Michele Bachmann is at it again, it appears. And I’m not talking about her “unusual” alternate State of the Union rebuttal, nor am I talking about her nails-on-a-chalkboard partisan shriek during that rebuttal. I’m talking about the fact that her presence alone has the effect of keeping women maligned in mainstream politics.
Let’s take a step back here. Bachmann is the leader of the congressional Tea Party caucus and has apparently stepped into the vacuum left by the other darling of the hard right Sarah Palin. But unlike Palin who is principally a media presence, Bachmann is an actual elected representative. And the Tea Party is her natural constituency. She’s ambitious and determined to make herself a national leader and has plenty of backers who believe she can do just that.
But despite her hard-right pedigree and her ambition both the mainstream media and the Republican leadership dismiss Bachmann as a “bobblehead” who makes “unusual” decisions. She’s often referred to as “crazy” and “dumb” by the left. But Michele Bachmann is not crazy. And she’s not dumb.
Instead, she’s everything we want an elected official to be--to a certain degree. She’s loyal to her constituents and eager to climb the ranks in Washington. She shows a degree of media savvy that Speaker Boehner could sure use. But for whatever reason we, the collective political public, seems unable or unwilling to applaud her for these efforts and instead attack her personally.
Why? Because she’s a woman. I'll go ahead and duck while some of you throw tomatoes now.
Why not talk about the insanity of her positions as opposed to the insanity of her character? Let’s talk about the factual misstatements she makes (and there are plenty) and demand she answer to them rather than dismiss her as “stupid.” Hell, let’s start simple and just make sure Politico consistently spells her name correctly. Let’s start with the basic assumption that the woman is smart enough to get elected and to stay there which means, at a fundamental level, even Michele Bachmann demands some respect.
Make no mistake about it, the positions this woman holds are dangerous and the policies she endorses are draconian. But that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with just how quickly Bachmann is dismissed and how disposable she’s been treated by her own party. Would Boehner been so blase so “whatever” had Tom Tancredo delivered remarks in addition to Paul Ryan? Would Chris Matthews call him a “balloon head despite the fact that Tancredo has made a pretty damn good living off of playing fast and loose with historical fact?” I don’t think so. And I’m not the only one.
January 26, 2011
This is Where I Defend Michele Bachmann
I, as a woman, am offended that you are assuming that everyone who criticizes her is criticizing her because she is a woman or because she is stupid. I criticize the fact that this person (is that better?) said that our *Founding Fathers freed the slaves*. I am criticizing that every word this person spoke on behalf of their racist, half baked party is a LIE. I don't care if the person speaking is a woman, man, or Martian. This person talking is ignorant, & again, your assumption that I only (or anyone only) thinks that because of her gender is ridiculous.
A feminist should know that women can be judged for more than their gender & can do ANYTHING DESPITE their gender!
Posted by: Manda | January 26, 2011 at 07:09 PM
I'm sorry. I completely disagree. This woman is a total loon. And if she truly believes that the founding fathers "worked tirelessly until slavery was abolished in this country," she's also stupid. The founding fathers were responsible for referring to blacks as only 3/5 of a human.
She knows nothing of the Constitution she so passionately speaks of and apparently her tea party devotees don't either and don't care.
Save your breath of women politicians that don't set us back centuries. This one is a pure embarrassment to her gender on every level.
Posted by: injaynesworld | January 26, 2011 at 07:26 PM
Hmmm. If she made claims about the Nazis working tirelessly to free Jews, what would you call her then? Now apply the same standard to the founding fathers, responsible for participating in and legally legitimizing the Black American Holocaust, and you'll be close to the utter disgust so many of us rightly feel upon hearing her words last night.
Posted by: Reese | January 26, 2011 at 07:42 PM
Ah. This would be the Michele Bachmann who called for an investigation into a third of the Democratic members of Congress to determine if they were unAmerican? For which reason the Republican Party withdrew its funding for her re-election? This is the Michele Bachmann who asked--rhetorically--if our founding fathers were so angry about taxation without representation, what would they say about (OMG) representation WITH taxation? The Michele Bachmann who "favors ending government involvement in education"? The Michele Bachmann who stated, "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president Jimmy Carter. And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence. ", strongly implying that, somehow, someway, the eeevul Democrats were to blame for Swine Flu? The Michele Bachmann who blamed FDR and the Democrats for the "Hoot-Smawley Act" (Smoot-Hawley Act regulating banks), when in fact Smoot and Hawley were Republicans, and the act was signed into law by Herbert Hoover, another Republican? The Michele Bachmann who tirelessly works against gay rights, claiming that giving gays "right" means that schools will immediately begin "teaching homosexuality" and "parents will lose the right protect and direct the upbringing of their children" and that kids will be taught that "perhaps they should try it"? The Michele Bachmann who claimed that the (constitutionally required) decennial census would lead to internment camps?
The woman is an ignorant nutcase. It has nothing to do with whether she's a woman or a man; it has to do with her ignorant claptrap being used to influence our government (that would be YOUR government and MY government).
If a person constantly makes crazy statements and stupid statements and ignorant/mistaken statements about history, don't you think it's allowable to call her "crazy" and "stupid" and "ignorant"?
Posted by: OmegaMom | January 26, 2011 at 08:15 PM
Let me be clear. The woman is a dangerously misinformed and I don't think I ever suggested otherwise. But my point is she is as disinformed as, say Haley Barbour for example. Or even Eric Cantor. But is that how she's treated? No. Instead, because she's out in front as leadership AND SIMULTANEOUSLY DISMISSED as illegitimate, it sets all women in power back because it reinforces a default that women aren't really leadership material. Just consider the possibility by defending her tokenism among both the right and the mainstream media that I'm doing so because I'd love nothing more than for there to be a good hard whack taken at the revisionism she (and Cantor and Barbour and Rand Paul...) are peddling.
Posted by: Jessica | January 26, 2011 at 08:18 PM
Look I don't think anybody had a problem calling Bush out for some of the stupid things he said. He didn't get called a Bubblehead, but I did see his face morphed into that of Alfred E. Newman, and a chimpanzee.
Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Sharon Angle, Christine O'Donnell - all household names.
Maybe the question we should be asking is why no one is paying attention to the smart ones?
Posted by: Lisse | January 26, 2011 at 08:28 PM
This discussion combined with another one, on top of a person or persons at MOMocrats removing a post by me on the Facebook thread about this topic...
I am done with MOMocrats.
I said nothing profane or derogatory or racist or bigoted. I am sorry if you don't like opposing view points and can't have a rational adult conversation.
I do not see eye to eye with the Moms on here. I do not view you as Democrats when a post in the passed talked about gun rights and now defending a racist, anti gay, ignorant fool like Michele Bachmann.
And not wanting to carry on a civil discussion with someone that views the characteristics of feminism differently than you do.
Good day to you ladies.
Posted by: Manda | January 26, 2011 at 10:31 PM
Wow, I have a hard time with this. I just can't get behind Ladies Against Women, the O.G. of whom is Phyllis Schlafly. I don't think these extreme hard-right women in politics deserve whatever sexist treatment they get, but I'm not about to stop and carry water for them either.
We talked about this on the MOMochat today with Gloria Feldt. She had some interesting things to say...mainly that women on the left need to assert their politics and differentiate themselves. There's more, but I can't recall it right now.
Posted by: Cynematic | January 27, 2011 at 03:55 AM
Manda, I don't know who might have removed one of your Facebook posts or why, but if you have an issue with our Facebook moderation, please email one of us and we will gladly discuss it. I hate to see that you feel unwelcome.
This post by Jessica is on the site precisely because we DO embrace a diversity of opinion, by the way. I, for one, think Michelle Bachmann is entirely deserving of the titles "Crazy" and "Dumb." However, I also think Jessica has a valid opinion on the biased treatment of women in media, which is why she is welcome to post here.
(Heck, I defended Sarah Palin here once against accusations that she was a bad mother for running for office while she had a baby at home. I loathe Sarah Palin's politics with the fire of 10,000 suns, but I support her right to have a professional life while her husband mostly stays home and takes care of the kids.)
Posted by: Jaelithe | January 27, 2011 at 08:07 AM
Manda - You seem to have two comments on this thread on Facebook right now. I went to check. We don't normally delete comments on FB, at least I can't recall ever doing it myself.
I don't agree that the criticism of Bachman was because she is a woman. But I respect Jessica's right to have her own opinion.
Feminists don't have to be in lock step 100% of the time. And I like to think that we're better than people like Bachman. We can have a discussion like this without throwing around insults or running out of the room, slamming the door behind us.
Posted by: Lawyer Mama | January 27, 2011 at 02:58 PM
This is morally retarded. No one should be defending Bachman. It's not our fault she came out female and its no one's fault but hers that she doesn't know her butt from a hole in the ground.
She's just another sleazy grifter, and I would have no problem saying the same if she were male.
She is not smart in any sense of the word. She is conniving, cunning and abusive but lightyears away from being intelligent.
What a waste of space on a very crowded planet.
Posted by: lisa odell | January 27, 2011 at 05:21 PM
I've said she's a crazy idiot before and I base that solely on the words coming out of her mouth not on her sex organs.
Posted by: Verite Parlant aka Nordette Adams | January 28, 2011 at 07:44 PM
Michelle Bachman is crazy. She's stupid. She's an idiot.
So is that white middle-aged male Rand Paul, who just got elected to the U.S. Senate.
Crazy is crazy and idiocy is idiocy no matter what the gender or race.
Posted by: Lucky 38 | January 29, 2011 at 08:29 PM
I do think this is something that needs to be addresses. I don't think it has much to do with her being a women. Anyone who commands a national audience and then gets so many basic facts wrong is going to made fun of.
What we can't lose sight of is Ms. Bachmann represents the people of her district and she has been elected by them more than once. To write her off as crazy and stupid not only maligns her but everyone she represents. And that just furthers the type of destructive us versus them politics that is impeding rational political debate in this country.
I don't have to like Ms. Bachmann's politics or the politics of the people that elect her but I do have to respect that they are part of American politics.
Posted by: Centerist Cynic | January 30, 2011 at 09:46 AM
I totally support her...she is doing a good job, so it does not matter whether she is a woman or man...
Posted by: career support | January 31, 2011 at 10:45 PM
C'mon, let's be real here. Bachmann has been the Gold Standard of Teabagger crazy. We're talking about the person who *hid in bushes* to spy on a gay rights rally, the person who compared AmeriCorps to "Re-education Camps", the person who once said and I quote: "We're running out of rich people in this country". Saying she's no different than Cantor is like saying Beck is no different than O'Reilly. Like yea they're both asses, but clearly Beck's brain is in a whole 'nother place.
Posted by: Heh | February 07, 2011 at 01:17 AM