Summary: At a political forum in Rochester, Minn., U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann 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. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on February 3, 2009, Aubrey Immelman 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.
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.