McCain Surrogate Michelle Bachmann Shows How To Lose Independent Voters
How many people who strongly supported John McCain in 2000 could ever have dreamed that in 2008 he would become in-effect a surrogate for talk show host Sean Hannity?
McCain surrogate Rep. Michelle Bachmann appeared on Chris Matthews’ “Hardball” today and her segment featured below is a barely-revised version of McCarthyism. She only left out holding up a list. The McCain of 2000 would have repudiated this kind of rhetoric.
And it isn’t a fluke. Another member of Congress was on another program this morning essentially saying the same thing, using the almost the same words. This is the apparently the message. Couple this with the robocalls and this is what it has boiled down to. Independent voters who — specific issues aside — generally detest this style of divisive, demonization politics will have a chance to register their disgust on Election Day.
Note Bachmann’s jaw-dropping suggestion at the end: members of Congress need to be investigated to see how anti-American they are.
21 Responses to “McCain Surrogate Michelle Bachmann Shows How To Lose Independent Voters”
Wow. There's a little bit of gotcha journalism there, but for the most part he just pressed her on the implications of her comments. As you say, it looks like she's ready for a Committee on Un-American Activities.
And while I assume the Congresswoman doesn't think this way, there really might be some nutcase listening out there who thinks he's going to have to do anything he can to stop this Un-American person from being President. Anything. This is very dangerous ground.
I hate to post comment after comment, but the other troubling thing about this is that she isn't some random blogger or bomb thrower analyst like a Coulter or Malkin. Everyone is used to that from both sides. This is a member of Congress calling for other members to be investigated for possible un-American views. It would not have been that hard to say, “no, of course my colleagues don't need to be investigated; I'm only concerned about Obama.” Wow.
This woman is either seriously stupid or seriously dangerous… perhaps both. When did they stop teaching history in this country? Are we about to enter a new era of McCarthyism??? I can't believe some of the things I'm seeing and hearing these days. If the electorate was smarter it might not be such an issue, but there seems to be no shortage of people out there who will soak this stuff up. At the very least, it's dangerously irresponsible.
Republicans have have spent eight years dividing us from positions of power.
Facing the end of that power might mean facing the fact of how discredited their leadership has been.
Or they could ratchet up the divisiveness. Past all reason. Past all common sense.
It's the easy way out.
Obama is anti-American. Pelosi is anti-American. Reid is anti-American.
The entire opposing party is anti-American.
But even that's not enough.
Despite the fact that their own Republican leadership is nationalizing the banks, Obama is the marxist.
Obama pals around with terrorists.
And if Obama wins, it will be because of voter fraud.
This is their message.
It's all they've got left.
I know I'm over-reacting, but this is all quite frightening. A few years ago Malkin publishes a book arguing the Japanese internment was a great idea. Now, we have Bachman arguing for the investigation of her congressional colleagues….
McCain, please, stop this. Now. Country First.
My edits don't appear to be showing, so I will copy them to yet another entry.
Someone needs to tell Bachman that she's from the state of Eugene McCarthy, not Joseph McCarthy. In fact, I just did a reading of the Wikipedia entry on McCarthyism, and, boy, isn't this description of McCarthyism's strongest supporters a bit familiar:
“A broad “coalition of the aggrieved” found McCarthyism attractive, or at least politically useful. Common themes uniting the coalition were opposition to internationalism, particularly the United Nations; opposition to social welfare provisions, particularly the various programs established by the New Deal; and opposition to efforts to reduce inequalities in the social structure of the United States.[37]“
Bachmann needs to look in the mirror if she wants to see someone “anti-American.” Has anybody so explicitly repudiated American freedom more than this idiot?
On the plus side, this interview was so outrageous that Daily Kos just raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for her opponent.
pacatrue, Disqus edits are very slow these days. I'm going to send a support request to them.
I don't care what party you are part of or support, if you start an anti-American witch hunt, your anti-American. You better have damn serious proof of anti-Americanism. And someone's “crazy uncle” isn't going to cut it.
The Republican Party is both sick and sickening. The the GOP moderates have begun to run screaming for the exits. What is left is a group of intolerant extremists who thrive on fear-mongering and scapegoating to explain their fall from power. They have degenerated to the point that they are starting to resemble the pre WWII Nazi party. Frightening!
Thanks for this post Joe – < a href="http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com/2008/10/17/will-the-real-anti-americans-please-stand-up/">I've had it with xenophobia.
After viewing this I went to Congresswoman Bachman's website to send her an e-mail to tell her that she ought to be ashamed of herself. Oddly enough, she only accepts e-mail from people in her Congressional district. Another Republican coward who can dish out the lines she's handed but she can't take it. Reprehensible.
McCain is pretending to behave honorably while his surrogates. at his direction, question his opponent's patriotism,infer he holds the same views as terrorists and incite violence from right wing nuts. How cowardly is that!
I'm going to see who the Congresswoman's opponent is and make a donation!
Who will the GOP be left with when they turn off the moderates and independents?
I just watched her on CNN, dishing out the same ugly trash. Feel like I need a shower and ear wash. Yuck.
GOP supporters? Does this work for you? Is this speaking to you? Or for you? OMG
I'm going to make a bigger point.
What the GOP has done to this country over the last 8 years IS unAmerican. They have destroyed the military, the economy, our reputation around the world and they are the ones who should be investigated for enriching their cronies and allowing the Bush administration to use the US Constitution for toilet paper.
Bachmann, along with Sarah Palin's recent comments to a crowd about “Pro-American parts of the country” is confirmation that the Republican Party has always been adept and evily clever at pitting one segment of America society against the other in a “divide and conquer” rule. They are the party of Division! I am so glad they are being found out!
However in a call to “national unity” it was a Wise and Judicious Barack Obama in 2004 who spoke these Uniting words in regards to America's oneness and what we can be:
“Even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits, the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.” –Obama, 2004.
It should be a crime against the “good” of the American Public and a Betrayal of the Public Trust for McCain and Republicans to be able to get away with obvious lies and distortions by false and misleading Robocalls which try to link an 8 year old Barack Obama with acts committed by Ayers over 30 years ago. It is down right dishonest, dishonorable and misleading. There should be laws against this type of unethical behavior to knowing lie and mislead for gain. This is like one lying on their Resume when applying for a job. It is moraly wrong and unethical!
As for Joe the Plumber who lied to Barack when he falsely said, “I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year,” “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?” when it has been reported that Joe makes $45,000 a year and owes back taxes! This is the very middle-class person Barack Obama's tax plan would help! And Joe the Plumber belies the fact that if one has $250,000.00 dollars to invest in a business, and because he has to pay his fair share of taxes, he is unable to Purchase that business, he is just plain greedy because middle-class people deserve a break especially now after 8 years of paying more than their fair share while the rich got away scott free and devastated the economy to boot!
Is this a democracy or what?
I am outraged that the press have talked so much about Obama and Ayers, but RARELY a word about McCain similar guilt by association with Gordon Liddy, Pastor Hagee, Keating five, Mustafa Abu Naba'a, Ali Jawad, Oliver North, John Singlaub and U.S. Council for World Freedom, Kemper Marley, Don Diamond, Marylin Shannon. What about his association with segregationist senators and ex- KKK like Byrd.
And Sarah and Todd Palin guilt by association or membership with Alaska Independence Party – Joe Vogler, Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll.
Read more on:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-lux/guilt-by…
There has been reports on Obama and Rezko real estate ties, what about Palin’s home construction, a big gray area….Palin accused of abuse of power, not big deal?
What happened with EQUAL PRIME TIME COVERAGE on similar subjects?
I have a question.
What does “Anti-American” mean?
Does the belief that the government should be more involved in the economy make one “Anti-American”?
Does the belief that the Military-Industrial complex is out of control make one “”Anti-American”?
Does the belief that our Drug policy is pointless and stupid as make one “”Anti-American”?
Does the belief that our foreign policy is and has been for the most part immoral make one “Anti-American”?
There is now a website for people who believe that Congress should consider censuring Michelle Bachman: http://www.censurebachmann.com/
The GOP is counting on the fact that voters won't question McCain's patriotism because he's a war hero, but they might question Obama's because he lived in Indonesia, had a Kenyan father and has a tyrant's middle name. Tie all of that in with his old associations in Chicago and you can suggest that he's a covert radical. its a good thing that Obama is outspending McCain 2:1 on campaign ads or it might actually work. The swift-boating of John Kerry who was branded as unpatriotic has morphed into the swift-boating of Obama.
I actually think that the GOP was caught with their pants down this time. I think they were geared up to fight Hillary Clinton, and had to retool when Obama became the nominee.
Heckuva job, Bach-y, …heckuva job.
And I just donated money to your Dem opponent, too.
This Mad Cow needs to be put out to pasture.