On the one hand, it is terribly sad, and humiliating that Michele Bachmann is a national joke, and a Congresswoman who has been elected more than once to represent Minnesota. We lose all credibility as a state with good education and responsible, reasonable citizens every time Bachmann opens her mouth.
But this IS funny, and pretty well addresses the reality of what passes for history among the tea partiers, be it Bachmann or the dumber bunny, popsie Palin.
If you are having trouble playing this video, try this link, to play it on the colbert report web site:
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/388583/june-06-2011/paul-revere-s-famous-ride?xrs=share_copy
We expect to laugh at comedians … but will some people actually believe Ms. Bachmann’s “history lessons” … did you see the recent Gallup poll ?
ReplyDeleteAs far as you know, from what country did America gain its independence following the Revolutionary War?
--- 76% correctly named Great Britain. A handful, 2%, think America's freedom was won from France, 3% mention some other country (including Russia, China, and Mexico, among others named), while 19% are unsure.
As the leader of the TEA Party caucus, Ms. Bachmann may be interested in E J Dionne’s column which he discusses the rational for the “real” Tea Party …
The highlights … that the current TaxEnoughAlready movement “ implies something fundamentally wrong with taxes themselves or, at the least, that current levels of taxation (the lowest in decades) are dangerously oppressive. And it hints that methods outside the normal political channels are justified in confronting such oppression.
We need to recognize the deep flaws in this vision of our present and our past. A reading of the Declaration of Independence makes clear that our forebears were not revolting against taxes as such — and most certainly not against government as such.
In the long list of “abuses and usurpations” the Declaration documents, taxes don’t come up until the 17th item, and that item is neither a complaint about tax rates nor an objection to the idea of taxation. Our Founders remonstrated against the British crown “for imposing taxes on us without our consent.” They were concerned about “consent,” i.e. popular rule, not taxes.
The very first item on their list condemned the king because he “refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” Note that the signers wanted to pass laws, not repeal them, and they began by speaking of “the public good,” not about individuals or “the private sector.” They knew that it takes public action — including effective and responsive government — to secure “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Learning from history has value … yet I shudder that Ms. Bachmann’s first intrusion into the political world was to establish a charter school … who knows what she “taught" her children.
Ms. Bachmann may not be the only Presidential candidate who could learn from history ... I blogged about Soon To Be President Tim Pawlenty's foreign policy plans including his thoughts on resolving the Israel - Palestine situtation ... he is advocating the early George W. Bush policy ... which even Bush realized was not working and changed courses during his second term ...