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Feb 3rd, 2010


Michele Bachmann, Nuts, Peddles New Conspiracy Theory

The Rochester Post-Bulletin reports that Rep. Michele Bachmann, at an event in Rochester, Minn., sponsored by fellow Republican Allen Quist who is running for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Democrat Tim Walz, blasted the Democrats’ health-care proposals, saying, “We aren’t going to give up. We’re not going to quit fighting because a government takeover of health care is the crown jewel of socialism, and I will fight it until my last breath.” (Bachmann stirs crowd as she slams Dems’ health care plans, Heather J. Carlson, Post-Bulletin, Feb. 1, 2010)


U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann speaks to a crowd of more than 200 people during a health care town hall meeting at the Ramada Inn in Rochester, Minn., Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. (Photo credit: Michele Jokinen / Post-Bulletin)

Bachmann has frequently made the “crown jewel of socialism” comment of late with reference to Democratic health care proposals and, while wildly exaggerated, the contention is defensible — or at least debatable.

And the “I will fight it until my last breath” remark, while a little breathless, is not as overtly dramatic as Bachmann’s “slit our wrists” histrionics in Colorado last summer.

But it’s at that point in her speech where Bachmann ambles right to the edge of the abyss of insanity, staring wild-eyed into the farther reaches of irrationality. In the realm of crazy, it surely rivals her census paranoia and AmeriCorps reeducation camp brainwashing paranoia.


At a political forum in Rochester, Minn., U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, the “Empress of Exaggeration,” makes the wild claim that the president’s health reform proposals, beyond being “the crown jewel of socialism,” could lead to “gangster government” and “absolute abject corruption,” with people terrified to speak out against the government for fear of being blacklisted for denial of health care.

Not reported in the Post-Bulletin account cited above, Bachmann continued by saying:

“[A man] ran into me in the hall in Washington, D.C. And he said, he pulled out of his wallet, he said, ‘Michele, I want to show you something.’ … And he showed me a little card. … And he said, ‘This is my card from when I lived in Japan. And Japan had a government takeover of health care. … And in Japan you sure have a card alright, but to wait [sic; walk?] in and get health care is almost impossible. You get on a list and you wait and you wait and you wait.’

But he said, ‘This is something that people don’t know: in Japan, people have stopped voicing their opinion on health care. There’s things that are wrong with Japanese health care, but people started[sic; stopped?] voicing.’

‘Well why is that?’ I asked.

He said, ‘It’s because they know that they would get on a list and they wouldn’t get health care. They wouldn’t get in. They wouldn’t get seen. And so people are afraid. They’re afraid to speak back to government. They’re afraid to say anything.’

Is that what we want for our future? That takes us to gangster government at that point! And absolute abject corruption. We’re not that kind of country! That’s not who we are! Our country’s money is not in the cookie jar to pay for it.”

Video

Related reports

Michele Bachmann: Gov’t will create an enemies list and deny coverage to political opponents (Matt Snyders, City Pages, Feb. 2, 2010)

Bachmann: Those who criticize govt to be denied health care (Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent, Feb. 2, 2010)

Bachmann: Criticize health care plan and forget about being treated (Eric Roper, Star Tribune Hot Dish Politics blog, Feb. 2, 2010) — “Hot Dish could not find evidence to back up the claim that Japan withholds health care from government critics. A recent Washington Post article describing the pros and cons of the Japanese health system makes no mention of it.”

Video

Bachmann on the offensive (MSNBC Hardball, Feb. 2, 2010) — Sideshow: At a Minnesota townhall, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., predicted that the government could eventually use health care to limit free speech, to punish those who disagree with it. (02:11)

———————————————————————————————————

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — February 3, 2009

Image: Bridge destroyed in Pakistan
Militants blew up a bridge in northwestern Pakistan, severing a key NATO supply route on the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan, Feb. 3, 2009. (Photo credit: Mohammad Sajjad / AP)

Afghanistan — Obama’s Vietnam?

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I highlighted some Afghanistan-Vietnam parallels: A president, eager to show his toughness, vows to do what it takes to “win”; the nation we’re supposedly rescuing is no nation at all but rather a deeply divided, semi-failed state with an incompetent, corrupt government held to be illegitimate by a significant portion of its population; the enemy is well accustomed to resisting foreign invaders and can escape into convenient refuges across the border; there are constraints on America striking those sanctuaries; neighboring countries may see a chance to bog America down in a costly war; and there is no easy way out.





13 Responses to “Bachmann Healthcare Paranoia”
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