Topic: Oh My: This Looks Pretty Bad For Bachmann

[trapeze]

This was posted at AoS and it isn't very pretty.

If I didn't mention it here before (and I think that I did) I have been pretty sympathetic toward the Bachmann campaign. And what wasn't to like? She spoke glowingly of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, founded the Tea Party caucus in the House, said all the right things all of the time.

But then came the CNN/Tea Party Express debate and its very weird aftermath. When Rush Limbaugh feels it is necessary to say that "maybe she has jumped the shark" that's a bad sign. In the above post by Ace he chronicles a few things that are disturbing but apparently true. And the thing is, these items are believable because of the whole "retard injection" nonsense that she started and has stubbornly refused to retract.

Upon entering Congress, she demanded a staffer get General Peter Pace on the phone. She was told it would probably not be possible for a very junior, just-sworn-in Congresswoman to speak directly to a guy with a lot on his plate. No call was placed.

But that didn't stop her from getting what she wanted -- the ability to say she'd spoken with General Pace.

But that didn’t stop Bachmann from going on a radio program and telling listeners that she did. “I just spoke with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” Bachmann told the radio host, according to a staff member familiar with the conversation.

And there were other "misstatements."

In a recorded interview with the St. Cloud Times, she said the U.S. had agreed to partition Iraq and turn part of it over to Iran. “They are going to get half of Iraq and that is going to be a terrorist safe haven zone,” she said at the time.

Bachmann’s comments were picked up by the popular Drudge Report website, and she was forced to issue a statement of quasi-apology: “I’m sorry if my words have been misconstrued.”

Yeah, this is why I don't believe there even was some hysterical woman that just so happened to buttonhole her about her daughter's alleged mental-retardation-by-inocculation just when Michele Bachmann was in need of such an anecdote.

I think she just lied.

This is the sort of thing that is pretty hard to stop once it gets rolling. Ask Anthony Weiner. Once it's out of the bag there's no stuffing it back in. Toothpaste/Tube kinda thing.

But, then again, this is what primaries are for. I just don't think that Michelle thought that she would be the one getting the worst of this little nightmare that she set in motion.

[trapeze]

And then this happened earlier today:

Earlier this week, Congresswoman and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann turned up the heat on fellow-candidate Gov. Rick Perry over his 2007 executive order requiring young girls in Texas to be vaccinated for HPV or human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer. Today, two Minnesota professors turned the heat and the attention back on Bachmann, offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who can provide proof of Bachmann's claims regarding the HPV vaccine.

This is where the rubber hits the road. Unless she can produce this mystery woman and her "recently-made-retarded-by-a-vaccine" child this is going to be bad for her campaign and her credibility as a congresswoman.

[trapeze]

And to make matters worse (also from the AoS post) it seems that Michelle has possibly taken more money from multiple pharmaceutical companies than Rick Perry has.

Oops.

Bachman has taken somewhere north of $140,000 from pharmaceutical companies. Those donors include Abbott Labs, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Bayer. Yet, not a dollar of all that pharma money, from such a wide range of the world’s largest drugmakers, came from Merck. Might Bachmann be going after Merck on behalf of that company’s competitors who also happen to be Bachmann donors?

In other words, who's the crony capitalist now?

This is more than a little disappointing to me. I didn't think that Michelle would likely end up as the Republican nominee but I was counting on her to stay in the race long enough to keep conservative principles and issues in the spotlight with the front-runners...that is, keep them honest.

There is a good chance now that she is well on her way to electoral oblivion.

Credibility is a rare and valuable commodity in politics. If you squander it you end up like Cynthia McKinney. Eww.

(One more post...this time from HotAir about yet more doubling down on this mess.)

[charlesoakwood]

I'm beginning to think her best work will be as head of a committee in the house.

Right now, it can go either way for her and she's in double jeopardy. Because of past gaffs she must put her stamp on something and it must be solid.

She got lucky at the last debate, between the media's joy at Perry's bloodletting and their ignorance of the Constitution her biggest error, misstating the law (she is a bigtime lawyer she reminds us) regarding powers enumerated to the Federal and and all not enumerated to the  States when virtually unmentioned.  This was not only a huge error it is a major point of contention between Conservatives and the socialist progressives and she stated their position.   sssssshh  ::fingertolips::

[AmericanPatriot]

Those unfounded stories worked for O.

Maybe a silver lining.
If Michelle collapses, it may be the opening Palin is looking for

[trapeze]

As a palate cleanser I am going to include this other link also found at AoS.

Be very careful not to be drinking milk or anything else you don't want shooting out of your nose when you click on it.

[IronDioPriest]

As a palate cleanser I am going to include this other link also found at AoS.

Be very careful not to be drinking milk or anything else you don't want shooting out of your nose when you click on it.

Mrs. IDP and I just arrived at our weekend destination to celebrate our 21st anniversary. We just laughed til we cried together like we haven't in months. Awesome.

[charlesoakwood]

As a palate cleanser I am going to include this other link also found at AoS.

Be very careful not to be drinking milk or anything else you don't want shooting out of your nose when you click on it.

Mrs. IDP and I just arrived at our weekend destination to celebrate our 21st anniversary. We just laughed til we cried together like we haven't in months. Awesome.

Congratulations and Happy Anniversary!   

[trapeze]

As a palate cleanser I am going to include this other link also found at AoS.

Be very careful not to be drinking milk or anything else you don't want shooting out of your nose when you click on it.

Mrs. IDP and I just arrived at our weekend destination to celebrate our 21st anniversary. We just laughed til we cried together like we haven't in months. Awesome.

Well then I am very glad that I was able to contribute to your weekend in this small way. Congratulations on the anniversary and have a great getaway.

[AlanS]

As a palate cleanser I am going to include this other link also found at AoS.

Be very careful not to be drinking milk or anything else you don't want shooting out of your nose when you click on it.

Mrs. IDP and I just arrived at our weekend destination to celebrate our 21st anniversary. We just laughed til we cried together like we haven't in months. Awesome.

Congrats to you and the missus!

[jpatrickham]

Michele Bachmann is a very good and conscientious member of Congress. She has represented her District with honor. Is she ready for President, doubt it. If she was the Candidate, I would support her but, after seeing her campaign I know in my heart Obama would carve her up.

[Alphabet Soup]

But, then again, this is what primaries are for. I just don't think that Michelle thought that she would be the one getting the worst of this little nightmare that she set in motion.

I continue to watch the advancement (or not so much) with keen interest. I am seeing a 2008 redux on several other forums wherein the advocates aren't so much advocating as they are character-assassinating their adversaries. I'm not inclined to join in because I think that this is counter-productive.

(This is a good place to remark that I'm not witnessing much of that here at IAL and for that I am grateful  )

Personally I don't think the Gardasil kerfuffle is a showstopper for either candidate, but I wince at the stumble-bum method in which it was both presented and rebutted (or not).

If I could capture the collective 'ear' of the candidates - even for only a moment - I would slap them to attention and remind them that there is more at stake here then their egos.

[trapeze]

Yeah, the thing is, the voters are looking for a couple of things in these debates.

The first one is they want to know who is the strongest candidate...who it is who lines up most closely with what they believe...who it is who can turn the country around. That's obvious.

The second thing that the voters are looking for, in my opinion, is someone (or several someone's) who will tell it like it is about President Zero. They are tired of the fawning media praise. They are tired of the politically correct nonsense that has been self imposed by damn near everyone up until now. They want to see the little princeling's nose bloodied.

And the candidates aren't doing that second item near enough for some of us.

[Predator Don]

Yeah, the thing is, the voters are looking for a couple of things in these debates.

The first one is they want to know who is the strongest candidate...who it is who lines up most closely with what they believe...who it is who can turn the country around. That's obvious.

The second thing that the voters are looking for, in my opinion, is someone (or several someone's) who will tell it like it is about President Zero. They are tired of the fawning media praise. They are tired of the politically correct nonsense that has been self imposed by damn near everyone up until now. They want to see the little princeling's nose bloodied.

And the candidates aren't doing that second item near enough for some of us.

Bloody his nose.....Perry is doing it, Romney believes it is an avenue to show he is "different". The problem with Romney, he isn't different.

[Pandora]

Yeah, the thing is, the voters are looking for a couple of things in these debates.

The first one is they want to know who is the strongest candidate...who it is who lines up most closely with what they believe...who it is who can turn the country around. That's obvious.

The second thing that the voters are looking for, in my opinion, is someone (or several someone's) who will tell it like it is about President Zero. They are tired of the fawning media praise. They are tired of the politically correct nonsense that has been self imposed by damn near everyone up until now. They want to see the little princeling's nose bloodied.

And the candidates aren't doing that second item near enough for some of us.

Speaking for myself, I agree.  As Newt pointed out and more than once, Zero is the one needing defeating.

What's your take on it?

[LadyVirginia]

Bachmann and some of the others aren't running in a presidential style.  They're running like I imagine they did for their current/past office. 

[charlesoakwood]

Bachmann and some of the others aren't running in a presidential style.  They're running like I imagine they did for their current/past office. 

They are using traditional advisers which speaks to their managerial judgement and perception of the electorate.
I'm just about offended by Bachmann and I expected it of Santorum and Romney (politicians without a clue).
He probably won't catch up, however, Cain is getting and looking better every debate.

[Libertas]

I'm having a hard time caring about the retarded thing...quoting what someone else said who may or may not ever be found again seems too much a pathetic gotchya over something trivial when the initial attack on Perry was right on the merits - imposing this drug via executive order.  Now it seems the hogpiling on Bachmann over the retard comment seems to be exciting nobody but the trash on the left and the Ruling Class crud in the GOP...does this really advance a conservative candidate by helping the left?  Once again the left is winning by sewing division in the party and we are too stupid and too willing to oblige them.  Who knew gNewt really was the smartest one in the room the past two debates?

I say we fly the white flag now, it is what we are good at...

 

[IronDioPriest]

Bachmann's pissing me off. Not because I want to protect Perry. I don't, believe me. But she's falling into the political behavior that I loathe, that says in order to elevate yourself you must tear down all others. She's doing it at the expense of her own credibility by grabbing onto this non-issue, doubling-down on it, and then making a stupid claim that it causes retardation.

Based on her other verbal miscues, I am beginning to see in her what I've seen claimed by some over the last few days. She has an undisciplined tongue, and when she is in front of a crowd and in the moment, her mouth will say whatever thoughts come into her mind.

I've given her money, many times in the past, and I've not seen this level of irresponsibility from her until now.

Her actions are ill-advised, and I would be very surprised if she has not damaged her ability to win the 6th district if she chooses to run again after her presidential campaign goes down in flames.

[Predator Don]

Time for another female to make an appearence.