On Saturday afternoon, March 21, 2009 Michele Bachmann said on WWTC 1280 AM radio that she wants people in Minnesota “armed and dangerous” on the issue of an energy tax, “because we need to fight back” and “having a revolution every now and then is a good thing.” Eric Ostermeier reported Bachmann’s remarks on “Smart Politics,” the blog of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, where it was picked up by other media outlets, as reported below.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) at the Sartell SummerFest Parade, Saturday, June 14, 2008, promising $2 gas with a “Drill Here, Drill Now” strategy of increasing the oil supply. (Photo credit: St. Cloud Times)
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Michele Bachmann on DC: “I’m a Foreign Correspondent on Enemy Lines”
By Eric OstermeierÂ
Smart Politics
March 22, 2009
During a Saturday afternoon interview on WWTC 1280 AM with The Northern Alliance’s John Hinderaker and Brian Ward, Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann discussed her staunch opposition to several Democratic-led efforts on Capitol Hill this session — such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the recently passed HR 1586 tax on bonuses for TARP recipients, and President Barack Obama’s cap-and-trade energy plan to reduce greenhouse gases.
Bachmann then began to talk about her role as Representative at the nation’s Capitol. Explaining the resources available at her U.S. House website which enable her to communicate what is happening in D.C. to the public, such as her Bachmann Bulletin, Bachmann Blog, and links to her Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace pages, the Congresswoman said, “I’m a foreign correspondent on enemy lines and I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington.” …
[I]t was no accident for Representative Bachmann to conjure up images of war and battlelines in reference to Washington Democrats (instead of referring to them with the customary “loyal opposition” tag). For this was not the first time Bachmann referred to herself as a “foreign correspondent” nor her political opponents in D.C. as “enemies.”
During a January 14, 2009 interview with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck, Representative Bachmann explained how she is one of only a handful of members of Congress who are “keepers of the flame” — fighting to prevent the federal government from taking freedom (and money) from the American people:
“I would say there are probably 30 keepers of the flame over here. …Â The main thing we can do right now is be foreign correspondents reporting to you from enemy lines.”
On the issue of Obama’s proposed cap-and-trade energy tax on Saturday’s radio show, Representative Bachmann expanded on the war metaphor:
“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.” …
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Related report
Michele Bachmann: I Want People “Armed and Dangerous” over Obama Tax Plan
By Rachel Weiner
The Huffington Post
March 23, 2009
Controversial Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said this weekend that she wants residents of her state “armed and dangerous” over President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce global warming “because we need to fight back.”
Asked about the White House-backed cap-and-trade proposal to reduce carbon emissions, Bachmann told WWTC 1280 AM, “I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.”
Bachmann also told her constituents she was “a foreign correspondent on enemy lines,” sending Minnesotans warnings through her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. “I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington.”
The comments have been picked up by local blogs Smart Politics and Dump Bachmann.
Bachmann has encouraged resistance against President Obama before, saying that the Republican party needs “to do everything we can to thwart [the Democrats] at every turn to make sure that they aren’t able to, for all time, secure a power base that for all time can never be defeated.”
Listen:
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The Fallout
On March 23, the Common Sense blog, linking to U.S. laws on treason, sedition, and subversive activities suggested that Rep. Bachmann’s incendiary rhetoric could “incite enough crazies that they may pose a serious threat” to the President of the United States and that the Secret Service might take a penetrating look at the congresswoman from Minnesota.
Also on March 23, Glenn Thrush, in a post titled “Bachmann urges ‘armed’ revolt over climate plan,” reported in Politico that “Rep. Michele Bachmann, the firebrand Minnesota conservative Republican, may have gone a bit over the rhetorical line last weekend when attacking the Obama administration’s cap-and-trade proposal.”
As might be expected Bachmann’s remarks prompted outrage on Internet sites.
“Anna,” posting at Dump Bachmann on March 23 at 7:35 p.m., wrote:
Other famous terrorist leaders have been known to call their terrorist cells to action through just such code speak and public broadcasts.
A member of our own Congress is making treasonous speeches … this usually happens in banana republics, not the United States. We have a Democratic process, and she’s effectively calling for an overthrow and dictatorship.
We have elected representation … these are not “the enemies”; they are the people we have chosen (including her) to represent us, elected by a democratic process.
“OldLeatherneck,” posting on the same site on March 23 at 7:36 p.m., added:
It is time for progressives to do more than just contact their local elected officials and complain. It is time to initiate formal complaints with the DOJ and FBI, as well as let the Republicans know what we feel about a representative of their party inciting violence and armed insurrection.
The poster then goes on to provides contact information for the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, the FBI’s Minneapolis field office, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Republican Party of Minnesota, and the Republican National Committee.
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April 19th, 2009 at 10:56 am
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