Michele Bachmann, the special kind of crazy
By Duganz
If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and read Matt Taibbi’s new piece on Michele Bachmann. What it outlines is the divide of our times, a divide that runs directly into one of the great Three Things We Must Never Discuss. For those of you who don’t know what those are, they are: 1. Religion, 2. Politics, and 3. Who has the better dog. With America today only Religion matters. Our politicians are required in some de facto way to be religious, to swear a belief in the god of Abraham–the one great god of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Bachmann’s god-cock is bigger than most god-cocks. She, if you’re not in the know, has god’s voice in her head. Or, as I say it, is demented and in desperate need of medication. And that’s because… big breath… there is absolutely no proof that anyone at any time ever has heard the voice of god. None. Nada. No proof. There is, more than likely, no being or force in the world that is like the bi-polar being most of us are raised to believe in. Just isn’t. The belief is faith, and faith alone. (And as any sports fan will tell you: faith means jack.)
But anyway, I’m off point.
What matters is that you understand that whether you believe, or are like me and have no faith in god, that Michele Bachmann thinks she is under the direction of god. She, in her mind, is not making choices for America. God is. God is speaking through her. She sees herself as a prophet (for profit), and that’s dangerous. Really, really dangerous.
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June 29, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Religious delusions are a common symptom of psychosis. According to this article, psychotics with religious delusions are harder to cure… http://epiphenom.fieldofscience.com/2010/08/why-psychotic-patients-with-religious.html
Bachmann, Palin, GW Bush… so many politicians think god is telling them things.
June 29, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Consider the entertainment factor. With consumption accounting for roughly 70% of our economy, and 50% of registered voters on injured reserve, it’s natural that we “consume” our gods and heroes. Bachmann’s a double-your-pleasure candidate. Fear not. Enjoy.
June 29, 2011 at 3:34 pm
She’s an earth scorchers wet dream driving a Koch-powered D10 up the recta of the american dreamers.
July 2, 2011 at 8:19 am
Would that be these Koch brothers?
June 29, 2011 at 3:42 pm
I return to state my utter disgust for this post. The use of faith to attack a person politically and call them “crazy” is beyond the pale. As President Obama said, “It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany; the questions I had did not magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side of Chicago, I felt I heard God’s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.” http://www.crossleft.org/node/2785
Both Bachmann and Obama believe God’s spirit beckons them to service. As Obama said, so do about 90% of Americans.
Sorry for the interference.
June 29, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt, Craig. Bachmann hasn’t just professed faith. She has claimed that God speaks to her, Obama claimed spiritual inspiration. Michelle claims schizophrenia.
June 29, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Making a decision that can affect others based on revelation no one else can hear is a quick road to tyranny. And I’m not attacking her faith, I’m attacking her belief that my life should be guided by HER faith. I only mention that she’s crazy because anyone who claims to do what the voices in their head tell them to do, is crazy. But plenty of people with faith don’t feel like Bachmann, and I respect that.
If Obama feels god told him to be President, then he too was saying something crazy.
June 29, 2011 at 4:28 pm
I suggest you read Obama’s faith speech in full context. As for your “tyranny” he said:
“But what I am suggesting is this — secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square. Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Williams Jennings Bryant, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King — indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history — were not only motivated by faith, but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause. To say that men and women should not inject their “personal morality” into public policy debates is a practical absurdity; our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Moreover, if we progressives shed some of these biases, we might recognize the overlapping values that both religious and secular people share when it comes to the moral and material direction of our country. We might recognize that the call to sacrifice on behalf of the next generation, the need to think in terms of “thou” and not just “I” resonates in religious congregations across the country. And we might realize that we have the ability to reach out to the evangelical community and engage millions of religious Americans in the larger project of America’s renewal.”
June 29, 2011 at 6:29 pm
That is an interesting speech, Craig. Since I’m not a progressive, it isn’t necessary for me to buy off on the crystal mystic revelations or life’s true liberations, that the dawning of the age of Obamious hastened.
Lincoln’s God indeed revealed himself to be a terrible avenger, wreaking havoc on the United States in the form of the Civil War for its sin of slavery. In this idea, Abe’s view was little different from the idea that the tsunami in the indian ocean was god’s revenge for the lack of christianity in the region.
God as the mystic avenger is one answer to the problem of pain, it’s just not one I can buy off on. People get sick because they’ve sinned, they’re poor because they’ve sinned, and rich, healthy people are blessed by god because they’re godly.
The great american experiment, based on deism and natural law, may have failed because of the failure of it’s underlying philosophy. But that doesn’t make it any less anti american to reject the expressed ideas in the Declaration.
June 29, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Another thing is that you’ve presented a double standard: If a guy assassinates a celebrity and says it was god’s will that was shared only with the assassin, you’d call him crazy.
Why is it that when someone says it’s god’s will that they end abortion, or lower taxes, you think that’s okay? It’s the same warped behavior.
Our nation was founded by men who at most believed in a Deist notion of god. They did not want us ruled by any king–British or otherwise. And we should still care about that notion.
June 29, 2011 at 4:13 pm
I don’t think we can chalk all belief in gods up to mental illness. Whether those beliefs are true or not, whether I agree with those beliefs or not, the vast majority of human holds something along those lines making it normal by definition. That said, normal does not equate to right or good.
As to Bachmann’s beliefs in particular, I’d say those likely lie out toward the edges of the bell curve. I didn’t really have a good feel for the depth of her “alternate reality” until listening to this on Democracy Now the other day:
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/6/28/a_perfect_product_of_the_religious
I don’t vote, but I’m rooting for Sarah Palin on the Republican side. I would like to see some more Tina Fey parodies of her. :-)
June 29, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Please vote. It’s important.
I, too, like Tina Fey’s impersonation BUT I’m not rooting for Palin
June 29, 2011 at 4:33 pm
I think voting is both unethical and bad strategy:
http://crackerscentral.com/wordpress/?p=1323
http://crackerscentral.com/wordpress/?p=1491
Plus I hold with Henry David Thoreau that voting is doing nothing toward what is right. I tend more toward his advice to “Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence. A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight.” I am a fan of Gene Sharp’s Methods for Nonviolent Action as the means by which I cast my whole vote and not a strip of paper merely.
If you’re not rooting for Palin on the Republican side, who are you rooting for on that side? If I thought it were at all a possibility, I would root for Ron Paul on the Republican side, but no doubt they will never let that happen. He’s got problems, but so far as I know, he’s the only anti-war, anti-Gitmo, anti-drug war candidate in the entire pool. No way will the Republicans nominate someone to the left of Obama, though, and for some reason neither will Democrats.
June 29, 2011 at 4:19 pm
And, for the record, I’m not saying belief is a mental illness. I am saying that believing your choices are dictated by god is demented and allows for big gaps in morality. (What would Michele do if god told her to sacrifice her child, for instance?)
June 29, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Honestly, I don’t believe she’d do that. It would make it really hard to get elected. I think she’d somehow manage to hear that God didn’t actually want her to do that kind of like how the LDS church conveniently figured out that God suddenly wanted them to stop (or at least ease up on) discriminating against blacks at a very politically convenient time.
June 29, 2011 at 5:05 pm
Again, I refer you to Obama’s speech he addresses your “demented” concern.
Duganz, did you know that Jon Tester belongs to the Church of God? See their tenets of faith: http://churchofgod.org/declaration-of-faith&phpMyAdmin=EyPnWE74if52AvqTJ13,OH6xVv1
Obama, Bachmann, and Tester all seem to share the same belief in God’s Word inspiring and directing their respective lives.
June 29, 2011 at 5:25 pm
House, Senate and WH… and I think more than a few Supreme Court Justices fall in this boat–the holy trinity. Now we know why politics is so screwed up.
If there was a divine being, and he/she/it was speaking divinely to those folks, don’t you think the message would be “get along and play nice, do the right thing, and here it is…”? Or does the One True God™ have a wicked bad sense of humor?
June 29, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Well, the Blackfeet referred to Na’pe as a supernatural trickster.
June 29, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Dispensational premillinialism was regarded as heresy for centuries, until sometime in the 19th century. I remember reading Hal Lindsay’s “The Late Great Planet Earth”. It’s the same religious belief that was proffered by the guy who just predicted the rapture would happen last month. I wonder if that is really what any of them truly believe, or are they more like american catholics and picking and choosing which parts of the doctrinal beliefs to take and which parts to leave behind?
June 29, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Yes. Bad sense of humor. Look at hurricanes. Why would an omnipotent and divine being design hurricanes? Bad idea of a joke.
June 30, 2011 at 9:01 am
You raise an important question here. “Why would an omnipotent and divine being design hurricanes?”
A simple answer: “Because that being is omnipotent, divine and it can do whatever it wants. Who are you to ask?”
I think you are really asking, “How can a omnipotent and divine being who designed hurricanes be good?”
An answer: “That which is destroyed by hurricanes is not good.”
What I believe is a more complete answer to this question is summarized in this excerpt from a collect:
“Open our eyes to see that our bodies, restored by You in Holy Baptism, proclaim the goodness of Your creative will, that in paradise we will come to the fullness of what You created us to be; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”
How do you answer the problem of evil? What do you believe is the explanation for evil in the world?
June 30, 2011 at 10:16 am
Evil existed before god. Evil existed before some people stopped telling stories about many gods, and afforded all powers of “divinity” to one god—one jealous god.
But we disagree on a fundamental point: you think it went god, then man, and I think it went man, then god. We’re not going to change the other’s mind.
So that’s my answer, that evil existed before the god of Abraham—back when pre-human ape1 smacked pre-human ape2 because ape2 had more berries than he. It could have been something else. Actually looking at how animals act, and our morality today, it’s probably a rape or murder that was the first act of evil.
Also, the easy answer about god and hurricane’s isn’t that hurricanes hit “bad” places. It’s that the is no god and weather patterns are not decided by divine intervention. That’s the easier answer because we know how hurricanes are created. We don’t need god to explain them.
June 30, 2011 at 11:36 am
Yes we disagree. From your response you appear to accept Darwin’s followed by Freud’s hypothesis on the development of species and religion. Many people do. Do you like Nietzsche as well?
In your response you tell us that apes were the source of willful evil. Change that to human’s and we are in agreement. I just can’t buy that apes have the same level of moral understanding as humans, and therefore the same moral obligations.
June 30, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Then again, you seem to imply that you see no connection between man and ape. That’s a fundamental difference of opinion. We are apes, just smart apes.
As far as Neitzche goes, well like all philosophers he touches in some good stuff. But I wouldn’t call myself a Neitzche fan by any means.
However, I feel as if you’re only talking about Fred because you want to imply a link between Nazism and atheism, which is not true at all. Atheism is not a philosophy, it is, simply, a lack of belief in god(s). Humanism is associated with atheism, and that’s a philosophy, but one need not lack belief to be a humanist.
If I’m assuming too much, my apologies.
July 1, 2011 at 5:52 am
I am glad that you see the human heart as an important source of evil. You have that in common with Jesus.
Jesus said: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies;” Matthew 15:19.
You make a correct assumption that I would connect Atheism with the German National Socialists (NAZI), but also every other regime that led to a blood bath: The French Revolution, Lenin, Mao, etc. All good humanists.
I am having a hard time recalling any deranged people who because they thought that God was talking to them led to such disregard for human life. (Maybe the Muslims)
I also see a bit of irrational fear in the article you cite from Rolling Stone on Bachmann. As a matter of fact, to cite Rolling Stone as a source of important information at is a bit irrational. Having spent a meal with a Rolling Stone reporter, and then having read the resulting article, I can personally attest to their lack of journalistic ethics. Instead of quoting the Bible maybe I should pick up a tabloid by the grocery store check out and start using that as my source of wisdom.
July 1, 2011 at 9:24 am
“deriving their just (righteous) powers from the consent of the governed”.
“none are righteous (just), no, not one”.
So which is it? Do individuals have within themselves, the judgment and righteousness to impart just powers to their government, or are they born a wicked evil ignorant rabble (mostly foreordained to a lake of eternal fire) to be ruled by authorities granted their power by god?
Americans believe the former. The Bible says the latter. This is the most radical american revolution.
July 1, 2011 at 11:43 am
Humanism is not a philosophy of violence, but I’m not getting into this debate with you about religious/violence and atheist/violence. Plenty of religious people have killed: Spartans, Romans, French, the Mafia, al Qaeda, Czarist Russia, Nazis (Hitler was a Christian, sir), Mao (who built a cult about himself), Communist Russia (Lenin was on display as a prohpet upon his death… Like that crucifix)—religion or lack thereof does not lead to violence. Being a violent asshole leads to awful outcomes.
Also, if you’re looking for deranged murderers and can’t find a christian… You’re just not looking. Ever heard of Eric Rudolph? Timothy McVeigh. I’m not saying they killed because of religion. They killed because they were assholes. Asshole psychopaths kill because that’s what asshole psychopaths do.
Do ascribe violence to anything other than individual choice, is to miss the point entirely. Atheism didn’t cause the holocaust anymore than Catholicism causes pedophilia. Bad people do bad things.
That’s how, as an atheist I can still be a good person. Cause I’m not an asshole. Believing in god will not make me a kinder person, or a more giving person.
June 29, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Just because a majority believes something doesn’t make it right. Or less irrational.
June 29, 2011 at 5:15 pm
As I understand it, Bachmann is easily influenced, is really a product of her husband, Marcus Bachmann, who holds quite rigid views that happen to overlap with Michele’s. (She has a gay half-sister, and they are not on good terms.) This has something to do with her inability to back up her beliefs with reason – she merely adopts those beliefs unquestioningly, and so does not know why she thinks what she thinks. It comes across as stupidity, but it’s a little freakier than that, as if she is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.
She really needs to breathe some fresh air, think her own thoughts.
June 29, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Michelle Bachman isn’t crazy. It’s not “crazy” to believe in revealed religion, but it’s not an insult to reject it as a irrational. Faith is the negation of reason (there’s that crazy Ayn Rand again). Michelle’s error is “christian nationalism” or “christianist” politics. John Eidsmoe one of her biggest influences, argued that the United States was founded as a Christian theocracy (most of the colonies established religion, Massachusettes hanged quakers simply for preaching their religion), but the Declaration rejected that. Her beliefs are the opposite of Thomas Jefferson’s idea that governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed” .He compared America to old testament Israel (who, among other things, claimed that god stopped the sun in the sky to facilitate a genocide)
Christian nationalism, or a christianist, would include a literal interpretation of scripture to be taught as science, legalize hostility to the rights of individuals, and make a call for pentateuchal proscriptions to be made law, etc.They might even call for a return of “test oaths” where a person must swear fealty to and belief in the established religion in order to hold office, or raise their children, or vote, or own property, you know, the things that were law before Jefferson and Madison disestablished religion.
Essentially Bachman is as far from the Jefferson and Madison’s American way as 180 degrees can get her. That’s no tea party, it’s communion.
June 29, 2011 at 6:23 pm
While we may not totally agree, I think we’re on the same side here. Lots of good points Goof.
June 29, 2011 at 6:32 pm
betrayed again by the little purple rabbit
June 29, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Goof, this discussion started with Duganz calling Bachmann crazy for believing in the Christian conversation with God through prayer. She said:
I compared her belief to Obama’s and Tester’s. In fact an Obama spokesman said of the president, “He prays every day. He communicates with his religious advisor every single day. There’s a group of pastors that he takes counsel from on a regular basis. And his faith is very important to him…” Obama has stated, “I felt I heard God’s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.” Tester’s faith also has it’s God based tenets of belief.
Attacking Backmann over her faith is supremely bad form when remaining silent on how “progressives” like Obama and Tester share the belief that God speaks to their hearts too.
June 29, 2011 at 6:50 pm
I didn’t “remain silent.” I said that Obama’s remarks were equally crazy. Smart people believe crazy things all the time. If I heard the president say that god told him to create WallStreet reform, I would say that is a crazy thing.
Crazy has no political line.
June 29, 2011 at 6:59 pm
You prefaced your comment with “If…” As to your claim that crazy has no political line, then why did you only compare Bachmann to fellow Republicans and step past Dems like Obama and Tester, men of faith whose beliefs guide their lives?
June 29, 2011 at 7:11 pm
I’ve compared her to no one but herself. Obviously this post touched a nerve, Craig, but please only accuse me of things I’ve actually done. You surely have a real dog in this fight, and I’m assuming you can continue to make an argument against me. So do that rather than make things up. I know you’re capable of better.
June 29, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Here was the comment, “Bachmann, Palin, GW Bush… so many politicians think god is telling them things.”
I was mistaken for attributing it to you. It was in the 1st comment following your post. My brain missed the change in author. Sorry!
Following that comparison, did you provide greater context without my pointing to Obama and Tester or were you content to let that comment stand without challenge?
June 29, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Craig my post was limited to smacking a singular person and directing people to an article about her. You’re right that I should have spread the backhands, but I was trying to focus solely on Bachmann as she is making a real run for the highest chair in the land. (And should she get there it will be just that: a high chair.) Im glad that you were here to give greater context, and I think that helped open the discussion.
But you’re right. I should have thrown more people under the bus by naming them. My bad. They’re all a bit crazy.
June 29, 2011 at 6:41 pm
christianity is the result of temporal lobe epilepsy.
Bachmann will be eliminated long before anyone in Montana gets a chance to vote for her. She will drive the dialogue well into the fascist wing of the GOP forcing whatever earth hater emerges as that party’s nominee to waffle in the general election.
This primary season is going to be so much fun!
June 29, 2011 at 6:41 pm
http://www.slate.com/id/2298087/?wpisrc=newsletter_rubric
funniest line is about Al Gore, but Hitchens’ pointing out the little John Wayne…Gacy goof is pretty funny, too.
June 29, 2011 at 6:53 pm
whenever i hear a politician spout off about their personal religion i think to myself, they are either pandering or insane.
religion has no legitimate place in politics if we are serious about striving to maintain our personal freedoms in this country.
this country was founded by people trying to escape the lasso of nationally endorsed religious sects.
June 29, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Pbear, you have got it completely wrong. The Pilgrims and others who came her brought their own religions with them. They did not accept competing faiths in their respective communities, AND they wove their faith and government agencies together as they experienced in Europe.
June 29, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Calvinism christianity is fascism: http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/dabney/5points.htm
The LDS is socialism: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/51308137-82/mormon-book-poor-saints.html.csp
A Romney/Bachmann ticket would be hypocritheocrisy.
June 29, 2011 at 7:32 pm
personal religion has no place in politics craig.
yes, craig. they brought their own religions with them because they were being persecuted by the anglican and catholic (papal based) governments they risked their lives crossing the atlantic in tiny boats to escape.
so are you saying that because we have many different religions in this country this proves that our system of separation of church and state should not be defended?
June 29, 2011 at 7:40 pm
Pbear, this is my last comment here before I remove myself again.
You said, “this country was founded by people trying to escape the lasso of nationally endorsed religious sects.”
That is untrue. The people that came here brought their religions with them. They had no tolerance for competing religions by the Indians or other immigrants. They also had no qualms with church state melding so long as it was their church.
July 2, 2011 at 8:38 am
Oh please don’t go away, Craig! I so value your dropping in and getting out before being forced to defend your brain droppings.
June 29, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Craig Moore is exactly right. The colonists didn’t come to america seeking “religious freedom” as we know it. They came to set up exactly what they knew in Europe, religious tyranny, but just their own variety. That’s the puritans hanging witches and quakers, Virginians jailing Baptists. Roger Williams, kicked out of Massachusettes, and founding Rhode Island, began to develop the idea of separation of church and state.
June 29, 2011 at 9:07 pm
obviously, michelle bachmann and other religious fanatic politicians have either never read these words or they choose to ignore them. i choose to not ignore them. i believe they form the basis of religious freedom in this country……
“II. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.”
written by Thomas Jefferson in 1777. It promoted religious freedom for the state of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison promoted the bill for years before it was finally passed by the Virginia legislature. At the time, the Anglican Church was officially recognized as the state religion. The law disestablished that denomination. An alternative proposal that many other denominations be recognized was rejected.
This bill is often called “the precursor to the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment” of the U.S. Constitution. 1 It is this Amendment that guarantees religious freedom for the individual, while erecting a wall of separation between church and government.
June 29, 2011 at 9:25 pm
as long as michelle’s religious beliefs stay in her church and don’t creep into making laws in this country i have no problem with her religious beliefs, swede. americans who love liberty don’t like laws pushed by blind servants to sanctimonious faith. they prefer reason.
michelle’s inability to grasp this subtle but very important foundational pillar of our freedoms is proof of why our founding fathers like thomas jefferson and madison pushed for separation of church and state.
June 29, 2011 at 9:18 pm
You guys burnt down Palin’s church, when ya torching Michele’s?
June 29, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Sigh…. Real productive Swede.
June 30, 2011 at 7:50 am
…and character assassination based on religious beliefs is?
June 30, 2011 at 7:53 am
Catholicism…
June 30, 2011 at 10:18 am
Yeah. Cause Bachmann would neeeeeeever judge people because they lack her faith. Blinders much?
June 30, 2011 at 1:45 pm
You guys were judge and jury.
Remember when you campaigned against W? If we elect him churches will burn?
Fast forward to ’08 and Wasilla Bible goes up in flames.
June 30, 2011 at 6:00 pm
The phrase “you guts” implies a lot Swede. Particularly that I advocate violence, which I do not. And I don’t appreciate you implying that.
Have a real discussion, or find something else to do with your time.
June 30, 2011 at 8:56 pm
How do suppose the arsonist became so enraged?
June 30, 2011 at 9:09 pm
if you know who did it after 3 years swede by all means alert the authorities. but don’t come around here throwing out accusations at us without expecting me to rise up and smack you down.
that shit aint funny. and if it keeps up i will have to ask this author to show you the door.
nobody around here advocates any sort of violence and you know it. as far as your phony politically motivated accusations go, it is just as likely to be a crazy person acting on tin foil directives or a disgruntled church member. .
June 30, 2011 at 9:28 pm
This from the gang that accuses tea party people of being skin-headed racists?
June 30, 2011 at 9:33 pm
you owe us an apology for accusing us of arson swede and to be fair i have no idea what condition your hairline might be in.
June 30, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Swede, I’ve never called the Tea Partiers skinheads. I have called out segments as being racist–those segments that are, indeed, racist. But I don’t try to judge other people’s hearts. Obviously you do and you’ve condemned me, and others, as being proponents of violence.
I don’t need to defend myself to you, nor do I care to. Think what you will. But at least take note of the fact that you’re playing the role of fabulist.
June 30, 2011 at 10:15 pm
seems like swede lost his customary snarky sense of humor on this post mr duganz. he must be pining after michelle pretty bad to lose it like this. i guess you got to him.
June 29, 2011 at 9:20 pm
is it possible in our current political climate for a candidate to run for higher office without professing some sort of fealty to a higher power? if you think yes, please explain.
because the answer for most respondents to that question is probably no.
June 29, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Only 49 percent of americans would vote for a candidate if they thought he or she was an atheist, even if they agreed with everything else that candidate stood for. That’s the lowest percentage polled. B
June 29, 2011 at 9:29 pm
possible to run? yes. of course. win? we won’t know that until someone tries it.
June 29, 2011 at 9:55 pm
i would love to see someone try. an atheist, though, might not be allowed to talk about anything other than their obviously depraved godlessness.
but i would have to agree with linking prophet Bachman to insanity. personally i think anyone who elevates words written by humans to the unassailable word of God are dangerously delusional.
June 29, 2011 at 9:59 pm
i should probably add that i’m agnostic, which i credit in part to psilocybin and LSD. i guess some part of me refuses to believe this life is all there is.
June 29, 2011 at 10:36 pm
And that’s the truth. The discussion would be about their lack of faith rather than the issues.
Years ago I saw a sign that read, “Vote bible!” All I could think was, “What if the ‘bible’ candidate is for killing everyone named Bob? Are they still a good candidate because they believe in god?” I doubt i’ll ever get an answer from someone like that.
June 30, 2011 at 11:06 am
It’s really, really embarrassing that our country still offically worships an invisible sky god.
June 30, 2011 at 11:55 am
Worship whatever the hell you want. Just keep it out of my government.
June 30, 2011 at 1:41 pm
That’s the issue pbear, some people can’t leave it out of government. Some think only christians should run government, and we should all worship the same way. It’s terrifying, and downright evil.
June 30, 2011 at 5:48 pm
You know who she kind of looks like?
Did I just pull an Ingy?
July 2, 2011 at 10:07 pm
speaking of the hypocrisy of the tea party, this column spells out the rotten truth about michelle bachman and her so -called adherence to less government……
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/conservative-cash-crop/?hp
i especially liked the part where we see the true colors of this fighter against big government- the part where she and her husband are neck deep in scooping up government subsidies and grants…..
“…But what is more troubling is the issue raised by taxpayer payments for various Bachmann family enterprises. This is where rigid ideology meets mushy reality. The Bachmann family farm in Wisconsin got $251,000 in federal handouts from 1995 to 2009, according to the invaluable table of subsidies put out annually by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based research organization…”
more phony values are uncovered here….
“Her husband, Marcus Bachmann, while farming the government one way through the business of his parents, tills another field of federal money with his mental health clinic in Lake Elmo, Minn., which offers “quality Christian counseling” for the troubled. The clinic has collected Medicaid payments of roughly $137,000 since 2005, NBC News reported this week, on top of $24,000 in state funds to train the clinic’s staff.
Fine. It’s all legal. Wouldn’t every small business love to have a stream of reliable government revenue. And the hypocrisy of a socialism-hating Tea Party leader professing to own a piece of a farm that has been engaged in the nation’s most indefensible socialist scheme is just standard behavior for a politician worthy of the calling.”
michelle bachman is the very figurehead of tea party values who recruited our own congressman denny rehberg to sign the pledge. i am beginning to wonder if the pledge includes the following hidden clause…..
i will piggishly help myself to every government check that comes my way while asking the poor, seniors and our disabled to give up social security and medicare.