Acknowledgment: Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Bachmann in St. Louis: Defund the Left, Beware One-World Currency

By David Weigel
The Washington Independent
September 26, 2009

ST. LOUIS — Speaking to a packed hotel ballroom at the conservative How to Take Back America Conference, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said that exposés of “criminal tomfoolery” inside of ACORN could kick off a campaign to “defund the left.”

Bachmann was introduced warmly by Phyllis Schlafly, the iconic conservative activist whose Eagle Forum was the chief sponsor of the event. “She’s one of our Republican stars,” said Schlafly, “and some of you came here just to see her.” She got a second introduction from Dick Bott, a conservative radio host who briefly broke down talking about Bachmann’s hospitality to foster children.

Taking the stage, Bachmann thanked Schlafly, calling her an inspiration as a mother who transitioned into conservative politics, and said she considered the conference “a farewell party for ACORN” [link added]. The community organization group, she said, was the first, not the last, weak link in the liberal establishment.

“Defunding the left is going to be so easy,” said Bachmann, “and it’s going to solve so many of our problems.” She praised James O’Keefe III and Hannah Giles, the people behind the ACORN sting. “Hannah and James used Saul Alinsky’s ‘Rules for Radicals’ — that’s the community organizers’ bible — against ACORN! Brilliant!”

Bachmann touched on the priorities of Republicans if they retook Congress in 2010, to “pass repealer bill after repealer bill,” to prevent the creation of a one-world currency [link added], and to pull the government back from the “36 percent of private business profits” that she claimed it now controlled. And she said Michigan residents were “depressed enough” without Gitmo prisoners being relocated to state facilities where they could inspire more terrorists.

“This is where they learn conversion to Islam!” said Bachmann. “In the prisons!”

After the speech, Bachmann had only a few minutes to sign autographs and collect a stack of CDs and books from fans who’d followed her into the lobby. I caught up to her as she headed outside and asked if she had any response to the murder of a Kentucky census worker [Bill Sparkman], having noticed that the Census, a constant target for Bachmann [link added], did not figure into her speech. Bachmann recoiled a little at the question and turned to enter her limo.

“Thank you so much!” she said.

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Related report

Bachmann Refuses To Answer Question About Dead Census Worker

Rachel Weiner
The Huffington Post
September 27, 2009

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) refused to answer a question this weekend on the death of a census worker in Kentucky.

Bill Sparkman was found earlier this month hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word “fed” scrawled on his chest. The FBI has been investigating whether the killing was related to his job as a Census worker.

Bachmann … has proclaimed that she will not fill out her Census forms and suggested that the survey could lead to internment camps …

Full story

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11/24/09 Update

Hanged census worker staged suicide in apparent insurance scam (ABC News, Nov. 24, 2009) — The part-time census worker found naked, bound and hanging from a tree had staged his suicide to make it appear like murder, authorities said today. When the body of Bill Sparkman, 51, was found near a rural Kentucky cemetery in September, he was gagged, had duct tape over his eyes and neck, his hands and feet were bound with tape, and he had “fed” scrawled on his chest. Authorities initially investigated whether Sparkman had been a victim of anti-government sentiment, but today they said in a statement that he died during an “intentional, self-inflicted act that was staged to appear as a homicide.” … Full story

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — September 27, 2008

After the Primary Election: Day 18

One year ago today, on the 18th day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in line with my focus on national security, I reported on a skirmish between Kurdish security forces and Iraqi police in Iraq’s northeastern Diyala province near the disputed Kurdish autonomous region and provided a daily summary of security incidents in Iraq.