The "Whacko-Bird" Wisdom of Michele Bachmann

by Sunnyjane

Warning: Medical science experts have not ruled out the possibility that lunacy is transmitted via the Internet.  Too much of the Tea Party may make you go nuts.

If it wouldn't do permanent damage, it might be interesting to spend two minutes inside Michele Bachmann's brain.  

Like an eighth-grader's dubious lab experiment gone really bad, the never-gonna-be-president House rep from Minnesota's 2012 campaign started out improbable and ended up preposterous.  Her entire campaign centered around social issues because when forced to enter into real policy issues, she almost made Sarah Palin sound rational.  Of course, she began her presidential campaign before the 2008 election, taking up the McCain/Palin mantra that Barack Obama doesn't see America as we see America.  And even prior to Tea Party darlings former rep Allen West and current Senator Ted Cruz, Bachmann was channeling her inner McCarthyism and saw anti-Americans (translation: Communists!) behind every pillar and post.  

While she should be treated for insanity, Bachmann's actually being investigated for, um...irregularities in her campaign.  As John Avlon at The Daily Beast reported recently, she is embroiled in a litany of legal proceedings related to her rolling disaster of a presidential campaign -- including an Office of Congressional Ethics investigation into campaign improprieties that has not previously been reported.   But never one to ignore an opportunity to blast President Obama, Glenn Beck has decided that Bachmann is under investigation because she's against radical Islam.

It's little wonder she's being investigated.  Her campaign and office staffing problems have a long history.  In 2011, the Associated Press did a little tally and found that in the four years she had been in the House of Representatives, she had lost six chiefs of staff, five press secretaries, five legislative directors, and three communications directors.  Whew! 

Charles Pierce of Esquire weighed in like this in late March:  Ever since the 2012 Iowa straw poll, when Bachmann stormed to victory by being the candidate best able to bus old white people efficiently from one part of Iowa to another, there have been rumors that, internally, the Bachmann campaign was a five-alarmer in Shanghai, and that was before Ed Rollins, bless his perpetually treacherous heart, began telling anyone within earshot what a freak show he'd signed up with. 

Ed Rollins, of course, signed on with Bachmann's campaign before she even announced her candidacy in June 2011; by September, he quit because he'd had a stroke.  (Well, who wouldn't have had a stroke, huh?)  By the end of October, he was saying, She's out of money and out of ideas.

How History Will Remember Michele Bachmann

Even Texas will not be able to whitewash the Minnesota representative's record for their textbooks.  It's far too outlandish.  We all know that she told folks in New Hampshire how much she loved their state because You're the state where the shot was heard round the world in Lexington and Concord. She was speaking. of course, about the beginning of the Revolutionary War, which actually began at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts.  And she thought slavery was a bad thing, but at least it kept families together, so it was better than their current situation under the Obama Administration.  She also asked attendees at one speech to wish the deceased Elvis Presley, said to be one of her favorite singers, a raucous Happy Birthday! -- on the thirty-fourth anniversary of his death.  And of the President's foreign policies, she huffed that ...he put us in Libya. He is now putting us in Africa.  I have no clue where she thinks Libya is, but she obviously doesn't realize that it is in, uh, Africa.

One of the most tone-deaf, whacko scenarios of her political career had to do with Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Steele spoke at CPAC 2009 where he took partial blame for the GOP's loss to Barack Obama the previous November.  Bachmann's turn at the podium was next, and before she began her speech she yelled, Michael Steele, you be da man, you be da man!   No information on exactly what Mr. Steele thought of being cheered in Ebonics by one of Minnesota's state birds, the Common Loon.

Hey, Barack!  Wanna suck on my belly button?

But there may be some instances of how brainless Bachmann is that haven't received as much attention.   Yes, she kissed George W. Bush at her very first State of the Union Address in 2007 and had such a death grip on him for thirty seconds that a reporter for Fox News hilariously told Tucker Carlson, We were about ten seconds away from a Secret Service moment there; you could see those guys talking into their wrists.  Things were going to get ugly.

But in 2008, Bachmann also threatened then-candidate for president, Barack Obama, with similar treatment:  If the presidency would somehow go to Barack Obama, I would welcome him to the 6th District as well ... As a matter of fact, I would put my hand on his shoulder and give him a kiss if he wanted to.  (There is no truth to the scurrilous rumor that Senator Obama muttered, I'd rather eat cold coffee grounds.)

End Note(s)

Marcus recently updated his social media Relationship Status to: It's Complicated

With DOMA and Prop 8 having just been argued before the Supreme Court, it is worthwhile to examine Bachmann's opinion on the subject of gays and lesbians marrying.  Actually, contrary to everything you think you know about how she feels, she believes it's perfectly acceptable.   Of course, there is one wee caveat.  In 2011, she told the president of Waverly High School's Gay-Straight Alliance in Iowa that gays and lesbians have every right to get married -- so long as they marry someone of the opposite sex.  

There!  It makes you wonder why, instead of wasting the Court's time, someone else hasn't come up with this practical solution. 

After all, who would know better than Michele Bachmann about such a situation.  Right?

In the immortal words of her fellow Republican, ditzy Dan Quayle: What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. 

Joe Gandelman at the Huffington Post very recently wrote The Michele Bachmann sideshow is hurting the GOP, in which he says that it's her sensationalist rhetoric that's destroying her credibility.  After all, when Bill O'Reilly attacks her for her CPAC attacks on the President, you know she has become GOP toast.  That rebranding thingy ain't working, guys, when you've got the likes of Michele Bachmann on the team. 

The most positive remark one can make about Bachmann is that, unlike Palin, she hasn’t yet begun choosing her wardrobe from the Dimwitted Sluts-R-Us Collection.

An exclusive look at the leaked Stratfor-emails, part 2 - Bad news for Mitt Romney: "Romney has been disastrous", "Romney thinks he can win. Mormon, no way" - REVEALED: Mitt Romney was still "No 1" on John McCain's VP-shortlist on August 25, 2008 - PLUS: Brutal remarks about Michelle Bachmann and again, about Sarah Palin: "Can carry the white trash and redneck vote"

Also read the our other reports about the Stratfor-emails:

Read part 1: Disparaging comments about Sarah Palin,  - "President Hockey Mom" - Contempt for the American electorate as a whole - The real reason why Republicans attack Obamacare 

Read part 3: Cenk Uygur from "The Young Turks" reports about publication of Stratfor-emails by "Politicalgates" - More bombshell revelations from the Stratfor-pile: Rick Perry told Stratfor-Vice President Fred Burton that he "feels that Mitt Romney cannot get elected" - PLUS "Much of the US media resigned from investigative journalism", according to Stratfor-analyst

By Patrick

As explained in our first post, which was picked up today by Wikileaks and by Andrew Sullivan, we were granted exclusive access by Wikileaks to the complete pile of several million Stratfor emails, which were obtained by Wikileaks, who have created a new, sophisticated and "bullet-proof" database for these emails. For the "official releases" from these emails by Wikileaks, see here. For information about Stratfor, see here.

The content of the emails is newsworthy. They offer fascinating insights into the inner workings of the USA, the only global superpower, a country which has to deal with cynical politicians, arrogant billionaires, bought elections, imperial ambitions and a corporate mainstream media which leaves the population in the dark about what is really going on beneath the surface. At Politicalgates, it is our aim to educate ourselves. The Stratfor emails are very helpful in contributing to this goal.

The last post mainly dealt with comments about Sarah Palin. During my latest troll through the emails, I actually found a new, smashing quote about Sarah Palin which I will present below. However, I would like to focus in this new post on Mitt Romney, the man who wants to beat Barack Obama.

The Stratfor emails contain no good news for Mitt Romney. In short, the people at Stratfor think that he is unelectable - and some sort of joke, apparently.

Also, if you like conspiracies, the Stratfor emails surely fuel the fire in this respect!

In the last post, I blacked out all the names of the senders and recipients of the emails. However, I now decided that this went a bit too far, as it is actually important if the CEO George Friedman and the Vice-President Fred Burton themselves leave comments. Therefore I now left their names visible. However, all the other participants still won't be identified.

It is probably the best idea to publish the messages in chronological order.

First, a surprising revelation, which also raises serious questions for the current presidential race between Romney and Obama: On August 25, 2008, Mitt Romney was "still number 1 on the list" for John McCain's VP, according to Fred Burton!

However, only a few days later, on August 29, 2008, Sarah Palin was announced as his VP! What happened during these days?

Characteristically, the response from Fred Burton's colleague shows the whole contempt that the Stratfor-analysts had for Mitt Romney:

"Eewwwww, romney...grosssss"

Screenshot:



So, what happened? Let's search for clues. A quote by Fred Burton about a conversation with a source from the McCain-team from October 2010 gives an indication:

"He also mentioned Romney has been disastrous. Said he could not go into it now, but think about the Michigan pull out."

Although I cannot completely decipher this quote right now, I guess Fred Burton was speaking about the Republican Primary in Michigan 2008, in which Romney got 39 percent of the votes.

Screenshot:

Let's look at an email exchange from July 2007. The source that Fred Burton was talking to in this instance was a "GOP billionaire fundraiser." The message from this source is also not very encouraging for Mitt Romney:

"Source does not believe a Mormon can get elected."

Screenshot:





Let's now take a look at a conversation from December 2009. Fred Burton now has another source - a "millionaire Jewish fundraiser for the RNC." Here we find some pretty, pretty interesting information:

Spoke to a millionaire Jewish fundraiser for the RNC today --

1) The RNC believes Obama will cause the Dems to loose 20 Congressional
seats and 3 to 4 Senate seats in 2010.

2) Jewish support for Obama has nose dived from over 80% to 50% and
shrinking. Concerted effort underway to keep those numbers falling.

3) RNC believes Dodd will loose his seat.

4) McCain was described as a two-faced bastard (plus a phoney and
asshole). Romney was promised the VP nod ny Rick Davis and McCain, than
Sarah Pallin was picked. McCain also refused to meet with many big money
Jewish backers leading the RNC to opine that he was part of the set-up to
get Obama into the office.

5) RNC is waiting for the 2010 Gov races and believes their next candidate
for POTUS will be one of them, i.e., a new Republican Governor.

6) Gates is going to resign to go back to Texas A&M.

7) Obama's strategy is to get through as much as he can during the first
two years, than concede everything the last two in an effort to get
relected, however, many of the big money Dem feels he has been a disaster
and won't support his next go around.

8) The lack of big money Dem Jewish support forced the White House to cut
back on their holiday party from 300 under Bush to less than 100.

9) Netanyahu will be used by the RNC next go around to muster big money
Jews.

John McCain is a "two-faced bastard?" Romney "was promised the VP nod by Rick Davis and McCain?"

Again, the urgent question:

If Mitt Romney was promised the VP nod by John MCain and if Romney was still "No 1" on August 25, 2008, why was he rejected in the end, and the unknown Sarah Palin chosen instead?

This question needs to be answered ASAP. My belief is that McCain discovered something so shocking about Mitt Romney in the last minute that they were unable to keep their promise. But what was it?

Another important quote in the following email from December 2009:

"Netanyahu will be used by the RNC next go around to must big money Jews."

Yes, that's EXACTLY what we witnessed just recently. Right on the mark. Getting the "big money Jews" on board, that's what really counts.

Screenshot:

Next, a quote from November 2009:

Fred Burton: "Romney can't make it. Mormons are viewed as Voo Doo."

I think Fred knows what he is talking about. Does the rest of the GOP know it as well?

Screenshot:



Now comes my favourite quote of all times by Fred Burton!

This is a kick-ass quote, but mainly in regard to Sarah Palin. I only discovered this quote now, otherwise I would have already included it in the last post:

"Romney and Pallin want the job, but neither are winnable (Mormon and

Walmart night shift aisle stocker..but she can carry the white trash and

redneck vote.)"

LOL! Sarah Palin "can carry the white trash and redneck vote!" Thank you, Fred Burton!

Also, Romney, you already lost, according to the experts.

Screenshot:



I would now like to present an "essay-like" email message by Stratfor CEO George Friedman, who explains his view on US elections. Particularly interesting for us is a quote by Friedman about Mitt Romney:

Looking at this model, it seems that Romney is the candidate the model
spits out. Then you have a Northern Liberal running against a Northern
Moderate. Very strange math leaving the sunbelt in the lurch and
opening the door for a third party challenge unless Romney can nail it
down fast and early. If the primaries gives us a weakened Romney and an
angry Tea Party, Obama wins.

So, in this model, the key is to watch Romney and see if he moves out
fast and secures the south. If he does, we may be looking at a repeat
of 1980, when a flukey democrat gets demolished by a corporate
Republican.

Yes, Romney "is the candidate the model spits out." What somehow explains how "Mitt the Twit" could win the Republican primaries. But careful, Mitt: You have to "move out fast and secure the south." I guess Fred Burton would have his doubts whether Mitt Romney achieved that goal. Also, apart from the south, there is also the north, west and east. Right now, Mitt Romney has a long way ahead when it comes to conquering the USA. Also:

"If the primaries gives us a weakened Romney and an angry Tea Party, Obama wins."

I guess that's what is just happening. The Obama-fans can rest easy.

Screenshot:

More from Fred Burton: According to a "very good Tecas GOP source", Mitt Romney is "not getting a lot of people excited." 

I very much doubt that has changed!

Screenshot:

Now comes a huge nugget for "conspiracy theorists." As you all know, I have mentioned many times that I am not a fan of "conspiracies", despite being a "Trig Truther" since 2008. But Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy is a simple fact, and not a conspiracy, and was also an open secret in Alaska in 2008.

However, the following message by Fred Burton even gave me second thoughts!

The money quote:

The NY Tribe Money and the 12 who run the world want Petraeus to run.

Romney thinks he can win. Mormon, no way.

Excuse me? OK, Romney cannot win, we got that already. But what about "the NY Tribe Money and the 12 who run the world?" Any ideas who Fred Burton is talking about?

Screenshot:

Finally, as a bonus, so to speak, a fascinating quote about Michelle Bachmann. The Stratfor-people are discussing the fact that Michelle will become a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

One of the Stratfor-analysts is not convinced:

"I really hope she smartens up. But I fear she will say a bunch of dumb shit and leak things in odd ways."

Well, she already might have done just that.

Screenshot:

That's all for today, friends! I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

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UPDATE:

I would like to add this wonderful comment by our reader "HopeForAmerica" to the post:

"So I guess McCain picked the winner of the "loosers" and went with Sarah. Then they got a two-fer--a loser and the loosest one of them all. ;)"

Dusty's Corner -- Herman Cain and Lethal Remedies.

By Dusty

Hi! Welcome to Dusty's Corner. Pull up a comfy seat, grab your favorite beverage, smoke em if you got em and don't worry if you are still in your jammies as that is what makes life interesting and fun. Thank you everyone for all your great comments and the warm welcome as a new contributor here at PoliticalGates.

Wow it appears Michele Bachmann will sign any pledge placed in front of her if said pledge will deliver more money or attention. Last week Bachmann signed a pledge to build a $100 million fence between the US and Mexico. Wonder where she thinks she is going to get the money to pay for this fence since she signed the no new taxes pledge. Think she will take it from the farm subsidies pot of gold? Yeah me neither.

You also just gotta love Michele’s wonderful Christian values you know the ones: faith, charity, hope and love for just those who match her skin tone and tax bracket. Michele, hair up does not mean we will take you any more seriously than we do now. Yes, yes I know Sarah got a total pass and we are still paying dearly for it today but damn girl for the last time you are NOT Sarah.

Seriously though do NOT repeat the above look. It is hard enough to take you seriously when you say stupid stuff like ““And one thing I would say is, when you take the 9-9-9 plan and you turn it upside down, I think the devil is in the details.” The only good thing about that totally insipid statement is it brought my focus back to your actual words. Michele, when you make statements like that while trying out a whole new ‘look’ (which failed btw) it just makes me change the channel or even worse (for you anyway) blog about it. Dusty Helpful Hint: Add a little splash of color. Not just the flag pin dear.

Next up in the Stupid Things Republican Candidates Say News of the Week is Herman Cain. Herman (Herb) Cain has stated he is open to lethal remedies (what is it with the radical right wing and their 2^nd amendment remedies anyway- penis envy or courage envy?) for those trying to cross the border from Mexico to the US. That statement has got to make you wonder just what the hell does Mexico thinks of the United States now. Didn’t these two freaking clowns learn anything when East and West Germany had a wall between them and lethal remedies were used? Update: Oopsie now Herb said he was just kidding. Yeah right Herman.

Did I also mention ole Herb finally admitted he doesn’t have a clue what his 9 9 9 plan actually entails other than it is quite the catchy talking point with no substance. I am pretty sure even a first grader can grasp the fact that the US does not currently have a National Sales Tax and the addition of a 9% Sales Tax on ALL good and services equals a Tax INCREASE on everyone. Ummm Herb- aren’t you forgetting something? You signed the no new tax increase pledge too. Grover is not happy with you Herman.

Irony like Karma can be a bitch sometimes but other times it is just so sweet. BOTH Republican Candidates Jon Huntsman and Newt Gingrich 2012 Presidential Campaigns are $1 Million in DEBT. Yes you read that right $1 Million dollars in debt right now. The same two guys who are running on the Less Government, Less Federal Spending and Balance the Budget platform are both in debt and are still spending money they don’t have. Yep that sure gives me more confidence to vote for either one. NOT!

A second irony moment this week is Congress is working on yet another anti-abortion bill that makes triple sure that no federal funds are used to fund abortions but this one adds yet another twist. If an insurance company offers a plan that covers abortions and you pay for that insurance plan out of your own pocket guess what you are paying for an empty plan. Because this new bill will force you to pay for all expenses related to that abortion out of pocket. Yes you read that right- if you want or need an abortion the insurance policy that you pay for out of your own pocket will not be allow to pay for any expenses related to the abortion. I sure wish someone in the media would ask those who sponsor and vote for this bill how this is less government and why is the government allowed to regulate a women’s health care needs but not the EPA.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has expanded worldwide and finally news outlets were unable to ignore it any longer. Good Job to all those who went out on the streets and also those who occupied the web. To those 1% who hung the signs up in your offices on Wall Street and those in politics and the media who discount what 99% of the nation has been saying we are getting stronger and our voices will be heard. Our voices were heard in 2008 when we voted for hope and change. You didn’t listen when poll after poll showed that the majority of Americans wanted the ObamaCares aka the American Health Care Plan and you still didn’t listen when the majority said they do not want it repealed if anything the MAJORITY still want a national health care plan for everyone including you! To those who can afford it you can have your own gold standard plan you know the plan the same plan you have now while your fellow Americans are dying with no health care coverage. Keep trying to repress our voices and in 2012 we will vote again for Hope and Change not for Fear and Hate like some of those who voted in 2010.

What would a visit to Dusty's Corner be without Sarah Palin. Yes the less popular and the finally fading North Star of the Hate Sarah Palin. Finally a special moment was caught and will live on forever on the internet.

Meet the real Sarah Palin!

Does it strike anyone else as odd that here she sits in a roomful of MEN and she is sitting there looking both scared and insecure. What happen Sarah? Your famous tongue action didn't work? I guess South Korea guys have more self control than your other male followers?

Did it finally occur to you that no matter how much weigh you lose, no matter how much make up you wear, no matter how many wigs and fake glasses you wear, no matter how big the boobies, no matter how high the bumpit (did yours fail to clear airport security?) no matter how fake the accent, or how short the hemline AND how high the heels there are people out there in this world who just aren't that into you? Sarah it's not what is on the outside that really matters it is what is in the inside. Darlin, you just don't have what Americans are looking for in a leader.

David Frum had this to say about Sarah Palin "In the end, she exploited, abused, or embarrassed almost everyone who had believed in her. Most embarrassing of all: she was never even a very good con artist. Everything that was false and petty and unqualified in her was visible within the first minutes of encountering her." I sure wish I could ask David if "everything that was false and petty and unqualified in her was visible within the first minutes of encountering her" why the hell did you and John McCain continue to support and defend her after those first minutes?

So Buh-Bye Sarah, we'll turn the lights out for ya and please don't let the door hit your padded ass on the way out okay? I can also report with almost 100% certainty you will not be missed as Anita Perry has stepped up to fill your ill-fitting shoes and will soon be the next Queen of victimhood, blaming others and just generally making shit up as she goes along. But enough about Anita we talk about her next time. It's time to say Nighty Night Sarah I can't say it has been all that enjoyable but I did want to thank you for my friends at PoliticalGates. If it weren't for you we all wouldn't have met and that Sarah would have been a real shame.

Thank you HonestyInGov and Annes_123 for the great pictures.

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UPDATE by Kathleen:

Thank you Dusty and once again welcome to Politicalgates.

I received that last snippet of information that I need for my post this morning. Look for it to be put up sometime in the next few days after I have recovered from my terrible cold.

Update 2- Added due to popular demand

So Sarah, How's all that bunchy padding workin' out for ya?

Michele Bachmann's Constitutional Classes: Spring Training for the Minor Leagues?

Guest Post By Nomadic Joe

Normally when a Republic as great as the United States elects a citizen to a high office, the public expects that person to be politically "fully-developed." Naturally we don't expect to have to give classes to teach them what they should already be familiar with, such as, for example, the laws of the land or the basic principles upon which that republic was founded, namely the Constitution. And we certainly don't expect the American taxpayers to foot the bill for these remedial classes. Yet, apparently Rep. Michele Bachmann thinks that new members of Congress - read, Tea Party members - need some indoctrination into the the extreme far right's world view.

In an interview with Lou Dobbs, Bachmann outlined the concept in sporting terms:

Dobbs: You've got a terrific idea that you're going to implement with the new Congress: a course on the Constitution for incoming Congressmen and women. Tell us about that.
Bachmann: We're going to do what the NFL does and what the baseball teams do: we're going to practice every week, if you will, our craft, which is studying and learning the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Justice Scalia has graciously agreed to kick off our class. The hour before we cast our first vote in congress, we'll meet in the Capitol, we'll have a seminar on some segment of the Constitution, we'll have a speaker, we'll have questions and answers, we'll wrap our minds around this magnificent document [and] that'll set the tone for the week while we're in Washington.

Watch:

“Every week the hour before we take our first votes, we have our weekly class so that we are reminded of our constitutional jurisdictional limits,” Bachmann told Glenn Beck in a recent radio interview.

Sergio Gor, a spokesman for Bachmann, explained:"It was something she’s always wanted to do. There’s so many folks that come to Capitol Hill to discuss obscure and mundane topics, but no one coming regularly to discuss bill of rights or the role of government.”

Although Bachmann doesn't plan on teaching the class, Gor added, she will organize sessions with constitutional scholars, experts, and judges likely to be held in one of the committee rooms on the Capitol Hill complex. According to a report by Politico in October 2010, Gor explained that the classes will be open to any members — not just freshman — looking to continue their study of America’s founding documents. They will not be open, however, to staff or members of the press, and the list of speakers won’t be made public.

However his statement, like so much about the Tea Party, is misleading. Both the topics being discussed and the speakers who have reportedly been asked to lecture are much more specific than Gor's statement suggests.

Even the way the opening seminar with Justice Scalia was conducted is questionable and shadowy. Take a look at this telephone conversation between a Daily Kos reporter and a staffer at Bachmann office, which was published on January 24, 2011:

REC: No, it is a seminar.
ME: Then, why is it closed to the public. I thought the only time a Caucus was "closed" was when the members were deciding on "policy."
REC: Justice Scalia is not speaking to the Tea Party Caucus. Justice Scalia is speaking to all members of Congress.
ME: Then why is it "closed" to the public.
REC: For security reasons.
ME: Where is the meeting being held?
REC: In the Capitol building
ME: Did they close the Capitol Building to the public today?
REC: No.
ME: Then Scalia's Seminar is not closed due to security reasons at all. Otherwise they would have cleared the Capitol.
REC: It is "closed" because it is a Congressional Constitutional Seminar.
ME: The only "Closed Door" Seminars I have attended are only "Closed" because the group hosting the event wants to make sure they get paid - so they can pay the Seminar Speaker. Since you are telling me Scalia is not getting paid there is no reason to "close" this seminar off from the public.
REC: It is closed because there was not enough room to handle the press.
ME: You told me that the Seminar was open to all 535 members of Congress. CNN is reporting that only 40 people showed up. That means there is PLENTY of empty seats for the press. So, who made the decision to have a "Closed Door" Seminar and why was that decision made.
REC: Members of Congress have 'closed door' meetings all the time.
ME: Is this a "meeting" or a "seminar."
REC: It is a Constitutional Seminar.

Influence and Conflicts

When certain members of the Supreme Court are allowed to give policy advice behind closed doors to selected members of Congress, it is time to start asking questions about ethics and impartiality of their rulings.

Issues of judicial ethics have already been raised regarding Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, two of the more conservative members of the bench, attendance at seminars sponsored by the energy giant and Tea Party bank-roller Koch Industries. While there is nothing unusual about Supreme Court Justices attending seminars, the Koch event seems to have been more political than the usual fare. In its own invitation, it was described as a "twice a year" gathering "to review strategies for combating the multitude of public policies that threaten to destroy America as we know it." I think it is safe to assume this would be liberal policies.

"I think it is very important for judges to be part of the real world and to appear in public for educative purposes to help explain the arcane mysteries of the court to the general public," said William G. Ross, a judicial ethics professor at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law. "That is very healthy and I don't think that judges should isolate themselves in a marble palace... However I am very troubled by the tendency of judges to make broader comments on public issues and to appear in public or private gatherings in which there are political overtones."

A reform group called Common Cause requested that the Department of Justice investigate possible conflicts of interest regarding their appearance at Koch brother's retreats at the very time the court was deliberating a case which would allow corporation to spend unlimited amounts of money on federal elections (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission).

So, the question boils down to: Is there any real evidence that judicial decision were affected or influenced by Koch? Nothing concrete. However there is circumstantial evidence.

In the dissenting opinion of the Supreme Court by Justice Stevens, it was noted that the decision of the court over-reached the original case brought before it and so claimed that the majority "changed the case to give themselves an opportunity to change the law." Stevens concluded his dissent with: Basically a case of opportunism.

Justice Thomas, the other Koch retreat attendee, would have preferred to go even further. In order to protect the anonymity of corporations that contributed financially - an exercise of their free speech according this ruling - Thomas argued that making contributor lists public makes the contributors vulnerable to retaliation, citing instances of retaliation against contributors to both sides of a then recent California voter initiative. Thomas also expressed concern that such retaliation could extend to retaliation by elected officials.

In any case, whether or not there was any corporate influence in this historic - some say disastrous - court decision, the appearance of a conflict of interest undermines the impartiality of the court and therefore the Justices should have recused themselves from the case.

Beyond the question of Koch and its influence, Justice Thomas is facing, separate ethical questions regarding his wife's lobbying efforts on behalf of the Tea Party. According to a New York Times article, Mrs. Thomas is the founder and head of a new nonprofit group, "Liberty Central", dedicated to opposing what she characterizes as the leftist “tyranny” of President Obama and Democrats in Congress and to “protecting the core founding principles” of the nation.

Guest Speaker Barton

The list of seminar speakers is a tightly held secret but rumor has it that Bachmann intends to invite another member of the Supreme Court bench, Chief Justice John Roberts, Beyond Supreme Court Justices, Bachmann has also supposedly made plans to court a variety of other conservative stars, such as 9/11 "truther" and judge, Andrew Napolitano, Fox News personality Sean Hannity, and controversial Evangelical and separation-of-church-and-state denier David Barton to teach the "bipartisan" classes, AOL News reported last month.

The mention of David Barton should raise a lot of eyebrows from those in the know. Think Glenn Beck on steroids and that, believe it or not, is a charitable, a kind view of this character. David is a controversial figure whose ideas about the constitution and the founding fathers have drawn sharp criticism from both the religious and secular communities.

Bachmann and Barton, who have worked together for many years, have a long relationship going back to Bachmann’s time as state senator. Barton was invited to Minnesota to help Bachmann with legislation on school history standards, she’s appeared his radio show numerous times and she and Barton have conducted tours in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate to tea partiers how religious the Founding Fathers were.

Barton came to Minnesota in 2005 to help Bachmann shape the state’s “history standards.” Bachmann wanted to make sure that references to religion in historical documents were taught in Minnesota’s public schools. Barton came to the Minnesota Senate to give a presentation at Bachmann’s invitation.

The statements Barton has made in the past are certainly not the kind of remarks that bring either honor or information to the halls of Congress. For example, he has stated in all seriousness that the government should regulate homosexuality (if you don't believe me, please check this link).

According to the Anti-Defamation League, David Barton, a self-described historian promoted by Fox News' Glenn Beck, has twice spoken to groups affiliated with the racist and anti-Semitic Christian Identity movement. Beck himself has promoted the work and ideas of anti-Semites.

Also, the details of the charge do not paint a pretty portrait of Barton. In 1991 Barton addressed the Rocky Mountain Bible Retreat of Pastor Pete Peters' Scriptures for America, a group that espouses the racist "Christian Identity" theology. Advocates of this bizarre dogma insist that white Anglo-Saxons are the "true" chosen people of the Bible and charge that today's Jews are usurpers. Aside from being a virulent anti-Semite, Peters has advocated the death penalty for homosexuals. According to the Anti-Defamation League, other speakers at the event included white supremacist leader and 1992 presidential candidate James "Bo" Gritz, a leader of the radical and increasingly violent militia movement, and Malcolm Ross, a Holocaust denier from Canada. In November of that same year, Barton spoke at Kingdom Covenant College in Grants Pass, Oregon, another "Christian Identity" front group with ties to Peters.

In the recent past, he has stated his belief that United States borders were drawn by God, thereby condemning illegal immigration as a sin against God.

“God’s the one who drew up the lines for the nations, so to say open borders is to say, ‘God, you goofed it all up and when you had borders, you shouldn’t have done it,’” he said recently on his radio program. “And so, from a Christian standpoint, you cannot do that. God’s the one who establishes the boundaries of nations.”

Barton's brand of revisionist history has come under intense criticism and he penchant for using unverified quotes from the founding fathers are used to support his idea that Constitution calls for the United States to be a Christian nation.

Kyle Mantyla, senior fellow with People For the American Way, told the Minnesota Independent:

That Rep. Bachmann would possibly tap someone like David Barton to teach this class is in no way surprising, since Bachmann clearly has no desire to gain a true understanding of the Constitution and is looking instead for an opportunity to pass off right-wing propaganda as scholarship. As such Barton is the perfect teacher for her effort. In fact, only Bachmann would considering having a class on the Constitution taught by a man whose academic credentials consist entirely of a B.A. from Oral Roberts University and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Pensacola Christian College.

Former Republican Senator Arlen Specter wrote in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy that Barton’s “pseudo-scholarship would hardly be worth discussing, let alone disproving, were it not for the fact that it is taken so very seriously by so many people.”

Tell it to the Newts of this world, Mr. Specter. At a Heritage Foundation speech pushing a school prayer amendment held on October 5, 1995, Newt Gingrich, who considers himself an historian and fancies himself a potential Republican candidate for president in 2012, praised Barton's books, calling them "most useful" and "wonderful."

Looking over Bachmann's list of speakers, who can hardly be considered experts, one wonders how much of this Bachmann-styled education is really just a form of Neo-Con brainwashing for the fresh faces of Washington.

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