Are Michele Bachmann's Comments Un-American?
Congresswoman Bachmann may be Indicative of Dead-End Republicans
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN), is a Representative of Minnesota's 6th congressional district whose most recent race for the U.S. House in 2008 had gained national attention related to the controversial comments she made on MSNBC journalist Chris Matthews's show Hardball. During the show Bachmann called for members of the media to investigate members of Congress for what she called an anti-American bias, including then presidential candidate Barack Obama. Her comments drew widespread criticism and condemnation in addition to helping her Democratic opponent raise more than a million dollars in just a few days in order to help defeat her. Also when asked by Matthews if she felt Obama held anti-American views, Bachmann's response was, "Absolutely, I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views. That's what the American people are concerned about. That's why they want to know what his [views] are."
What Part of America is Anti-American
On numerous occasions Congresswoman Bachmann and other Republican operatives like former Vice President Dick Cheney and radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh have used the term un-American to describe their opposition to Democratic policies, programs, and individual people that they feel don't have the best interest of their Republican colleagues and constituents in mind. Homosexuals have been a particularly rich target for Bachmann, who according to Maureen O'Connor of the on-line magazine The Daily Best, in 2004, told a talk-radio host that same-sex marriage is dangerous because "it is our children who are the prize for this community, they are specifically targeting our children." In another round of equating homosexuality with pedophilia, Bachmann spoke on the floor of the U.S. House in early May of this year to express her fear of hate-crimes legislation. She equated protecting victims of homophobic crime with protecting pedophiles when she said, "People who are practicing pedophiles would be considered protected under this legislation, but not, I understand, veterans, not, I understand pregnant women, not, I understand, 85-year old grandmothers would be protected under this law. A pedophile, someone who considers themselves gay, someone who considers themselves transgendered, someone who considers themselves a cross-dresser? That is who is protected."
The Patriotism of Fellow Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison Questioned
Local politicians have not been immune from this type of negative religiously charged rhetoric either. African-American and Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison of the 5th congressional district in Minnesota has had to bear the brunt of unwarranted verbal attacks on his credibility from Bachmann as well. In an interview in April 2009 with a San Francisco radio station she asserted that Congressman Ellison consorted with known terrorists. "The imams, were actually attending, ah, Congressman Ellison's victory celebration, when he won as a member of Congress," Bachmann said. She went on to talk about terror-related accusations that had been made against the six imams, without mentioning that all of them had been proven false. Furthermore the imams had been in Minnesota for a conference not Congressman Ellison's gathering. On MSNBC, Congressman Ellison said the allegations were untrue and that he did not want to engage in this kind of negative rhetoric.
Michele Bachmann
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