looking to maintain her foothold as a relevant source of TV screentime. Ignore her, and she cannot get this one thing she craves but does not deserve.
    MBB

  3. Ignoring the gop and they’re insane propaganda machine in my opinion is definitely NOT the solution. When good people refuse to fight for justice, evil wins. See the typical republican is a beta personality their followers so when their sheep herders gives them information like a stepford wife they mindlessly obey. Democrats for too many years have let republicans totally dominate them, the democratic party could win election after election if they’d show the american public their ready to fight for the people! I know Zack just loathes my post but if you look at the democratic party history over the last 50 yrs they’ve become a party of soft scared tiptoeing collaborators! Which is proof that corporate american is calling the shots! they own BOTH parties! this country is pretty much a corpocracy now and ignoring it isn’t the solution.

  4. Michael BB,

    Unfortunately Joseph McCarthy was not merely a publicity hound and neither is Michele Bachmann. McCarthy fueled a culture of hysteria. McCarthyism ruined a great many lives. McCarthy did damage to more than the individuals whose characters and careers he assasinated. Tremendous injury to our political culture and by extension the wider American culture resulted, and McCarthy’s tactics demonstrated an unprecedented abuse of power. There was no mistaking at the time the brand of political warfare McCarthy was waging. Senator Ralph Edwards Flanders correctly identified McCarthy’s tactics with Nazism because that is what McCarthy’s tactics were – the deliberate sowing of division and confusion, and as important, the targeted elimination of political opponents. Let’s not forget that Flanders brought to light the grave consequences McCarthy’s right wing political terrorism had effected. In Flanders words, “…the loss of respect for us in the world at large.” We see the same impact with Bachmann. Her irrational histrionics have put our standing at risk. Quite possibly she’s put our diplomatic efforts in Egypt in peril.

    Bachmann’s attack on Abedin is rooted in Islamophobia, no doubt. But don’t be distracted by Bachmann’s bigotry. In attacking Abedin, Bachmann’s penultimate target is Hilary Clinton and the Obama Administration.

    Bachmann’s McCarthyism demonstrates reckless conduct unbecoming of the position she holds. She should be censured and removed from the House Intelligence Committee. Boehner hasn’t indicated that he will call for her removal, but if Democrats in DC had any sense they’d start pushing back hard on the unhinged elements of the GOP who, with their Goebbels tactics, are initiating a combined political attack: the new Red Scare and the Islamophobia Scare. Both serve myriad goals central to Right Wing Extremism. The Fish Rots From The Head Down.

    In typical Right Wing Extremist fashion, Bachmann has attempted to undo but not undo her despicable conduct. She’s claimed that she hasn’t inferred that Huma Abedin is acting at the behest of the Muslim Brotherhood, but that is exactly what she has done in her letter to the Inspector General of the State Department. By extension she implicates Hilary Clinton in furthering the interests of the Muslim Brotherhood.

    I’m reminded of the rumor and ensuing scandal that racked Thomas Jefferson’s in-laws, the advice he gave to his daughter, Martha, concerning level-headed judgement, and her response to him.

    Jefferson gives the following advice to Martha regarding the unfolding scandal in her husband’s family which, in the end, caused a great deal of tumult between family members who hadn’t anything to do with the scandal and those who would demean the family’s reputation nonetheless:

    Jefferson to Martha: “Whatever the case may be, the world is become too rational to extend to one person the acts of another. Every one at present stands at merit or demerit of their own conduct. “

    Martha’s response: “… I am too sensible of the iliberality of extending to one person the infamy of an other, to fear one moment that it can reflect any real disgrace upon me in the eyes of people of sense…”

    Bachmann and her cohorts in this effort are a terrifying vision of irrationality. If their nonsense isn’t met with equal zeal this nation will be enveloped by their reasonless antics which amount to flagrant abuse of power by radical extremists.

    If Bachmann had any American decency she would never have disgraced herself, her office, and the nation as she has done in this matter. I reiterate: Right Wing Radical Extremism will only worsen if it isn’t soundly routed. It is incumbent upon Democrats in Congress to not simply call out GOP Berserkers like Bachmann and West in the media. Democratic leadership should forward disciplinary procedures against this kind of conduct – introduce a motion of censure and demand their expulsion from the distinguished legislative body. Each of the members of Congress who disgraced themselves by co-signing Bachmann’s letter should be subject to censorial discipline: Trent Franks, Louie Gohmert, Thomas Rooney, and Lynn Westmoreland. The American people should call for their resignations for judgement unfit and conduct unbecoming of the positions they hold.

    1. You hit the nail on the head! “IF THE DEMOCRATS HAD COMMON SENSE” I get it! many democrats only want to trash republicans but don’t want to admit the dems have blood on their hands too!

  5. This is less Joe McCarthy and more Lee Atwater.

    Michelle Bachman is a tool of the party. They send her out with the crazy talk (nd she’s crazy enough to do it), then they back pedal the deal by commenting on how “dangerous” her comments are. But the seeds have been planted and the discussion contiues, allowing the fearmongering, prejudice, racism and doubt to grow.

    Thisis one tiny cog in the media manipulation machine, straight out of the GOP playbook, orchestrated to promote press coverage and the unvetted speculation so often referred to as “news” these days.

    1. I’ve been thinking on your idea, CW, that what is occurring here smacks more of Lee Atwater than McCarthy. I guess I’d point out a common thread between McCarthy, Atwater, and current right wing strategists like Rove and Gaffney. I see Atwater more strictly within the realm of campaign strategy versus what is occurring here: one piece in a broader, as yet unidentified, strategical effort.

      I don’t entirely agree with your media assessment. I don’t think it is press manipulation at issue here. That piece is already accomplished. There’s no end to Muslim Brotherhood “discourse” echoing throughout the Right Wing Propaganda Machine. As to the media piece – this seems to me more tactically related to insidious reversion – public support among Conservative rank and file is already primed for whatever it is that’s truly happening here.

      The toxic spin of “enemy lists” recently spewed by Rove is just too eerie a coincidence. On the surface the two may seem disconnected, but I don’t think so. Bachmann’s effort exceeds media engagement. The severity of officially requesting “corrective action” on the part of the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of State shouldn’t be regarded as unsubstantial.

      Bachmann’s source for her attack on Abedin and Clinton, the Center for Security Policy, is a red, red flag. Let’s not forget that its neoconservative militarism is guided by autocratic ideology. In the waning days of George W’s administration, the Center for Security Policy decided that democracy wasn’t working so well in America anymore, and the best remedy would be to appoint George W. to the presidency for life. This wasn’t hyperbole on their part. I can’t put my finger on exactly what is going on with this attack, but my gut reaction is that there is something more pernicious about it than meets the eye. You’re right in it being a cog, but I don’t think that cog is media related, I think it is related to something more strategic in nature. This will lead to something uglier down the road.

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