Current Events and the Psychology of Politics
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Summary: In a fundraising letter dated May 8, 2012, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann dishonestly tells Republican donors that “in retaliation for repeatedly standing up to President Obama on the national stage, liberal judges have redrawn the lines of [her] Minnesota Congressional District to try and wipe [her] off of the political map once and for all.” At best, that’s a gross misrepresentation of fact; at worst, it’s a shameless, bald-faced lie designed to trick prospective donors into parting with their money under false pretenses.


Mar 13th, 2010

Summary: Addressing Tea Party activists earlier this week, Rep. Michele Bachmann exploited U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan in an attempt to score some cheap political points, saying that passing the health reform bill would be a slam against the troops in Afghanistan and that the bill should be killed for the sake of the troops. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on March 13, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that in the early years of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, bombings with half the casualties of the March 11, 2009 Abu Ghraib bombing that killed 33 raised fears the U.S. might not prevail; yet six years after the invasion, that attack did not even make the front page of the Iraqi government newspaper.


Nov 30th, 2009

Summary: Pointing to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, Michael White of the British newspaper The Guardian says what troubles him about the U.S. today is that “public reaction to the Obama presidency is irrational, emotional, and ignorant.” Excerpts with sidebars, links, graphics, and video added. … Eric Roper reports in the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Hot Dish Politics blog (Nov. 28, 2009) that MSNBC’s Ed Schultz devoted more than a quarter of his Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 show to Rep. Michele Bachmann. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 30, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that the fallout from a three-day terrorist rampage that killed nearly 200 people in Mumbai threatened to unravel India’s improving ties with Pakistan and prompted the resignation of India’s security minister.


Nov 23rd, 2009

Summary: After leading the charge in Minnesota earlier this year to set a new standard for calling U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann out for her radical extremism, the St. Cloud Times on Sunday backslid into the longstanding pattern of Minnesota media to gloss over or simply fail to report the full extent of Bachmann’s political paranoia and extremism. … Text of interview, annotated and supplemented by critical content missing from the St. Cloud Times fluff-piece. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 23, 2008, Aubrey Immelman took a break from reporting on events relevant to his campaign issues and filed no report.


Nov 16th, 2009

Summary: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is making headlines in the British press, where she is touted as “a Republican congresswoman from Minnesota who is being hailed as a new and increasingly powerful voice in American politics.” Excerpts from an article by Paul Harris, New York-based correspondent for The Observer and The Guardian, supplemented with annotated critique. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 16, 2008, I reported that racial incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are shattering the postelection illusion of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America. There have been “hundreds” of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes.


Nov 14th, 2009

Summary: A Rasmussen Reports poll of 1,000 likely Minnesota voters, conducted November 10, 2009, found U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s statewide job approval rating to be 51 percent, with 45 percent disapproving and 4 percent not sure. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 14, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported an Associated Press tally documenting at least 26 deadly bombings in Baghdad in the first half of November 2008, compared with 28 for all of October and 22 in September, with at least 102 people killed in the Iraqi capital in the first half of November 2008, compared with 95 in October and 96 in September.


Nov 1st, 2009

Summary: Calling on supporters to descend on Washington to protest health care reform, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann resurrected the Ghost of Political Stunts Past. Bachmann pulled similar publicity stunts five years ago while crusading in the Minnesota state Senate for a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 14th day of his write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman drew attention to blogger Eric Zaetsch’s pointers for casting a write-in ballot and reported ongoing political wrangling and violence in Iraq.


Oct 29th, 2009

Summary: Recently, the New York Times published a poorly researched, superficial, misleading, mostly puff piece on U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, titled “A G.O.P. agitator not named Palin” (Oct. 14, 2009). Bill Prendergast’s responds. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 11th day of his write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman posted his candidate information from the St. Cloud Times Voter Guide.


Oct 21st, 2009

Summary: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, eager for a few minutes in the media limelight but evincing little appreciation of Sacrifice in Service to Country, colludes with Laura Ingraham in a drive-by dissing of decorated war hero Bob Dole, essentially characterizing him as a loser. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the third day of his write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman thanked supporters for their messages of encouragement and online contributions and published excerpts from Nick Coleman’s Oct. 21, 2008 Star Tribune column, “Republican angered by Bachmann revives candidacy.”



Summary: First, Michele Bachmann testified that God told her to run for Congress. Then she said she would run for president if called by God. And now, she claims Democrats want to take her down because they fear she could become the first woman president of the United States. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on Primary Election Day, the 57th day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman called on 6th District citizens to exercise their right to vote and featured some photos chronicling his final campaign swing through the Sixth District the previous day, down the I-94 / Highway 10 corridor from St. Cloud to Blaine.