Ed Schultz caught Glenn Beck in another one of Beck's racist moments, along with other racist accusations from the right wing propaganda media. Beck's stock in trade is pandering to fear; he's made made himself very rich by it, at the expense of his gullible non fact-checking audience:
Glenn Beck has subsequently claimed he wasn't pointing at the image of President Obama, but his show is scripted; it was not reasonably an accident that right on cue Obama's face replaced the Glenn Beck logo.
And who spends a disproportionate amount of her time on Fox, who is a huge fan of Beck, sharing so very many of his opinions? Right wing politicians, including our own Michele Bachmann.
If you are waiting for Michele to criticize Beck or any of the others for racist comments, or for their inciting violence, you'll wait for a very very long time.
Did you read the Jonathan Alter piece where he described Ms. Bachmann as the “Dog Whistler” ?
ReplyDelete(Note: In politics, a dog whistle refers to a coded message meant to appeal to certain constituencies while flying right past the general public.)
The Hitler-brand dog whistle inspired my blog entry when a prominent conservative commentator “coded” it while promoting Tim Pawlenty for President.
BTW … did you see the results of Saturday’s Republican Leadership Conference Straw Poll … the crowd was relatively small in comparison to how much media coverage the event got, but still at least it is another indicator … Ron Paul won (and he has won other straw polls … so that probably tells more about his ability to get his supporters to attend the events than anything else) but John Huntsman came in second despite not even making an appearance … Ms. Bachmann came in third and Pawlenty was so far down the list that Rick Santorum beat him … I guess it is pretty obvious that Pawlenty has had a bad week.
I'd love to see Bachmann run against Obama. It would be one of the greatest Democratic landslides in history.
ReplyDeleteHer dog whistling would erode to where her real political views would come clear, and those are so far right, so contrary to the mainstream of America, that she would lose badly.
Hell, she'd never win a Congressional seat in Minnesota, if her district wasn't gerrymandered so extremely.
I found Karl Bremer's post about Stillwater becoming the new Wasilla, with media descending on it, asking questions about Bachmann's background to be fascinating.
I noticed her claims about RAISING 23 kids is getting some interesting scrutiny, noting that the Bachmann's were approved for three foster kids at a time, and that some of those fostering arrangements were too brief to merit her claim that those kids were raised by the Bachmann's.
I'm waiting for the media to investigate more deeply her litigating attorney record, as well as for them to find and interview some of those foster kids they claimed to raise. My gut/intuition tells me that Bachmann has almost certainly exaggerated her credentials on both items.
I don't think that's going to play well to a national audience, trying to advance herself by padding claims.
Mac, could you provide a link to the Jonathan Alter piece you mentioned?
Here’s the Alter link.
ReplyDeleteTwo other thoughts …
IF the Sixth District was gerrymandered, it was done through the Special Redistricting Panel appointed by the MN Supreme Court … which Mark Kennedy won first.
Check Bachmann’s vote tally in both off year elections and it is evident that she is growing in strength … when she ran in 2006, not all voters may have known all her opinions and issues … but by 2010, they did and she received more votes. If anything the image that Minnesota is a Blue State does not hold when considering Bachmann’s strength as well as the legislature dominated by Republicans (heck, in the House there are four Republicans and a Blue-Dog that breaks with the Dems on many fiscal and social issues … that’s why Peterson continues to win easily) … Minnesota is more Red than most people think.
Thanks for the link, Mac.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you from doing phone work in the 2010 election in district 6, that an astonishing number of the voters with whom I spoke were single-issue anti-abortion folks who had little if any knowledge of any other issue or of Bachmann's positions and activity. They weren't politically active, not at all, and apallingly not very knowledgable. An alarming number, in the case of both Cravaack and Bachmann had gotten their notions of the candidates position on abortion from religious sources.
When asked in neutral format about issues, they were far less right than I would have expected. They just didn't know that their views and opinions tracked so badly with those of the candidates they supported.
The further east you get in Bachmann's district, the less red it is. Bachmann didn't carry a number of those precincts. As one proceeds further west, it pinks up a good bit. But they had to include the eastern districts because Bachmann lives there and otherwise wouldn't be able to run in those wester parts of the CD6 if they hadn't.
If she comes in late to the party this time, for the 2012 election, I don't think she will do well no matter how much money she raises at the 11th hour.
Hmmm ... very interesting comment on the motivation for WHY people vote ... abortion and what the MCCL and churches tell people ... hmmm ... is that the reason that there will be a "same-sex" marriage amendment on the ballot in November 2012 ... it's always about turnout and those folks turn out.
ReplyDeleteFYI : Did you noticed that the Number 1 Most Popular story on The Daily Beast is
Bachmann’s Unrivaled Extremism … I wonder if that means it will run in the Newsweek print edition ?
The story retells some stories that Minnesotans already know (bush crouching, bathroom conflicts and her half-sister).
What the story did not tell was WHY Bachmann matters … and that is also in her background.
Let’s be realistic, Ms. Bachmann would never be in Congress today if she was not successful at packing the caucuses with her supporters to detriment of elder statesman Phil Krinkie who the Taxpayer League would have wanted. Bachmann and her MCCL supporters proceeded to convert caucus delegates to county delegates to district delegates …
Presidential candidate Bachmann will use the same strategy in Iowa … those voters will be more interested in shaping the message than actually determining the nominee (only Rick Perry could thwart her there …Pawlenty is trying hard, but until he gets Bob Vander Plaats or the Iowa Family PAC endorsement, he has to hope for second and pray that Perry does not get in … and think how many times you have seen Steve King and Michele Bachmann together … peas in a pod.) Next up, New Hampshire which Bachmann can concede to “favorite son" Romney … and then the next battle … South Carolina … who do you think Jim DeMint will endorse (especially after saying at the Republican Leadership Conference that ideology trumps winning)?
Bachmann must know that she cannot win … heck, she couldn’t even get a slot on the Republican Leadership … and they buried her on the Intelligence Committee where they have to reminder every day to be quiet (remember the February 2007 St. Cloud Times story where Bachman claimed that she knows of Iran’s secret plan to use al-Qaeda to partition Iraq into a terrorist state.)
But it will be a victory for Bachmann to write the planks for the GOP convention … and raise a ton of cash that she can use to help other Republicans.
Also, you asked about the Paul Bachmann family farm subsidies … here is a link indicating $259,332 from 1995 through 2009 …
Corn Subsidies** $145,745
Dairy Program Subsidies $105,668
Livestock Subsidies $7,357
Oat Subsidies** $365
Soybean Subsidies** $180
The farm never even broke the $50k subsidy in any year … that’s why she could easily vote to cut subsidies to $250k … the Bachmann family farm is typical … the farm subsidies are structured like the tax rates … the small guy gets enough to think he’s getting a break and does not realize how much the “rich” guy is getting … and in the end, all the taxpayers are paying.