U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) recently commended the founders of the United States on their work to end slavery.
Of black people.
In America.
U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) recently commended the founders of the United States on their work to end slavery.
Of black people.
In America.
Such a straight-faced attempt to so violently revise history speaks to such epic and ballsy manipulation that we must act proactively if we are to preserve any sense of a national intelligence. We, the thinking people, must put our neurons down here, and we must draw a synapse in the sand while encouraging others to stop listening to political stooges whose level of political rhetoric is so exasperatingly infantile that it makes the second season of Three's Company look like the fourth season of The Wire.
Now, let's not harbor any delusions here; to be certain, all political media has a bias and an agenda. This is a given. So it's fair to say that media outlets across the political spectrum bend facts to fit their agenda and we pretty much accept that. However, citing insanely inappropriate fallacies in order to support your current political position...Well, then we're not really talking about the usual rah-rah, flag-waving of Left University. vs. Right State. Now, we're simply talking about abject deliberately manipulative, revisionist nonsense, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to you.
When people defend Bachmann's statements with "Oh, politicians on both sides talk like that..." they're kidding themselves. The insanity of mainstream Left and mainstream Right in America's political media just isn't equal. You cannot convince me that the notion that all Americans should have health care is as insane as saying that the founders of our country fought tirelessly to end slavery. You can't tell me that Obama is an evil socialist that will destroy our country while you enjoy socialist programs like public schools, police departments, and Medicare.
If you honestly believe that these mindsets are equal in their insanity, I'm surprised that you were able to get this far into this "word-picture." You are now excused to google some Eva Longoria .gifs. Go ahead and let the adults finish reading.
Chris Matthews's lambasting of Tea Party sacrificial lamb, Sal Russo, stands as a barometer of just how egregiously unacceptable Bachmann's statements were. When was the last time you saw a journalist aggressively harangue a stuttering conservative political figure into absolute media submission as happened with Matthews and Russo? If you can't recall the last time that happened on national television: It was back in the year nineteen-hundred-and-not-in-my-lifetime. (It may have happened a few times back in the late 70s, before the Republicans realized they could get a lot more done if they had a President in office who didn't really know what he was doing. The one-term of GHWBush, of course, being the lone exception in the last 31 years.)
Poor Sal Russo, this guy drew the short hair from the Tea Party sack and had to go on MSNBC and defend Bachmann's remarks. I would feel sorry for old Sal if I was capable of feeling compassion for vacuous, political mouthpieces who try to insult my intelligence. Sal had the unenviable task of telling Matthews that when Michele Bachmann said "Our forebears worked tirelessly until slavery was no more..." what she really meant was that "Obama is spending too much."
I'm sorry, but that kind of logic couldn't even get you out of an 8th grade book report deadline, and it certainly shouldn't work on the American people.
In order to believe Russo's remarks and the Tea Party line on what Bachmann was actually "trying" to say, you would have to be so blinded by the political garbage of today's media climate that you also agree with at least 2 out the following 3 statements:
- The United States of America is destined to deliver the world from the Devil.
- God created all of existence in 7 days because that's how long a week is.
- Babies have a Constitutional right to bear arms.
Everyone in the state of Minnesota who put Michele Bachmann into office needs to take a serious look at what they have unleashed upon this country. I don't mean to rub your nose in it, Minnesota, but your state just took a dump on the carpet of Capitol Hill.
And you need to go sit in the corner and think about what you've done.
Before we classify any entity as a political party, we need to establish that a group uses (or distorts) facts to support their agenda. Our country is in enough trouble today as it is; you don't have to lie about how messed up things are. We have plenty of real problems that stem from truth.
It's kind of sad to see that we're at a point where being deliberately misled by a politician is actually preferred over listening to the arrogant spewing of abject nonsense. It should go without saying that it is unacceptable to support a political candidate who is not simply trying to manipulate your support, but rather, lying to you outright. Apparently, in 21st century America, this is something that people need to be reminded of.
So to that end, let's refer to the following chart when deciding whether or not Michele Bachmann should continue to have the trust and support of American voters:
Some of my best friends are Tea Partiers, but even they admit that they want nothing to do with Bachmann or the Tea Party Express. (Which, I imagine, is the same as a regular Tea Party, but only serves a limited dollar menu of fabricated truths and is connected to a Republican Party Hut.)
Bachmann's adamant declaration that those who wrote the Constitution "fought tirelessly to end slavery" makes as much sense as saying "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue looking for the state of Ohio."
If we really want to move forward in the current century, if we really want to claim a global leadership role in education, human rights, business, and social innovation, then we need to start accepting some intellectual responsibility as a country. We need to preserve our own sanity by electing only rational individuals with higher-level critical thinking skills if we are to have a snowball's chance in hell of making positive political choices for the future of our country.
And that means it's bedtime for Bachmann. She has had her 15 minutes, and has proven that she doesn't deserve any more of your time or attention.
A quick note to those who ostentatiously tout only the interpreted ideals of the founding fathers as their entire political platform: If you want to viciously misrepresent the ideals of the founders of this country, I would suggest co-opting something more positively mythic like "I cannot tell a lie." At least that's a lie I can get behind.
Just don't try telling me "George Washington emancipated the railroads from the Chinese" when what you mean is "The unemployment rate is way too high right now."
And if refraining from this sort of childishly myopic speech is difficult for you, then no more public office for you. Go over to your cot and take a nap. Let the adults legislate and all of the important decisions will be taken care of before you know it.