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Michele Bachmann – The Caricature

Since Colin Powell mentioned Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s remarks questioning whether Obama had anti-American views as a reason forendorsing Obama and since Bachmann is from my neck of the woods, let me try to explain her. Imagine if you will Ann Coulter as Congresswoman and that’s Michele Bachmann in a nutshell. Both make calculated statements or […]

Since Colin Powell mentioned Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s remarks questioning whether Obama had anti-American views as a reason forendorsing Obama and since Bachmann is from my neck of the woods, let me try to explain her.

Imagine if you will Ann Coulter as Congresswoman and that’s Michele Bachmann in a nutshell. Both make calculated statements or proposals designed to be outrageous enough to most people but pleasing enough to the crowd that either buys Ann’s books or in this case will vote for Bachmann.

Rep. Bachmann represents Charles Lindbergh Sr.’s old Congressional District, the Minnesota 6th. When Lindbergh was in Congress the district covered German-Catholic Conservative Stearns County in central Minnesota all the way north to the Canadian border. Now the district still includes Stearns but moves southeast to include every Republican suburb and exurb on the north side of the Twin Cities metro all the way to Stillwater on the St. Croix River. In other words, it’s a politically drawn district which best suits her because she needs the fiercest of partisans in order to win.

Rep. Bachmann will say things whose thought to them is how much can this rile up the base and outrage my critics. Much like Coulter herself or any B-list talk radio host, the object is to say things that pleasing enough to your supporters and draw criticism from the media or liberals in order to get the triple whammy of being controversial, bold and a martyr all at the same time. In other words, she’s becomes fairly predicatble and typical “conservative” of her day and age: the baying cannibal screaming for red meat or perhaps one of the ideologues Orwell’s “inner party” uses to casp aspersions on the enemy. She is a caricature of what conservatives have become just as Bella Abzug, Bachmann’s counterpart on the left, became a caricature for pushy, radical feminism and liberalism

Critics may compare her to Sen. Joseph McCarthy but at least McCarthy was right in saying there were Communist spies in government. The problem was he couldn’t find out who they were and his recklessness and buckshot approach only made it easier for his enemies to destroy him.  Whether or not Obama and his allies in Congress hold anti-Amercian views is always the eyes of the beholder rather than a statement of proof like, so and so is a card-carrying member of the Communist Party or so-and-so spied for the Soviet Union by stealing classified documents, giving away secrets and so forth. After all, David Frum thought paleos held anti-American views and was given half a magazine to expound on this and name names as well.

Needless to say those on the receiving end on such blasts don’t like being called anti-American any more than anyone else does and as such, Rep. Bachmann’s DFL opponent Elwyn Tinklenberg has raked in over $600,000 in contributions in just two days and may very well have a shot of beating her come Nov. 4 despite the heavy Republican lean of the district.

Ann Coulter can get away with being outrageous because it’s good for ratings or book sales (at least for those who are willing to watch or read). But one should note Ann doesn’t consider running for office, despite her law degree. Rep. Bachmann may find out there’s a wider world when it comes to the electorate.

 

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