Oh Michele, How We Will Miss You!

[hoyainspirit]

Michele Bachmann, GOP squeaky wheel, ready to retire

Certainly, the media and late-night TV hosts will greatly miss the woman who declared that the American Revolution began in Concord, N.H., instead of Concord, Mass.; that the HPV vaccine causes mental retardation; that certain members of Congress are “anti-America”; that John Wayne came from her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa (she confused him with serial killer John Wayne Gacy); that God created an earthquake and a hurricane to protest federal spending; that the U.S. government is plotting death panels, re-education camps and an IRS database of Americans’ medical records; and that the feds could use census data to put people in internment camps.

Whether she was calling President Obama a socialist, misplacing John Quincy Adams in history as a “Founding Father,” or wishing Elvis Presley a “happy birthday” on the anniversary of his death, Bachmann frequently furnished evidence for her claim that God had called her to run for president — if only to provide comic relief.

[strummer8526]

I had never heard about the John Wayne gaffe. That is awesome. Politicians should take more pride in their local serial killers!

[Elvado]

Did she make those idiotic comments in all 57 states?

[Boz]

We still have Maxine Waters though, right? Please tell me she's not going anywhere.

[DFW HOYA]

Bachmann made the mistakes of an unprepared candidate, not a particularly vindictive one. I'm sure Joe Biden can relate.

She was facing a tough reelection, having won by only 4,298 votes in 2012. Rather than get run out of town in 2014, she can cash in and take a comfortable seat as a Fox News analyst, which has held an open seat since Roger Ailes fired Sarah Palin.

[bmartin]

She was entirely a creation of the internet and cable tv. In 14 years in Congress she has done absolutely nothing. She never tried to learn enough about policies or programs to participate in hearings or floor debate. She was one of those who lived for Special Orders when the House chamber was empty and she could throw out stupidity for the C-SPAN junkies.

[Elvado]

Based on that description and record she could have won the White House in 2008 if she were a Democrat.

[strummer8526]

May 30, 2013 15:38:12 GMT -5 Elvado said:

Based on that description and record she could have won the White House in 2008 if she were a Democrat.

Perhaps, but first she would have had to agree that America has never been, and should never be, a theocracy.

[quickplay]

Michele Bachmann is retiring. She said and believed some insane things.

B-b-b-b-ut Obama!!!!

I can easily agree that most politicians are easy targets to point out idiocy, corruption, and laziness, but Bachmann had some gems that make me wonder how she was able to go through day to day life without falling in an open elevator shaft.

[rustyshackleford]

She wasn't lazy or corrupt as much as she was extreme - the 'anti-american' views and Abedin-muslim brotherhood controversies were pathetic.

[bmartin]

But she had no following or even respect in Congress. The House Republican Conference would never trust her with any institutional or leadership responsibility. The cable news networks featured her because she was outlandish but her opinions were irrelevant. She caused more trouble for Republicans than for Democrats by a wide margin because her know-nothingness was batting practice pitching to Dems and took the spotlight away from serious Republican legislators.

[Problem of Dog]

May 30, 2013 10:06:26 GMT -5 Elvado said:

Did she make those idiotic comments in all 57 states?

Great point. Nailed it.

[strummer8526]

Sept 2, 2013 1:52:17 GMT -5 Problem of Dog said:

May 30, 2013 10:06:26 GMT -5 Elvado said:

Did she make those idiotic comments in all 57 states?

Great point. Nailed it.

You dug up a thread that has been dormant for three months to say that?

[Problem of Dog]

Sept 3, 2013 11:24:34 GMT -5 strummer8526 said:

Sept 2, 2013 1:52:17 GMT -5 Problem of Dog said:

Great point. Nailed it.

You dug up a thread that has been dormant for three months to say that?

It's not really digging if it's only half way down the first page. More like stubbing my toe on it.

[Boz]

So we're clear:

Threads like this one are perfectly fine, but elvado is "a disgusting troll" for starting the one he did.

OK. Got it. Just checking.

[TC]

Sept 4, 2013 11:57:52 GMT -5 Boz said:

So we're clear:

Threads like this one are perfectly fine, but elvado is "a disgusting troll" for starting the one he did.

Glad we're clear.

Starting a thread to discuss a politician by quoting AND linking to a Washington Post article and quoting its title (the entirety of the first post has NOTHING written by hoyainspirit, save a Smiley) : not trolling (feel free to even do it with a Jennifer Rubin piece, it's still not trolling the board even in the situations in which she essentially is trolling her audience)

Starting a thread to essentially race-bait the board : probably trolling

[Problem of Dog]

Sept 4, 2013 11:57:52 GMT -5 Boz said:

So we're clear:

Threads like this one are perfectly fine, but elvado is "a disgusting troll" for starting the one he did.

OK. Got it. Just checking.

Oh no, he's a disgusting troll for a lot of reasons. No one thread is my basis for that opinion.

[AustinHoya03]

I thought I had commented in this thread back when it was fresh, but apparently not.

Michele Bachmann was disliked by many Republicans and Democrats in her congressional district.  She was going to lose her House seat to a Democrat despite the fact that her district leans Republican and she stood zero chance of losing a Republican primary.  Now that she's leaving, she will most likely be replaced by a Republican House freshman, which isn't particularly good for people of the Democratic persuasion.  Instead, Democrats are celebrating because they'll no longer be exposed to clips of Michele Bachmann being an idiot on Fox News or in Republican presidential debates (even though that's not really good for Democrats either, because it makes it more difficult for them to portray Republicans in general as morons/lunatics).

Anyway, politicians like Michele Bachmann exist because primary election politics have become a total joke, particularly in states like mine where districts are gerrymandered to favor one political party.  (I mean, freaking John Cornyn is moving to the right because he's so worried about getting primaried in 2014.)  Once politicians like Michele Bachmann are elected due to crappy primary election politics, they become ratings bonanzas for cable television networks*, and most Americans only follow politics through the distorted lens of cable television.  (If we were paying attention to what happens in Congress, nobody would be talking about Michele Bachmann.)  With the help of cable television, Michele Bachmann somehow became a "figure" in the Republican party despite being a lazy Congresswoman and a bit of a loon, and that wasn't particularly good for anyone.  Even worse is that she will make money from her joke of a political career after her retirement, incentivizing such behavior in future candidates for office.

I won't miss Michele Bachmann, but the fact that we were ever talking about her in the first place is a disappointment.

Since it's Friday afternoon and I brought up the topic, here's a semi-entertaining game involving gerrymandering:

www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2013/08/gerrymandering_jigsaw_puzzle_game_put_the_congressional_districts_back_together.html



*With an assist from Republican House leadership by placing Bachmann on the House Intelligence Committee.

[DFW HOYA]

Texas suffers from celebrity politicians that are more interested in national appearance than constituent service. I am challenged to identify anything Ted Cruz has done for the state since taking office.

Democrats are little different. How Wendy Davis is suddenly the Great Blue Hope is baffling. The Dems would be better served running better candidates for the posts that matter (Land, Railroad, Agriculture) than throwing money down the drain against Greg Abbott.

[TC]

Sept 6, 2013 13:33:56 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

Democrats are little different. How Wendy Davis is suddenly the Great Blue Hope is baffling.

Why is it baffling? She's got a great bio, seems likable, and was given a national spotlight by Rick Perry. She'll be able to raise money nationally.