Republican Michele Bachmann has become the lead conspiracy theorist in the U.S. Congress. She has always been flakey (God talking directly to her and telling her to run for Congress is a good example) and her judgment always questionable (calling Obama anti-American was pretty hard to beat) but lately she is becoming completely irresponsible. Some of us are wondering if she might have some type of medical problem. (hint: mental) Her latest calls for the people of Minnesota to become “armed and dangerous” on opposing cap and trade is way over the top. It does seem like there should be some basic limitations to what members of Congress can call for, and calling for an armed revolution is a strange thing for the rest of Congress to tolerate from any member. I mean, they’re members of the government themselves, so they should understand the need for the law they represent to be obeyed, at least.
But not Ms. Bachmann. Bachmann’s latest conspiracy theory is two-pronged. Conspiracy One: President Obama is trying to destroy America by going along with a one-world currency, and/or destroying the dollar despite that he has denied this and said he has no intention of going along with China’s suggestion– which wasn’t about what she says it was about to begin with. (See China suggests switch from dollar). This sort of deliberate misunderstanding of a simple event, and then twisting the facts to present it as anti-American behavior from a “Democrat” is the hallmark of how Bachmann operates. It’s her standard MO. This is not something anyone in Minnesota should tolerate.
Conspiracy Two: Global warming is caused by solar flares and other natural things (like the voices in her head); not by people at all, and her deliberate false statements that President Obama will use the global warming issue to set up the one-world currency, or to tax us all to death, or some such other ridiculous thing to “destroy our country”. Direct quote from last week:
“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, “Having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,” and the people – we the people – are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.”
Ridiculous and dishonest and deliberately misleading. She actually feels that doing something about climate change, by limiting and eventually ending greenhouse gas emissions, is some sort of conspiracy to destroy America.
It might even be understandable, (from a right-wing point of view), if her conspiracy theories made sense or were based on reality, but that’s not the case.
I should also add that (due to no fault of my own) she is my Congressman, which really pisses me off. On April 9th, she is going to hold what she is calling a “climate forum” in my city. This will amount to a skeptics forum where she will present her disbelief of global warming as a fact. That also really pisses me off. (I’ll write about that later after it takes place.)
The following is a great description of her current madness, completely with Updates, from Think Progress. Keep in mind that nothing she said in this exchange is true, or could be imagined as true, in the mind of anyone who is considered honest.
Earlier this week, right-wing fanatic Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) started peddling false conspiracy theories that the world was moving toward a unified global currency — and that the U.S. might join in as early as next week’s G-20 conference. The myth was started when China’s central bank governor suggested replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Though the suggestion has nothing to do with a unified global currency, Fox News’ Major Garrett decided to ask President Obama whether he supported the fictional prospect of such a move. (Obama, for the record, does not.)
Today on Glenn Beck’s radio show, Bachmann declared that the U.S. will soon be moving to “give up the dollar as our currency and we would just go with a One World currency.” Such action, she warned, would mean the U.S. as a country would be “no more”:
BACHMANN: As you know, Russia, China, Brazil, India, South Africa, many nations have lined up now and have called for an international global currency, a One World currency and they want to get off of the dollar as the reserve currency.
BECK: Most people don’t understand, Michele, what that means.
BACHMANN: What that means is all of the countries in the world would have a single currency. We would give up the dollar as our currency and we would just go with a One World currency. … If we give up the dollar as our standard, and co-mingle the value of the dollar with the value of coinage in Zimbabwe, that dilutes our money supply. We lose control over our economy. And economic liberty is inextricably entwined with political liberty. Once you lose your economic freedom, you lose your political freedom. And then we are no more, as an exceptional nation, as we always have been. So this is imperative.
Bachmann claimed that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was “open” to the One World currency. (In reality, he only said he was open to changes in the IMF special drawing rights, and reaffirmed his commitment to the dollar.) Beck warned that speaking out about the global currency gets one labeled a “kook,” but Bachmann brushed off such concerns, saying she’s been called that “throughout [her] political career”:
BACHMANN: Well, Glenn, I have experienced that throughout my political career, being labeled a kook. It just happened again in a big story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. But all we have to do is point to the treasury secretary on tape, on camera. This is not Michele Bachmann being a kook. This is our treasury secretary on tape and on camera.
Listen to it:
Transcript:
BACHMANN: But let me tell you, there’s something that’s happening this week in congress that could be the eventual unraveling for our freedom and it was this. I have also asked the treasury secretary and Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chair, if they would categorically denounce taking the United States off of the dollar and putting us on an international global currency because as you know, Russia, China, Brazil, India, South Africa, many nations have lined up now and have called for an international global currency, a one world currency and they want to get off of the dollar as the reserve currency.
BECK: Most people don’t understand, Michele, what that means.
BACHMANN: What that means is all of the countries in the world would have a single currency. We would give up the dollar as our currency and we would just go with a one world currency and now for the first time we’re seeing major countries like China, India, Russia, countries like that calling for a one world currency and they want this discussion to occur at the G20. So I asked both the treasury secretary and the Federal Reserve chair if they would categorically denounce this. The reason why is because if we give up the dollar as our standard and commingle the value of a dollar with the value of coinage in Zimbabwe, that dilutes our money supply. We lose control over our economy and economic liberty is inextricably entwined with political liberty. Once you lose your economic freedom, you’ve lost your political freedom and then we are no more as an exceptional nation as we always have been. So this is imperative. Well, what happened, the day after I asked that question for the treasury secretary, secretary Geithner went before the council on foreign relations and the same subject came up. After that meeting after he categorically denounced it to me, he said to the council on foreign relations he would be open to this proposal of a single currency, of expanding the international monetary funds’ special drawing down rates. That’s what they’re called. And this created a huge firestorm which the value of the dollar literally tumbled upon his words when he said that.
BECK: Right. And then somebody said, “I think you want to revisit that again.” And he did and he said, “Well, no, I don’t mean…”
[…]
BECK: And what’s going to happen is if you start to talk about a global currency which I’m telling you there’s no way out of what we’re doing now besides devaluing the dollar to pay off our debt and then have a new currency. There’s just no other way.
BACHMANN: But we can stop that.
BECK: Wait a minute. Congresswoman, what happens is when you stand up and when you say those things, then you’re deemed a kook. Then you’re deemed a militia member. And there are too many people in America that will still listen to the mainstream media. They will still listen to, you know, to those in Washington on both sides of the aisle that say, “Oh, no, well, that’s never going to happen.” And so they sit there and do nothing. And those who do want to do something are afraid because they don’t want to be deemed a kook. And they also are tired of being played by politicians in Washington.
BACHMANN: Well, Glenn, I have experienced that throughout my political career being labeled a kook. It just happened again in a big story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. But all we have to do is point to the treasury secretary on tape, on camera. This is not Michele Bachmann being a kook. This is our treasury secretary on tape and on camera. And also we now have countries across the world asking for this. That’s why I went to my fellow colleagues and I dropped a bill day before yesterday that would bind the president’s hands, that wouldn’t allow him to enter into a treaty or an international agreement to take us off the dollar and put us on an international currency.
Keep in mind that these aren’t just two weirdos hiding out in a cabin somewhere. Beck has a show on a major cable news network and Bachmann has a seat in Congress.
Conclusion: Bachmann is either incredibly dishonest or incredibly stupid. I don’t think she is stupid, which means she is being purposely dishonest and extraordinarily partisan, for no apparent reason.
To everyone who thinks the people of Minnesota voted for her, I don’t think they did. They voted for an image she portrayed as a family woman who used to be a tax attorney, not a crazed conspiracy theorist who exaggerates every Republican talking point. What seems to be happening with Bachmann is that she takes standard Republican talking points (and that’s all these are) and embellishes them, exaggerates them, and adds her own crazy spin. The problem lately is that she a growing embarrassment for the people of her state, and our limits of tolerance were reached long ago.
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