Apologies Not Enough; Bachmann Should Be Removed From Office

I admit to being amused by Michele Bachmann while she was running for president. She’s as dumb as a rock and as crazy as a bedbug. I’ve had people ask me why I’m amused by her because — if she’s that stupid and crazy — she shouldn’t be running for president. Well, first off, Michele Bachmann was not going to be elected President of the Free World. No way. No how. Hell, it’s damned near impossible for an intelligent, mentally sound woman to be elected to the highest office in the land. Ask Hillary Clinton. However, as a member of the Senate — where she has served since 2006 and is currently a member of the Intelligence Committee — Michele Bachmann is toxic and dangerous. And while we can laugh at her nonsense, this time she has stepped over the line and has gone too far. While the parameters are not specified in the Constitution, a member may be expelled from office under Article 1, section 5, clause 2 with a two-thirds vote. Now is the time for Michele Bachmann to face the music.

Bachmann has accused Huma Abedin, longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. There is nothing funny about accusing a hard-working, loyal American like Abedin of such ties. What it reveals is not only Bachmann’s bigotry, but also her inability to deal in facts. Abedin is 37 and has been one of Hillary Clinton’s closest aides for nearly two decades. She was born in America and is of Pakistani descent. There is nothing in Abedin’s past or present that ties her to the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact, even the Muslim Brotherhood thinks Bachmann’s claims are ridiculous. While the tide of Islamaphobia has all but disappeared from political discourse, it has been once again put  front and center by Michele Bachmann and four of her clueless colleagues — namely Republican Reps. Trent Franks, Louie Gomert, Thomas Rooney and Lynn Westmoreland. It is clear, however, that Michele Bachmann is the ringleader. From the L.A. Times:

The attacks have been led by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), the chairman of the tea party caucus in the House, and four other conservative lawmakers, who have asked federal officials to investigate whether Abedin, a Muslim-American who is deputy chief of staff at the State Department, is using her influence on U.S. policy toward the Islamic group. The lawmakers cite a report showing that Abedin’s relatives, including her deceased father, have alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Bachmann continually pisses off the Democrats, but now even her own party has had enough. Senator John McCain took to the Senate floor to denounce Bachmann’s accusations and defend the honor of Huma Abedin.

It didn’t stop there. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham called Bachmann’s accusations “ridiculous.” Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts weighed in on Twitter writing, “Rep. Bachmann’s accusations about Sec. Clinton aide Huma Abedin are out-of-line. This kind of rhetoric has no place in our public discourse.” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said, “I don’t share the feelings that are in that letter. Obviously, every member of Congress has a right to express their opinion and every member of Congress is held accountable for their opinion, if they’re right or if they’re wrong… I’m very very careful and cautious about ever making accusations like that about anyone.”

Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), one of the most conservative members of Congress, invoked the name of Thomas Jefferson in his rebuke of Bachmann during a town hall meeting:

“Let me say that I do know Huma Abedin and I think that the comments that were made about her in that letter, whether or not they were taken out of context, were the wrong thing to do… I think the Constitution in saying that there shall never be a religious test for any office of trust and profit under the United States meant that people should not be judged on the basis of their religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs. That was Thomas Jefferson that put that in the Constitution — I think he was right.”

Even Ed Rollins, Bachmann’s former presidential campaign director, wrote a scathing rebuttal on FoxNews.com, which read in part

” Having worked for Congressman Bachman’s campaign for president, I am fully aware that she sometimes has difficulty with her facts, but this is downright vicious and reaches the late Senator Joe McCarthy  level.”

That, however, didn’t stop Bachman. Last Thursday on the Glenn Beck Radio Show, she added Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison to her list of those who are apparently not American enough, stating that Ellison “has a long record of being associated with [the Council on American–Islamic Relations] and with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

I am sure there will be more than one person who will ask me why I’m even giving Michele Bachmann any press at all. There are those who believe it lends her credibility. However, I do not believe that this crackpot behavior should be ignored. The fact is that Bachmann’s Tea Party right wing-nut followers are rallying behind her baseless unproven accusations. She has given poison predators Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh more raw meat to chew on and spit back to the crazy Tea Party devotees.

Michele Bachmann has no intention of apologizing to Huma Abedin. (Even if she did, it would not be enough.)  She has no intention of backing down on her accusations about Rep. Keith Ellison. Bachmann intends to continue this absurd obsession. Does she really believe the government has been infiltrated by radical Islamic elements? Is she depressed now that she’s out of the spotlight and merely seeking attention? Is this a high-stakes, election-year political ploy designed to reflect poorly on the Obama administration? It doesn’t matter why she’s doing it. She has brought disgrace to both her party and to the Senate, and has brought Islamaphobia back to prominence.

Here’s one good thing about bat shit crazy Michele Bachmann’s antics: She has placed Huma Abedin, clearly one of the most intelligent and hard-working women in America, out front in the spotlight. At 37, Abedin’s star can only rise from here.

Categories: Islamaphobia, Propaganda, Right-Wing Ideology, Tea Party

Tags: GOP, Islamaphobia, right-wing, Tea Party, whack jobs