Cross posted at Turn Maine Blue
On today's Democracy Now!, John Nichols makes this interesting observation about comments made by Rep. Michelle Bachmann (MN-6) - I assume that most of you are familiar with the remarks by Bachmann.
From the show:
JOHN NICHOLS: Well, the echoes are very clear. Let me tell you that we did do better in Wisconsin than just McCarthy. We had the La Follettes and such. But McCarthy was a unique populist, and that’s an important thing to understand, populist anti-communist. He was actually on economic issues not all that right-wing. But he used the anti-communist fervor to win elections. He would not have been elected to the Senate were it not—and re-elected, were it not for this feverish talk.
And what he did was simply make things up. I mean, there’s no question that the history is quite clear. He claimed he had a list of all these subversives; they weren’t there.
Cont'd:
Interestingly enough, and this is something that I would bring out with Michele Bachmann, is he was stopped by Republicans. Margaret Chase Smith, a Republican from Maine, stood up in the Senate and did a declaration of conscience saying he was wrong. And it’s striking to me at this point that so few Republicans have stepped up to say to this congresswoman from Minnesota, "What you’re doing is unacceptable." John McCain should say it.
It is especially notable that Susan Collins, who has written that Smith "has been my role model, my inspiration," has had nothing to say about Michelle Bachmann.
Nothing.
In a speech she gave to students at John Bapst Memorial High School (3 October 2006), Collins said:
To me, ethics in public office is about making honorable choices, standing tall for one’s principles while respecting the principles of others, and giving every task your best effort. Above all, it is about recognizing that the power that comes with public office is merely on loan from the people. It must be used wisely and fairly.
Indeed. Will Collins have to be shamed into making a statement about Bachmann like she was shamed into making a statement about McCain's robocalls?