Leftists Launch "Currency Trutherism" Against Bachmann

Are conservatives interested in standing up for Michele Bachmann? I sent out my post yesterday to a number of top bloggers but heard nothing. Maybe I'm wrong about this. Maybe she's indeed the extremist that the leftists keep portraying her to be. Can it really be that top right-wing bloggers are willing to let Bachmann hold down the fort on her own? Not me. I don't buy the meme that she's dog-whistling to the black-copter crowds. Bachmann's speaking more clearly about things that are half of the top conservative opinion makers in the Washington press corps (Brooks, Frum, etc.).

The leftosphere smells blood in the wake of Bachmann's denunciation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's comments suggesting an "openness" to the displacement of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. Eric Kleefeld's got a post up right now, "Bachmann Blasts Obama's 'Economic Marxism,' Calls For 'Orderly Revolution' To Save Freedom." Here's the key quote from the audio:

At this point the American people - it's like Thomas Jefferson said, a revolution every now and then is a good thing. We are at the point, Sean, of revolution. And by that, what I mean, an orderly revolution - where the people of this country wake up get up and make a decision that this is not going to happen on their watch. It won't be our children and grandchildren that are in debt. It is we who are in debt, we who will be bankrupting this country, inside of ten years, if we don't get a grip. And we can't let the Democrats achieve their ends any longer.

Just so folks are clear, notice how Bachmann clarifies her point: "And by that, what I mean, an orderly revolution ..."

No matter. Matthew Yglesias is on the hunt, "Bachmann and Beck Double-Down on Currency Conspiracy Theory." And Steve Benen diagnoses Ms. Bachmann as insane:

Bachmann simply isn't well. Were she not an elected member of the U.S. Congress, she'd probably be shouting conspiracy theories and holding cardboard signs on some sidewalk somewhere. But what I find especially interesting is that her paranoid delusions are so detached from obvious truths. If Bachmann wanted to complain that a 39.6% top rate was the epitome of Marxism, she'd be just another conservative. But she's convinced herself that the Obama administration will "move us to an international currency," due entirely to her breathtaking stupidity.

Gird your loins, conservatives!

Bachmann's proposed resolution to protect the dollar as the country's sovereign unit of exchange is perfectly justified in light of monetary history and the outlandish comments from Secretary Geithner. Advanced economies are not inoculated from supranational pressures toward monetary homogenization or unification, as the case of the European Union indicates. Once Ms. Bachmann refers to "One World Currency," the only logical reference point is to a national currency unit that would replace current dollar hegemony worldwide. There is no alternative for circulation within borders for everday tendered transactions. More abstract currency units, for example, the IMF's "SDRs", do not circulate as legal tender within nations - they are accounting units for central bank transactions. For something to displace an indigenous legal tender as a means of domestic exchange, an international reserve currency would be introduced into local markets for stability and confidence. This is not unusual, as the dollar now routinely serves as the local unit of exchange in transitioning economies. If anything is outlandish in all of this, it's the idea that Americans should take seriously the notion that China has the economic power to replace U.S. as the world's leading economic power. This is the administration's stupidity, not Representative Bachmann's. She's simply putting in place legislative protections against this administration's transnationalists, those who are willing to consider the replacement of the dollar of the world's reserve currency. See the discussion, for example, at the Wall Street Journal, "The Chinese Yuan: The Next World Currency?"

There's nothing stupid about Michele Bachmann's concern for American sovereignty or her distrust of the Democratic financial manderins in Washington. What is not so smart is how conservatives, at least as demonstrated by the lack of response to the left's "currency trutherism" against Ms. Bachmann, aren't taking these atacks seriously. (But thank goodness for William Jacobson's exceptional essay, "Yet Another Cheap Attack On Michele Bachmann.)

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UPDATE: See also Snooper Report, "I Want To Bear Michele Bachmann's Babies!"

Michele Bachmann, Saving America

I'm looking at Memeorandum, and again not one conservative blogger is listed next to all the leftist attacks on Representative Michele Bachmann. I should note that my friends at Legal Insurrection and Snooper Report have posts up on this, although I'm still looking around the conservative blogosphere for additional essays. Glenn Beck gets it, of course. Below is the video from his show this afternoon, where he excoriates Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, saying "the international reserve currency is the dollar!" Beck also has spoke with Representative Bachmann this morning, in "Glenn talks with Congresswoman Bachmann."

Meanwhile, Fox News reports that the Minnesota congresswoman may be positioning herself for higher office:

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has shown an uncanny knack for infuriating critics with sometimes off-the-wall behavior and comments, all the while advancing her own political career.

Minnesota politicos say the Republican congresswoman, having fended off perhaps her toughest challenge last year, could hold on to her seat indefinitely -- thanks in part to the conservative makeup of her district.

But Bachmann, a lightning rod of the left, also may be poised to run for governor or senator, according to the political chatter. Either way, the longer Bachmann stays in office, the more she seems to rile her opponents nationwide with a style some call genuine, but others call clueless.

"For what pisses off the Democrats, it really energizes that conservative base she has," said Lawrence Jacobs, a political professor at the University of Minnesota. "This is not a strategic politician. This is a movement conservative. She's a true believer."

Bachmann, 52, is a born-again Christian -- she has said God called her to go to law school and to run for Congress -- who cut her political teeth in the Minnesota Legislature pushing for an amendment to ban same-sex marriage. She won election to the U.S. Congress in 2006, going against the wave of Republicans forced out of office that year. Since then, she's concentrated more on tax and spending issues. She was in the spotlight this week as she questioned Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during a hearing about federal intervention in the financial system.

Bachmann told FOXNews.com her ultimate goal in Congress is to overhaul and simplify the tax code, while fighting the efforts of the Obama administration to expand government and increase the tax burden. She said President Obama has gone on a spending "blitzkrieg," and she argued that the recent flap over AIG bonuses is just another sign that Washington needs an exit strategy for its financial intervention.

As for her re-election last year, she said it was just proof of her appeal.

"The fact that people knew that I am who I say I am and I'll vote the way that I vote and do so unapologetically, that's one thing people appreciate," she said. "You know, we're the state that voted in Jesse Ventura."

"The nation needs all the conservative fighters we can get in D.C.," she added.

There's more at the link, but the conclusion to the article, a quote from political scientist Lawrence Jacobs, is worth citing: "The larger party infrastructure is about winning elections, and Michele Bachmann is about saving America ... Michele Bachmann is a microcosm of the tension between the Republican Party that wants to win elections and conservatives who want to fight and win policy battles. That is the core of it."

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UPDATE: Allahpundit posts on Glenn Beck, so at least somebody's getting close!

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UPDATE II: Newsbusters defends Bachmann, in "Matthews Calls Bachmann the 'Mata Hari of Minnesota'; Rolling Stone's Taibbi Says 'Guy Huffing Glue' More Sensible" (with video).

Suffolk University Poll: Bachmann Gains in New Hampshire; Minnesota Congresswoman Tops Field as 'Most Conservative'

Fox News has a write up, "Poll Shows Bachmann Gaining Momentum Among NH GOP Voters." Mitt Romney is by far the GOP frontrunner in New Hampshire, but as other media outlets are stressing, Michele Bachmann comes on strong in the survey, surging 8 points in favorability since May. The Suffolk press report is here, and the poll data here. What I liked best is that Bachmann beats out the field as the "most conservative" candidate in the race. Bachmann was most conservative at 15 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 13 percent, and Romney at 11 percent. The rest of the candidates were in single digits, and the roster includes big name personalities such as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Bachmann's had a big week. One of the indicators of that is how aggressively the Democrat-Media-Complex has been trying to take her down.

There's a whole string of threads on Bachmann at Memeorandum, and just now the San Francisco Chronicle's Mark Morford (who announced that Barack Obama was the "Lightworker" in 2008) has weighed in with the latest misogynistic sleaze attack on the congresswoman, "Michele Bachmann, Hell's Barbie":

Yes, Michele Bachmann is running for president. Michele Bachmann, fundamentalist Christian zealot, paranoid isolationist, lowbrow conspiracy theorist, heavily shellacked automaton, anti-choice anti-gay anti-everything neo-Stepford throwback and easily the flat-out nuttiest female ever to raise a hugely depressing $13 million for her clumsy campaign launch, Michele wants to lead us all to salvation.

It's been a week of virtually non-stop attacks like this. No doubt Bachmann's sending shivers down the spine of the progressive establishment. And that's on the left. Will the GOP embrace Bachmann as well, or would Beltway insiders prefer a McCain 2.0 over the Iowa-born congressional upstart?

The GOP needs a conservative candidate. And while Sarah Palin may still enter the race, Michelle Bachmann's making all the right moves, and getting some well-deserved recognition among potential voters.

RELATED: At National Journal, "Is There a 'Generic Republican' to Beat Obama in the Polls?"And the discussion with Gretchen Carlson on Fox & Friends this morning:

Michele Bachmann Endures Increasing Sexist Attacks on Campaign Trail

I guess Evan McMorris-Santoro's oppressed-women radar perked up after noticing the start of last weekend's GOP candidate forum with Frank Luntz. Michele Bachmann couldn't even be gracious enough to pour water for her opponents without being smeared as a "water-carrier." And the comments at the post are what you'd expect from the demonic commie-progressives at TPM, "Michele Bachmann Carries Her Opponents’ Water…Literally"

Then there's the "lying bitch" attack on the Jimmy Fallon show, at The Frisky, "Michele Bachmann Demands Apology For “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” Incident On Jimmy Fallon." And New York Times, "NBC Expresses Regret to Bachmann Over Introduction on Fallon Show."

And now progressive media are going after Representative Bachmann's cosmetics? At Huffington Post, "Michele Bachmann Wears Tons of Makeup For CNN Debate," and London's Daily Mail, "Michele Bachmann brings out the war paint as she cakes on the make-up for GOP debate."

Bachmann was subject to unhinged misogyny in August when Newsweek published the "Queen of Rage" cover photo: "The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks." This stuff is par or the course for conservative women. And had right-leaning outlets slammed First Lady Michelle Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the same fashion, all hell would have broken loose across the progresso-sphere.

Michele Bachmann is Tea Party Favorite

Warner Todd Huston, my colleague at Right Wing News, has written an important analysis of the challenges for the tea party movement in 2010. See, "Tea Parties: The Biggest Mistake We’ll Make in 2010." I'm especially interested in this passage:

There was no unifying single goal of the Tea Partiers and no agency or party directing them. This means that the raw power behind them just might go untapped because there will be no way to translate the passion to power. Every transformative movement has been led by a single man and his small group of powerful adherents but the Tea Party movement has no such leader and might just find that its passion will dissipate until there is nothing left but disgruntled followers.

Don't get me wrong, I love the passion and was thrilled by the hundreds of Tea Parties with their millions of participants as it happened across this land in 2009. I was heartened that so many Americans were standing up to the anti-American left like that. But how do we channel that passion into something that can lead to positive change?

Without question powerful change needs is a leader. Unfortunately, unless a leader steps forward that can gather all those many Tea Party strings into a single strong rope, it is likely that the whole thing will just pass away and be left a footnote in history.

Actually, I've written about precisely this problem. I'm especially worried that the tea parties coalesce into a formal third-party movement to challenge the Demcrats and Republicans in the two-party system. That will kill the movement most of all. See my essay, "A Battle Within? Emerging Divisions in the Tea Party Movement." As I said there:

My hope is that the tea partiers can come to some accomodation with the most conservative leaders of the Republican Party, especially Sarah Palin. Our movement needs to work within the structural constraints of the single-member, winner-take-all system. This does not mean we need to compromise our constitutional principles of limited government and our moral foundations in divine historical exceptionalism. We do need vigorous but more centralized leadership, that's for sure, because the time is now for a conservative resurgence.

I've also suggested that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann stands with Governor Palin as the two most important potential leaders of the movement's possible merger with the base of the GOP. On that note, folks might take a look at this piece from the Los Angeles Times, "Michele Bachmann is Welcome at Tea Parties":

The Republican congresswoman from Minnesota has become a rare elected official to be embraced by the vocal small-government activists. And the GOP is taking note ....

In two terms in Congress, Bachmann has often used hyperbole and political theatrics to make headlines. And recently, she has achieved a rare feat: winning the trust of the anti-incumbent, small-government "tea party" activists who distrust most elected officials. And that puts Bachmann in a position of rising influence.

Republicans fear that the tea party conservatives will run their own candidates for office and drain votes from the GOP. In two recent polls, more voters had a high opinion of the tea party movement than of the Republican Party (and in one poll, higher than of the Democratic Party). The movement is blamed for tipping one House race already, a special election in upstate New York last month, to the Democrats.

Now, as the tea party crowd tries to organize and raise money for next year's Senate and House elections, Republican leaders are taking note of Bachmann's special rapport with the groups.

A new GOP website aimed at rebutting President Obama's jobs proposal, which features only a few lawmakers, includes Bachmann along with Republican leaders. And recently, the Republican National Committee put Bachmann on a conference call to discuss healthcare with a host of grass-root groups, including tea party activists.

"There's no question that congresswoman Bachmann fires up the base," said LeRoy Coleman, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. "She's a powerful and galvanizing voice for this party."

That is not how all Republicans see Bachmann, 53, who once said that she was "hot for Jesus" and is quick to call Obama's governing plans "socialism." Some want to keep her at arm's length.

When Bachmann declared that she would ignore almost all questions on the census form, calling it an unconstitutional effort to collect personal data, three fellow House Republicans called her stance "illogical, illegal and not in the best interest of our country."

When former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell last year crossed party lines and endorsed Obama, he cited Bachmann's suggestion that Obama held "anti-American views," calling it "nonsense."

And in a survey this month by National Journal magazine, Republican members of Congress named Bachmann as being among the colleagues they would "most like to mute."

But her over-the-top comments have also turned Bachmann into a favorite of a conservative movement that believes the GOP has wandered from its traditional values. She is one of just two elected officials scheduled to speak at a national tea party convention in February. (The other represents Tennessee, where the convention will be held.)

"She can be derided by the political establishment and the media for being too abrasive. . . . But those people aren't trusted by members of the tea party," said Joe Wierzbicki, a spokesman for the California-based Tea Party Express. "Michele Bachmann is."

As an ambassador to the activists, Bachmann has tried to tamp down talk among tea party groups that they should form their own political party.

"I think this coalition will fit under a tent that's literally fashioned out of the parchment of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution," she said in an interview. "I think that what we'll do is emphasize the issues of commonality.

"The greater good right now is to defeat the move toward collectivism, as being advocated at a breakneck speed by the Obama administration," she said.

As a tea party confidant, Bachmann is in scarce company. Activists consider former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to be a leader, and TV show host Glenn Beck, but few elected officials.

RELATED: "Tea Partiers To Republicans: You Better Call For Full Repeal of Reform, Or Else." (Via Memeorandum.)

Bachmann Campaign Shake-Up

Ed Rollins is out. (Good thing too.)

See Los Angeles Times, "Michele Bachmann's campaign sees major shake-up."

And from Chris Cillizza, at Washington Post, "Michele Bachmann’s rise and fall in the 2012 Republican primary":

In politics, things change fast.

Less than a month ago, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann sat atop the political world fresh off her win at the Ames Straw Poll.

Today, two new polls show Bachmann’s support badly eroding — a finding that when coupled with a Labor Day staff shakeup raise serious questions about her ability to recapture the momentum that shot her into the top tier over the summer.

In a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, Bachmann now stands at six percent in a hypothetical 2012 Republican primary ballot, well short of the 13 percent she took in a mid-July Post/ABC survey of registered voters

The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows a similar decline with Bachmann now winning 8 percent — half of the 16 percent she received in July.

There appear to be a few reasons for Bachmann’s slippage.

Keep reading.

Rick Perry's surge came primarily at Michele Bachmann's expense. That said, Cillizza sounds a bit too bearish on Bachmann. She needs to stay focused on Iowa. Obviously her Ames victory got buried in the sensation of Rick Perry, but we've got a debate tomorrow and lots more retail politics before Iowa, where Bachmann remains the favorite daughter.

Michele Bachmann's Truth to Power

The Republican Congressional Campaign Committee has caved to pressure from the netroots left by withdrawing campaign support for Representative Michele Bachmann's relection to Congress from Minnesota's 6th District.

Bachmann appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews last week and spoke openly about Barack Obama and the Democratic Party's widespread anti-Americanism. For speaking truth to power, Bachmann's now the target of a vicious smear campaign of leftist McCarthyism. The story's even made the frontpage at today's Los Angeles Times:

On Friday afternoon, Bachmann appeared on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and made what has been dubbed the million-dollar mistake: Bachmann, 52, alleged that presidential candidate Barack Obama may hold "anti-American" views, and proposed a media investigation into "the views of the people in Congress [to] find out: Are they pro-America or anti-America?"

While Sen. Obama's presidential bid has transformed the way campaigns use the Internet to reach volunteers and donors, the technology has also become a way for the public to instantly react -- even to races in which they can't vote.

Those quick reactions, often in the form of donations, can influence the outcome of a campaign, said Julie Barko Germany, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management.

Barko German said "the Internet can be an amplifier," enabling viewers to react instantly to something that incites strong support or fury.

"It's an excellent fundraising tool," she added, citing research indicating that "when you show someone a video online, they donate 10% more."

Bachmann's interview has turned the race into one of the country's most intensely watched. It also unleashed an online backlash against Bachmann, who many local political observers assumed would easily win reelection.

President Bush won the district in 2004 with 57% of the vote. In 2006, former state Sen. Bachmann was heralded as the first female Republican to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the district, which is dominated by blue-collar and farming communities.

And this summer, one of the few polls conducted in the race showed that Bachmann held a 13-point lead over Tinklenberg.

But on Wednesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee pulled all of its TV advertising supporting Bachmann in the 6th District, according to a GOP source. Since her "Hardball" appearance, Bachmann's lawn signs have been vandalized. Callers spew profanity at volunteers and obscenities about the congresswoman at her district campaign office.

I wrote in defense Bachmann here, and the Hardball video's here:

At one point Bachmann says "the people who Barack Obama has been associating with are anti-American, by and large."

Is that statement objectively in doubt? Can people honestly deny Bachmann's comments?

Even her concluding remark for the media to "investigate" the views of Members of Congress is hardly controversial, if one remembers that holding government accountable is the responsibility charged to the press by the Founding Fathers of this nation.

Michelle Bachmann has the honesty and integrity to speak truth to power. I want to direct readers to Bachmann's campaign website, Bachmann for Congress. Please join me in making a financial contribution to an outstanding Republican Congresswoman.

Conservatives need to stand up for moral clarity and traditional values. Michelle Bachmann's doing just that. Let's help her get across the finish line with a strong reelection win on November 4th.

Update on Michele Bachmann

This entry updates my earlier post on Michele Bachmann ...

Representative Bachmann's clearly raising the ire of the nihilists at Firedoglake, "Michelle Bachmann, Vigilant Guardian of the Constitution."

Funny how all these Bush/Cheney Republicans have suddenly discovered there's this thing called "the Constitution," isn't it?

A friend who speaks wingnut tells me this is good old right-wing/Bircher/Evil Federal Reserve/One World Government paranoia, as Bachmann later hints at with her weird question about an "international monetary standard." But I think she's just an idiot.

Previously Firedoglake posted a Photoshop of Ms. Bachmann with Nazi paraphernalia. We're seeing nothing less than a campaign by hardline radicals to personally destroy Michelle Bachmann, not unlike the left's current program to bankrupt Sarah Palin with endlessly frivilous ethics lawsuits against the Governor and her family.

See also John Hinderaker's comments on Ms. Bachmann, "Bachmann Quotes Jefferson; STRIB Is Shocked:

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is one of Minnesota's most effective spokesmen for conservatism, so our local media have collaborated with Democrats in trying to defeat her. The most recent attack on Michele arose out of my radio show last Saturday.

See also Representative Bachmann's essay at Townhall, "A Government Power Grab" (via Memeorandum).

Michele Bachmann Fired Up After Sioux City Debate: Bus Tour to Rekindle Campaign as Iowa Caucuses Near

Dave Wiegel discusses Michele Bachmann's thrashing of Ron Paul, "Was this the Moment That Ron Paul Lost Iowa?" And here's the video:

And I posted the video of Bachmann hammering Speaker Gingrich already. And she was on CNN earlier this afternoon. Responding to Wolf Blitzer, Bachmann said that Gingrich was "memory challenged" regarding Bachmann's command of the facts. Actually, she is a bit off at times, but I'm getting a kick out of her aggressive new approach ahead of the caucuses. The Washington Post has more on that, "Hoping for a caucus comeback, Michele Bachmann sets out on a bus tour of Iowa’s 99 counties":

ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann said she did not want “to trash anyone” on Friday and then called her leading rivals ideologically unfit to win the nomination as she began a bus tour she hopes will yield a caucus comeback.

The Minnesota congresswoman is lagging in the polls and trying to recapture the momentum she lost since summer. She set out on a 99-county bus tour that ferried her from restaurants to catering companies, from a sports bar to a bakery.

“Now is our chance for redemption,” Bachmann told supporters packed into The Dutch Bakery to hear her final sales pitch ahead of the Jan. 3 caucuses.

“I’m not here to trash anyone,” she said — and then criticized the two men leading the GOP race.

“Mitt Romney is the only governor in history of the United States to put into place socialized medicine,” she said.

On Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who has seen a surge in recent weeks, she said: “Newt has been backing the individual health care mandate for 20 years.”
“I am the only consistent constitutional conservative. I’m not a convenient conservative,” Bachmann told reporters in Sioux City.

Well, trashing is good. Recall she graciously poured water for her opponents previously. Now's the time to rope 'em in!

Michele Bachmann and the Conservative Future

GOP Representative Michele Bachmann, from Minnesota's 6th District, has lost a double-digit lead to Democratic challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg following her appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews on October 17.

A new poll finds Elwynn with a slight, statistically-insignificant lead over Bachmann, 45-43 percent.

Bachmann's under fire for criticizing the Democratic nominee, saying, for example, "the people who Barack Obama has been associating with are anti-American, by and large." The ensuing left-wing backlash has engulfed her campaign and put her political career in jeopardy.

As noted, I made a contribution to Bachmann's reelection campaign the other day.

I've been moved by the controversy surrounding, as I see Bachmann as an embattled foot-soldier in the culture wars following September 11, 2001, which have now reached manic pitch on the eve of the presidential election.

Bachmann's been eviscerated by the netroots left and its allies in the liberal press corps, and she's taped a new campaign advertisement saying, "I may not always get my words right but I know that my heart is right because my heart is for you, for your children and for the blessings of liberty to remain for our great country."

This is not the big "apology" some folks on the left were anticipating, and I'm glad: Bachmann's got nothing to be ashamed of, and no need to apologize:

• When the Senate Majority Leader, a Democrat, gets up to the podium and proclaims, "The Iraq war is lost!" in an effort to counteract any positive consequences of an upcoming change in strategy, is that pro-American?
• When "Jihad Jack" Murtha scores a propaganda victory for Jihadists who are killing our soldiers by unjustly and without evidence labelling Marines "cold blooded murderers," is that likewise pro-American?
• When an entire party, in the name of politics, tries to undermine the efforts of our troops in harms' way during wartime, is that pro-American?
• When Obama's long-time self-confessed mentor and pastor of over 20 years stands in the pulpit and screams, "G*D DAMN AMERICA!" is that being pro-American?
• When another long-time Obama Associate, William Ayers, bombs the pentagon and other targets, and later regrets only that he didn't cause more murder and mayhem, is that also pro-American?

But notice the video above, which features Bachmann in a congressional district debate in November 2005. During the talk Bachmann proclaims that "not all cultures are equal," to which the Huffington Post responds:

One comment she has never explained came during a debate she had while running for Congress the first time in November 2005. Prompted by a question on the rioting in France and Europe at the time, Bachmann said "not all cultures are equal, not all values are equal," letting it be known that she thought that people of the Muslim faith had an inferior culture to that of the United States and the West.

She held forth on the European unrest, referring to a generation of unassimilated Muslim French youth addicted to cable television, led in her imagination by al Jazeera to wreak havoc. Yet it was Bachmann who seemed entranced by cable news. Her knowledge of what was actually happening in France seems to have come entirely from a FOX news-style script. In fact, the unrest was no jihad, had nothing to do with religious faith or Muslim culture or al Jazeeera. It was more akin to the riots in the U.S. for expanded civil rights in the 1960s or those that followed from the Rodney King police beating in Los Angeles in 1991. The European riots came after two suburban youth were killed in a police chase. The unrest centered on decades of discrimination that had manifested itself, for example, in school acceptances and hiring practices and police force racial profiling.

Actually, that's not quite accurate.

In fact, Bachmann pretty much nails the analysis, and Huffington Post is spinning Bachmann's comments as a purportedly earlier example of beyond-the-pale extremism.

Note, for example, Robert Leiken's analysis in, "Europe's Angry Muslims," from the July/August 2005 issue of Foreign Affairs:

Jihadist networks span Europe from Poland to Portugal, thanks to the spread of radical Islam among the descendants of guest workers once recruited to shore up Europe's postwar economic miracle. In smoky coffeehouses in Rotterdam and Copenhagen, makeshift prayer halls in Hamburg and Brussels, Islamic bookstalls in Birmingham and "Londonistan," and the prisons of Madrid, Milan, and Marseilles, immigrants or their descendants are volunteering for jihad against the West. It was a Dutch Muslim of Moroccan descent, born and socialized in Europe, who murdered the filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam last November. A Nixon Center study of 373 mujahideen in western Europe and North America between 1993 and 2004 found more than twice as many Frenchmen as Saudis and more Britons than Sudanese, Yemenites, Emiratis, Lebanese, or Libyans. Fully a quarter of the jihadists it listed were western European nationals - eligible to travel visa-free to the United States.

Also, here's Robert Spencer rebutting the notion that "the unrest [of 2005] was no jihad, had nothing to do with religious faith or Muslim culture":

Why have the riots happened? From many accounts one would think that the riots have been caused by France’s failure to implement Marxism....

One might get the impression from this that France is governed by top-hatted, cigar-smoking capitalists, building their fortunes on the backs of the poor, rather than by socialists and quasi-socialists who have actually strained the economy by spending huge amounts of money on health and welfare programs. Nor does the idea that the rioting has been caused by economic inequalities explain why Catholics and others who are poor in France have not joined the Muslims who are rioting. Of course, all the news agencies have either omitted or mentioned only in passing that the rioters are Muslims at all. The casual reader would not be able to escape the impression that what is happening in France is all about economics — and race.

Compare Spencer to Bachmann's intitial comments in the video:

I just want to say only in France, only in France could you have suburban youth rioting because the welfare benefits aren't generous enough. And that's... That's what they're telling us now is happening there. And only in France could that happen.

Representative Bachmann is more attuned to France's "Muslim street" than are her detractors on the radical left.

And that's why I've contributed to her campaign, and I hope others will as well (go to Bachmann's campaign page, here).

Michele Bachmann's fighting the fight conservatives need to wage. She's now a bit chastened by the backlash, but as the comments in her new advertisment indicate, she's sticking to "what's right in her heart."

That's a stand for traditional values, a stand for ideals, and a refusal to cave to intense political pressures from nihilist moral relativists.

Unfortunately, two-thirds in the Minnesota National Public Radio poll disagree with Bachmann's comments on Barack Obama's radical associations, for more reasons than I can discuss here.

Thus, in the microcosm of American politics that is Minnesota's 6th congressional district, we're seeing the battle for the conservative soul unfold in miniature, at the level of an individual GOP policy-maker beseiged by the hordes of moral equivalence who're now emboldened by the prospects of a Barack Obama administration, a candidate who will represent the very values against which Bachmann's so courageously warned.

Rally at Independence Hall: Michele Bachmann in the O.C.!

As promised, here's my report on Michele Bachmann at Independence Hall, Knott's Berry Farm, in Buena Park. The location's just a few miles south from my campus. The event was from 3:00 to 4:00pm, and it was just incredible. As you can see, the park's Independence Hall is an exact replica of the original historic landmark in Philadelphia, PA. Both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed there. Here you can see contemporary patriots getting ready for the rally:

Here's the West Coast's Liberty Bell inside the hall:

A shot of the bell's famous crack:

Patriots inside the gift shop (the original Independence Flag took up the whole wall):

George Washington and Betsy Ross:

The sweeties at the gift counter, in 18th century dress:

Heading back outside, I introduced myself to David Horowitz. He would speak in just a few minutes to kick off the event:

Still waiting, I went back inside the hall for a couple of more pictures:

Amazing historical authenticity:

The Declaration of Independence (at the time, a piece of work in progress, to borrow from POWIP):

Back outside, Mr. Rooster and Mama Hens:

Here's Mr. Horowitz:

Representative Michele Bachmann waits before being introduced:

She thanked Congressman Ed Royce quite graciously and enthusiastically:

Representative Bachmann gave a rousing speech. She came to California straight from Washington and the last night's SOTU. She reminded the crowd that this time last year the big talk was Joe Wilson's "you lie," while this week it's Samuel Alito's "not true," and she turned that into a little chant to fire up the patriots in attendence. She was especially emphatic in stressing the president's defiance of the American people. Passing healthcare was not about improving lives, it was about Obama's personal agenda:

Down in front of the podium, Congressman Royce came back up for a Q&A:

Michele Bachmann's a political goddess. Lots of folks crowded around as she finished speaking. She posed for just a couple of pictures, and then was whisked away by her escorts/handlers:

My picture with Representative Bachmann will have to wait. But to my everlasting joy, I met Opus #6 of MAINFO:

She took some pictures as well, from right down in front (I'm in the picture at left). It turns out Opus headed straight over to the Lincoln Club fundraising dinner. She's mobile blogging the event. See, "Michele Bachmann Speaks in Newport Beach," and "I Am Sitting a Few Seats Down From Chuck Devore in Newport Beach."

You've gotta love the O.C.!!

UPDATE: In a correction, I've posted the right picture of the Declaration of Independence above.

Michele Bachmann: Keeper of the Conservative Flame

Regular readers may remember my post from last fall, "Michele Bachmann and the Conservative Future." At the time, Representative Bachmann was facing a battle for her political life after the netroots hordes excoriated her for speaking truth to power about the Democratic-socialists in the United States Congress. I quickly logged on to her website, Michelle Bachmann for Congress, and made a contribution. I'm now on her mailing list, proudly so.

Well it turns out Ms. Bachmann's in the news for the commments she made over the weekend during a Northern Alliance program with John Hinderaker and Brian Ward. It turns out Ms. Bachmann was discussing her current work in resisting the collectivists in Washington. When discussing her use of modern social-networking technologies to keep in contact with her constituents, Ms. Bachmann remarked:

I’m a foreign correspondent on enemy lines and I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington.

Minnesota's Smart Politics puts this in the context by providing quotes of her earlier statements:

I would say there are probably 30 keepers of the flame over here…The main thing we can do right now is be foreign correspondents reporting to you from enemy lines ....

I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people – we the people – are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.

I'll be the first to say, unequivocally, this is not controversial.

Really, as the old saying goes, "politics ain't beanbag." As far as I'm concerned, the Obamacrats are indeed the enemy, out to destroy this country, and Michelle Bachmann knows it: "Michele Bachmann isn’t afraid to stand up to the Democrats and say what she believes." Naturally, the lefties don't like it. The closer she hits to home, the harder the nihilists hit back. Here's a sample of the comments from the Smart Politics thread:

Unfortunately, this is what happens when politicians are incapable of understanding the issues, unwilling to listen to people who can fix the situation, and would prefer to take the whole country down rather than work with or learn something from someone new.

***

I want this nutjob - and others like her - stripsearched every time she comes close to the President. It would NOT at ALL surprise me if at one point people like her get the insane idea that they need to "save" the nation and do stupid things.

The last comment is particularly totalitarian. Exercizing your First Amendment rights gets you - "and others like her" - "stripsearched"?

But check out Firedoglake as well as well, with a post attacking Representative Bachmann as Nazi stormtrooper:

This is beyond unhinged. It sounds like a press release from Stormfront.

Let's imagine for a moment the Faux News/National Review/InstaMalkin/RedState freak out if, say, Debbie Wasserman Schultz gave a radio interview with Kos in 2005 and referred to the Bush administration and the GOP congress as an evil, foreign enemy.

How loud and non-stop would the drumbeat of right-wing outrage get before she'd be forced to apologize on the House floor?

But that's the thing about the right-wing. They engage in this kind of political hate speech so often, it literally goes unnoticed when one of their sitting members of Congress calls the President "the enemy."

Well, I don't know about Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but Markos Moulitsas is up for the job:

I have been sweating rumors that Bush will replace Cheney with someone more exciting, charismatic, engaging, friendly, and, well, less evil ... I won't rest easy just yet ... Bush needs Cheney so he, himself, can look less evil. Literally.

God bless Representative Michelle Bachmann. She speaks for me!

'House Call' Today: Michele Bachmann Protest Will Be 'Super Bowl of Freedom'

Here's a video roundup of Michele Bachmann making the case for her "House Call" protest today on Capitol Hill. Renew America has an information page, "Rep. Michelle Bachmann's National Tea Party."

Also, from Patricia Murphy, "Michele Bachmann's Capitol House Call: 'Get Your Hands Off My Health Care!'":

Rep. Michele Bachmann's message for conservatives traveling to Washington to attend her Capitol Hill House Call event Thursday is simple: "Go into the Capitol and find members of Congress," she told activists Wednesday night. "Don't bring your pitchforks, bring your video cameras. And get them on record saying how they're going to vote and why. And tell them, 'Take your hands off my health care!' "

Bachmann (R-Minn.) gave the marching orders on a conference call of top activists, many of whom planned to board buses in New Jersey and North Carolina Thursday morning to attend the event that the congresswoman thought up last week. "Nothing is more influential than an eyeball-to-eyeball meeting between a freedom-loving constituent and a member of Congress," she explained. "Nothing scares a member of Congress more than freedom-loving Americans."

Bachmann said she thought up the event as she lamented the speed with which the Democrats' health care reform bills were moving through Congress. "I was near despair," she said. "I was thinking, 'It looks like this bill is going to go through.' But then I thought, 'This is it. This is the Super Bowl of Freedom.'"

Also, Congressman Mike Pence has organized a 12-hour online town hall meeting to run tandem with Representative Bachmann's "House Call." See, "GOP Organizes 12-hour Online Town Hall for Thursday." (RELATED: The Washington Post, "House Expected to Vote on Health Bill Saturday." Via Memeorandum. AND, from Pat in Shreveport, "Here Comes Obamacare: Melt the Phones!)

Steve Benen: Economic Illiterate, Moral Degenerate

Steve Benen, at the Washington Monthly, illustrates the classic leftist combination of total hubris and moral bankruptcy, in his post on Michele Bachmann, "Polling a Policy That Doesn't Exist":

Last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Looneyville) convinced herself that U.S. currency is under attack (it isn't) and the threat of a "global currency" is real (it isn't). What sparked the paranoia was a Chinese proposal to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency, which of course has nothing to do with Bachmann's bizarre ideas.

I've written about this at length, (see, for example, "Leftists Launch "Currency Trutherism" Against Bachmann").

Actually, Ms. Bachmann didn't convince herself of anything. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's suggested last week that he was open to the displacement of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. Indeed, Geithner specifically claimed that the world economy needed a "new global supercurrency" as a unit of international commerce and exchange. Check the links, folks. Benen's just smearing Representative Bachmann, nothing less. And for him to say that the dollar isn't under attack is completely ignorant. While we're not seeing market-crashing speculation, over the last week international investors have fled the dollar for the safety of gold on the the New York Mercantile Exchange. And as Martin Hutchinson argues at the Asia Times, there is "no reason to believe that the dollar represents a sound store of value, the principal function of a reserve currency."

So let's be clear about all of this: (1) No, it is not likely that the U.S. dollar will be replaced anytime soon, for the main reason that the U.S. economy, for all it's problems, remains the world's largest, and will continue to be the motor for growth and development worldwide for decades to come; yet (2), the Obama administration's monetary incompetence, combined with Chinese financial assertiveness, means that Representative Bachmann's demands for policy clarification from Secretary Geithner are perfectly reasonable. The U.S. dollar cannot remain the world's reserve currency forever, and Geithner's gaffe certainly reflects a subconsciousness knowledge of the dynamics of currency power in international relations.

Most people are not paying attention to this issue simply because international monetary policy is a complex areas of public affairs (see, "Americans VERY confused about Economics and Personal Finance"). And as Michele Bachmann's not a household name, the netroots rodents of the radical left get free rein to slur her reputation. Then, of course, a lie, told often enough, becomes accepted as truth (a variant of astroturfing, so common on the left).

This is why it's important - now more than ever - to smackdown these idiots when and where they cut loose with their insane leftist trollery.

**********

P.S.: Benen's post also makes a lame attempt to delegitimize Scott Rasmussen's polling organization, and no wonder, since on this issue, most Americans agree with Representative Bachmann: "88% Say It’s Important to Keep The Dollar as America’s Currency." And note how the background discussion to the poll demonstrates just how dishonest Steve Benen is:

China’s top government banker and a United Nations panel have both proposed that the dollar be replaced with a new global currency. However, only 21% of American adults believe the proposal is intended primarily to help the global economy.

Gird your loins, folks. Don't buy the Big Lie that Michele Bachann's an extremist (as have some on the right). As I've argued in a number of recent posts, this administration, and especially the radical left, may well destroy the United States of America.

God help this nation.

Newsweek Publishes 'Queen of Rage' Hit-Piece Cover Shot of Michele Bachmann

Go check Michelle Malkin's report, "The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks."

She's got a larger image of this wild --- and wildly inappropriate --- cover photograph of Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. The key passage:

Rep. Bachmann is unabashedly conservative, willing to take both parties’ leaders to task, passionate about her work, popular with grass-roots activists on the Right, committed to reining in the size, scope, and power of government, and yes, expressive. For all this, she must be destroyed.

Also:

Disseminating unflattering photos of conservatives isn’t journalism. It’s Alinskyite narrative-shaping.

This comes of course as Michele Bachmann has rocketed to frontrunner status in Iowa. See Rasmussen Reports, "Iowa Caucus: Bachmann, Romney and Paul on Top." The poll samples likely causcus participants and has a 4-point margin of error. It's looking good for Bachmann.

RELATED: At the Other McCain, "Liberal Head-Explosion Warning VIDEO: Michele Bachmann Testifies for Jesus."

Michele Bachmann on Today's Anti-ObamaCare Protests: 'The People Have Spoken!'

Here's today's statement from Michele Bachmann's campaign operation:

Dear Patriot,

As I write this note, thousands of everyday Americans have come to Washington to speak their mind about the misguided health care bill that Speaker Pelosi and President Obama are pushing through Congress.

What an awe-inspiring sight! These people came by plane, by train, by car and by bus. They drove overnight and they gave up their precious free time to share one message with this Congress: Keep your hands off my health care!

Less than one week from when I put out the call to the American people to come to Washington and pay this emergency house call on Congress, they're here and they're ready to stand up for their freedoms.

But, even as I stand here with these thousands of American people - moms, dads, grandparents all united by a love of what makes America great - the Democrats are setting their sights on me. In fact, it is because I stand with you and these other great Americans that the liberals are doing all they can to demean my work in Congress.

And, that's why I need your help. They'll come at me with both guns, putting millions of dollars into spreading lies about me and my work here in Congress. Can you help me with your most generous contribution today?

Here's what the Democratic National Committee (DNC) had to say about the awesome power of the American people as they gathered on the West lawn of the U.S. Capitol today:

"If the Republican party wants to make Michele Bachmann the voice of the party, that's more than fine with us. We'll help circulate the petition. ... It's their extreme right-wing, rigid ideological agenda that has Americans leaving the Republican Party in droves - and so, if displays like today are what they think is a smart political strategy, all we can say is: go for it."

They still don't get it. Today wasn't about me. And, it wasn't about any extreme agenda. It was about the American people and what mainstream America believes and supports and wants from their Congress.

I need your help to stay in Congress fighting for you. Your support means that I can keep fighting:

• Against the cap and tax national energy tax and for true energy independence
• Against government takeover of your health care and for consumer control of your health care decisions
• For accountability from your government
• For lower taxes, less red tape, and greater economic freedom for the American people
• For an end to the same old Washington double speak that bails out Wall Street at the expense of America's continued prosperity
• For continued American exceptionalism in the world

Will you help me with your most generous donation today? I cannot continue this fight without you and I promise you that I will never shrink from a fight to protect your liberty and your all-American opportunity to prosper.

God Bless You and Thank you!

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

Please join me in supporting Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

Click here to make a contribution.

Image Credit: Felicia Cravens.

Thousands Join Michele Bachmann to Protest ObamaCare! (VIDEO)

From Thousands Join Bachmann Rally Against Health Care Bill":

Rep. Michele Bachmann says her "Super Bowl of Freedom" at the U.S. Capitol today can torpedo Democratic health care overhaul plans by enlisting "the voices of freedom."

At noon eastern time today, the lawn near the Capitol's West Front was crowded with thousands of protesters who chanted "kill the bill."

"Are they going to listen?" Bachmann asked the throng of cheering protesters, referring to House Democrats. "Oh, yeah, they're going to listen."

Bachmann stood at a podium that promoted the House GOP health care plan, declaring "Health Care Freedom."

GOP members of Congress stood on the Capitol steps behind her.

Bachmann was followed by actor Jon Voight, who called his listeners "brave, concerned patriotic American citizens."

Among the signs displayed at the flag-draped rally was one demanding "Waterboard Congress" and another that said, "Vote no to government-run health care."

The Democratic National Committee was quick to mock Bachmann. "If the Republican party wants to make Michele Bachmann the voice of the party, that's more than fine with us," said spokesman Hari Sevugan, accusing her of an "extreme right-wing, rigid ideological agenda."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs also dismissed the rally during his daily briefing.

"I think anybody that watches is struck by the fact that there's a rally going on without a solution on their side," Gibbs told reporters. "They've rolled out a piece of legislation, and I use those -- I hesitate to even say that -- it's a series of old ideas" that wouldn't solve the nation's health care woes.

Check Glenn Reynolds for more (with pictures).

RELATED: Dana Loesch, "Why Rush Through a Bill Nobody Supports?"

VIDEO: Michele Bachmann Interviewed on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, June 26, 2011

The transcript's at Fox News, "Rep. Michele Bachmann Talks Earmarks, Obamacare and Gay Marriage..."

It's a good interview. She responds to the Los Angeles Times hit piece from this morning, "Bachmann's had her share of government aid." And the Times updates, "Michele Bachmann denies benefiting from government aid." And Wallace's "Are you a flake question" comes at the very end, so that gives it a different context from the 30 second video clip that that's gone viral today. It's definitely not quite as alarming. Bachmann responded at length earlier in the interview, after Wallace asked, "Why are you suddenly a frontrunner?" She spent at good amount of time discussing her background, and does so again at the end of the clip.

See also, Hot Air, "Wallace: Sorry for the “flake” question." (Via Memeorandum.)

RELATED: At Marathon Pundit, 'Michele Bachmann: "I grew up in John Wayne's America'."

Michele Bachmann's Damage Control

Actually, I believe her. Her top staffer went for the payout, but with the way things are shaken out for her in Iowa, people had a lot of incentive to jump ship. And politicos lie about stuff, so what can you do?

At Washington Post, "Michele Bachmann's Campaign Flameout":

DES MOINES — The rise and fall of Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) may well stand as an allegory of the most turbulent GOP presidential primary in memory, one whose latest turn has been bitter and bizarre.

With just days to go before the Iowa caucuses, where a poor finish would almost certainly mean the end of Bachmann’s presidential hopes, the candidate who only months ago led the field here is being all but counted out.

A CNN/Time poll released Wednesday showed her running last among the six serious contenders in Iowa, garnering support from only 9 percent of likely caucusgoers surveyed.

Her story line went from poignant to poisonous on Wednesday night. Bachmann’s own Iowa chairman, state Sen. Kent Sorenson — who just hours earlier had appeared with her at a campaign event — suddenly turned up onstage at a rally for Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) and announced that he was ditching her.

She fired back with an accusation that Sorenson “personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the Paul campaign.”

Then came another twist: Wes Enos, Bachmann’s political director, contradicted his candidate, saying in a statement that Sorenson’s switch “was in no way financially motivated.”

Sorenson issued a statement saying that he “was never offered money from the Ron Paul campaign or anyone associated with them and certainly would never accept any.”

That Bachmann’s once-promising endeavor should end up in such a surreal place speaks to the larger forces that have defined the primary contest.

More at that top link.

Also at Des Moines Register, "Bachmann reasserts that defector was paid."

And more at Memeorandum.

Michele Bachmann Surges to Second in New WSJ/NBC Poll

At Washington Wire:

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota has stormed into second place among Republican primary voters in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, but former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains the front-runner, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The poll, taken between July 14 and July 17, found continuing turmoil in the Republican race to be the “anti-Romney.” Mr. Romney remained the first choice of 30% of GOP primary voters in July, the same number as June. But beneath him, the stability ends.

Keep reading.

Texas. Gov. Rick Perry's looking pretty good there as well (and Ron Paul, who I ignore), but Tim Pawlenty's gotta be disappointed.

And while Romney remains the frontrunner, Bachmann's getting intense media scrutiny. See New York Times, for example, "Bachmann Says Migraines Won’t Be a Problem if She’s Elected President." That piece links to Daily Caller, "Stress-related condition ‘incapacitates’ Bachmann; heavy pill use Alleged."

And there's more. See Time, "Reporter Accosted After Bachmann Comments on Migraines." And it's ABC News reporter Brian Ross, who's very well-known. Apparently, he was rebuffed upon approaching Bachmann, and:

Ross dashed after Bachmann, repeatedly asking whether she had ever missed a House vote due to a migraine. She ignored him. Ross pursued her into a parking area behind the stage. Her aides grew alarmed. When Ross made a beeline for the white SUV waiting to carry Bachmann away, two Bachmann men pounced on him, grabbing and pushing him multiple times with what looked to me like unusual force. In fact, I have never seen a reporter treated so roughly at a campaign event, especially not a presidential one. Ross was finally able to break away and lob his question at Bachmann one more time, but she continued to ignore him.

Headaches. Wow. And this will be all over the broadcast news tonight.

More at Memeorandum.

ADDED: The full report at Wall Street Journal, "Bachmann Vaults Into Second Place in GOP Race."