Drama In Iowa

Poor Michele Bachmann.  First this:

Then this:

More later.

Michele Bachmann, American Girl

By now we all Tom Petty is none-too-happy with Republican Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's use of one of his songs at a campaign rally.  A nice bit of cultural critique here, from Politico.  The emphasis is mine:

You hear the message of American greatness amplified in the music at Republican rallies, like Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American,” Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn’s “Only in America” and Travis Tritt’s “Rough Around the Edges.”

America is great. As an American and a progressive I celebrate what’s possible only in America, embrace our country’s scrappy rough-hewn edges and admit to tearing up whenever I hear “Proud to be an American.” These songs are played at Democratic rallies, too.

But you also hear music there from progressive songwriters who challenge America to be better than it is. These songs are even more inspiring. They acknowledge that what makes America “exceptional” is our commitment to the principles of liberty, justice and opportunity for all — not just what we have already achieved.

And more, from Sam Seder and Majority Report Radio.  Listen to the whole thing.



Of course, what is interesting is not just that Republicans appropriate iconic pieces of American material culture as their own, but -- why they do so.  Is it done on purpose?  Do they not know exactly what it is that they are claiming their own?  Do they just, not get it?  Is it simply a matter of laziness?

Interesting.  And fun.

Michele Bachmann: The Tale of Two (Or Three) Candidates

By now, we all know Republican Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann had a bit of a schizophrenic week. After officially announcing her plans to seek the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination, her popularity is surging. The latest poll in New Hampshire shows her gaining 8 points since May, and running second to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Good news for her in Iowa, as well.

But then, the controversies. Tom Petty is none-too-happy that she used one of his songs at a rally. It was revealed that her husband has called homosexuals “barbarians” who “need to be educated” and “disciplined.” And this, regarding the darling of the Tea Party:

As Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., tours the country criticizing government as too big and too expensive, the Republican presidential candidate has come under mounting scrutiny over public dollars flowing to family business interests.

There's $259,000 in federal subsidies paid since 1995 to a family farm of which Bachmann is a part owner. Another $30,000 went to Bachmann and Associates Counseling Clinic in the last five years from various state government agencies, including a small payment logged the day after the congresswoman's official 2012 kickoff.

In addition, at least $137,000 came from Medicaid-backed programs for patients using the mental health clinic run by her husband, Marcus Bachmann.

And the gaffes. First confusing the serial killer John Wayne Gacy with the actor, John Wayne. And then mixing up John Quincy Adams with John Adams.

So, we have a candidate surging in popularity, prone to controversies AND gaffes. Never seen that before, huh?

I watched Michele Bachmann’s announcement with interest. And read the text of the speech several times. I saw – unlike Sarah Palin – a hard-working, self-controlled politician. Some sentimentality, yes. But little if any nostalgia for the good-ole-days. And yes, probably principled. And no, not a brain surgeon. My suspicion is that she knows she is prone to gaffes, and like all of us on the workplace, strives to mitigate the possibility of messing up.

Her supporters won’t care about the controversies. And frankly, I think Republicans who are on the fence about who to support will look less at her gaffes, and more at her principled stances and hard-working nature, if she can keep the latter two up.

Working hard and maintaining principals, even while making mistakes – it’s the American way.  She'll get a pass for it.

The Woman From Waterloo

Michele Bachmann, officially in:

WATERLOO, Iowa – Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota formally opened her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday, presenting herself as a forceful conservative who will confront the party’s establishment and not compromise on principles to capture grass-roots enthusiasm that has risen up in opposition to President Obama.

“I seek the presidency not for vanity, but because America is at a crucial moment,” Ms. Bachmann said. “I believe that we must make a bold choice if we are to secure the promise of our future.”

And the video version:



And yes, the text. Read it. Says a lot about how folks can continually be duped into believing in the American Dream.

Everyone deserves the blessings she has. Times have changed, but this country has not lost its spirit. Dreams may be distant, but they are not lost. Trust in god and neighbors, but not government. Americans want solutions, and they don’t much care who it is that dishes them out.

And of course, it’s all about out-of-control government spending.

And here, most interesting. The emphasis is mine.

I grew up a democrat. My first involvement in politics was working for Jimmy Carter's election in 1976. But when I saw the direction President Carter took our country; how his big spending liberal majority grew government, weakened our standing in the world, and how they decreased our liberties, I became a Republican. I remember standing in the kitchen of my grandma's house on Lafayette Street in Waterloo listening to my dad, a Democrat debating the merits of the Great Society with my grandmother, a Republican. I remember her prophetic admonition to my father that the Great Society wouldn't work because it wouldn't be my father's generation who paid for it, but rather my brother, David and me. And now that prediction has come true and neither my democrat father nor my republican grandmother would have condoned this spending and debt.

If you apply that logic, bye-bye Social Security.

Today, Michele Bachmann tugged at the heart strings of the most deeply ingrained precepts of American culture – hard work, individuality, exceptionalism, patriotism – and she did it largely without an overblown sense of nostalgia or sentimentality. A quite smart tactical move, if you ask me.

It will be interesting to see what happens, if she can stick to her script.

One Term President

That would actually be Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), not Barack Obama:

If Republican Michele Bachmann decided to make a run for the presidency, she said it will be without any thoughts of a second term.

"I'm a principled reformer, and my goal is to see the country turn around," she said. "I'm also committed to being a one-term president if that's what it takes in order to turn things around, because this is not about a personal ambition.

"It's about getting our financial house in order and to become respected again in the world on an international scale," Bachmann said in a telephone interview with The Des Moines Register on Friday.

And then this.  You need only watch the first minute.



Someone needs to tell Michele Bachmann that in order to serve a second term as President, she would need to be elected for a first term.  And that's not going to happen. 

Michele Bachmann, Prime Time

So, CNN will be broadcasting Michelle Bachmann’s response to the State of the Union tonight. I am not sure what to call it. An “alternative speech? A “rival” speech? Since it seems to be on behalf of the Tea Party, I guess it’s really neither.

Presently looking for the last time a speech given by a Democrat after a Republican State of the Union – other than the official response, or course – was televised by a major news outlet…  I bet I'm not alone in this endeavor.

Pre-Game Show, Post-Game Show

Pre-Show:

You can find former Clinton-era Secretary of Labor on what President Obama should say at tomorrow’s State of the Union, here.


Post-Show:

And, in addition to the official GOP response from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), you can listen to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann speak on behalf of the Tea Party at www.TeaPartyExpress.org.

David Weigel doesn’t think it’s such a big deal:

Is it a "rival" to the official GOP response from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.)? Not really. In 2008, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius gave the official Democratic response to George W. Bush's final State of the Union. But candidate for president Barack Obama gave one, too.

In 2007, then-presidential-candidate John Edwards counter-programmed Jim Webb. (Apologies if you've eaten before watching this.)

So there's precedent for what Bachmann and the Tea Party Express are doing. It's just that the precedent includes presidential candidates and people with national ambitions.

I am sure the Republican Party is looking to Ryan to best the last two Republican responses. Last year’s response by newly-elected Virginia Gov. McDonnell drew intense criticism when he tried to mimic the State of the Union by giving a speech in the chambers of the Virginia House of Delegates, to a hall full of supporters. And who could forget the 2009 response? Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is still trying to make up for that one.

In offering a rival speech, Michele Bachmann finds herself in the recent company of John Edwards and Barack Obama. Presidential aspirations, indeed. I am not sure she will end up a disgraced politician, like John Edwards. But leader of the free world? Never.