My, my, my – demagogic Bachmann has some explaining to do.
by Ben Howe
What’s worse than a mandatory vaccination that never actually came to law and, even if it had, contained an opt-out? According to Michele Bachmann, nothing. In fact, if you listen to Michele Bachmann these days, you’d think Governor Perry was strapping 12 year old children to tables to inject them when he takes breaks from using the other needle on inmates.
Bachmann is making the case that opposing vaccinations required by the state is fundamentally a conservative issue, which is news to many conservatives given that mandatory vaccinations have been around as long as they have, and, to my knowledge, we haven’t made it a big part of the Republican platform to oppose them. But if you listened to Bachmann last night, it’s clear that she believes this is the type of issue on which a presidential candidate must stand, must do the right thing, and cannot waver in putting this forth as a conservative principle lest we risk infecting millions of children with mental retardation.
Has this always been an enormous part of this warrior’s soul? Apparently not.
By all appearances, she felt no need to mention, much less work towards stopping, a vaccination that, by her own standards, is an assault on liberty. Even more so actually. The HPV vaccination, while called mandatory, made available an opt-out provision so that the parental rights that she felt were so paramount could be protected in this decision. The Hepatitis B vaccination in Minnesota (state law since 1993) doesn’t even require parental consent at all. And Hep B’s communicability is similar to HPV in that it is primarily transmitted through intercourse, as opposed to being an airborne illness. Currently, no records can be found of Michele Bachmann sponsoring legislation in the Minnesota legislature to repeal the Hep B vaccination or to add a parental opt-out.
Congressman Bachmann served in the Minnesota congress for 5 years. In all that time, she never felt quite as driven by her parental instincts and conservative nature to decry or work to reverse what now she clearly consider to be an incredible breach of conservative values. I wonder what’s changed? Were the children of Minnesota not important enough? Is it only robbing a childhood if it’s vaccinations that her opponent supported but the one’s back home are just fine? Did she lack the same leadership qualities then? She’s been touting her leadership abilities in the Congress for months, but so far, other than a state record of not opposing or even mentioning laws that are even worse than the law she’s now savaging Rick Perry over (which in his case, never became law anyway), a federal record of passing zero bills with her name on it, and campaigning with all of the tact and style of a 19 year old pop-music singer who overestimates her own importance, I’m failing to see what qualifies her for president.
But it’s not quite enough for her to attack Governor Perry for his desire to put forth a vaccination program that is not at all controversial when compared to other vaccination programs that exist with little uproar in various states (including Pennsylvania Mr. Santorum). As Erick noted earlier today, she’s going to take a minor rhetorical win and blow it up to insane proportions that stretch even the most ardent supporters’ ability to excuse her behavior.
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I’ve already gone through my thoughts on Rick Perry’s actions and what they ultimately will mean to my support of him, so I feel no need to rehash it here, but having already heard a lot of discussion about candidates playing on the fears of voters, the quote in bold above is simply beyond the pale. To compare government subsidized abortion to the moderately normal and societally acceptable practice of mandating vaccines takes hyperbole into the stratosphere and was the moment I became more than happy to burn the bridge with this person.
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Read the rest – Bachmann stayed quiet on Mandatory vaccinations while serving in Minnesota
She’s done.
Bumr50 wrote:
She should never even have been a candidate. Can you imagine the type of idiot who would agree to be her running mate?
Speranza wrote:
I’ll disagree there. She brings an impoortant perspective to the debate. Before Perry entered the race, she was the only person really bringing the Tea Party to thetable. Her Guardisil position, though, is untenable. It has really destroyed her candidacy, and I had had high hopes for her.
@ Iron Fist:
We will disagree. She doesn’t represent my wing of the Tea Party.
She don’t speak for me.
Rubio and Allen West represent my Tea Party views. Bachmann just adopted the label to push her angry and bitter views.
Good riddance to her.
@ Iron Fist:
I agree.
The whole point of a primary is to bring issues to light, and Bachmann’s voice is one of Tea Party conservatism.
She’s exposed herself as a lousy candidate for President, but I’m glad that she’s got a seat in the House.
She simply made a poor campaign decision, and followed it up by doubling down on it.
This is HEALTHY for the GOP. We need to have these arguments. NOT having these arguments leads to Bob Dole and John McCain.
I would hope that the other candidates continue to challenge both Perry and Romney, and not simply roll over and defer to one or the other. That’s insane.
@ Bumr50:
WHo selected Bachmann a Tea Party voice? What values does she share? She’s an angry bitter woman.
Rodan wrote:
That is an MFM characterization of her. She speaks for the base on most issues. Take gay marriage, which was so decisive in the NY-9 race. Being pro-gay marriage is a loser even among Democrat populations. Her opposition simply gives voice to what a majority of the country (and the culture) feels. I’m sorry (well, not really sorry), but the pro-gay agenda schtick only works in the big Liberal cities. It doesn’t sell in the rest of the country.
@ Iron Fist:
My feeling is that she is a shallow person who speaks in platitudes.
@ Speranza:
She’s a politician. What do you expect? Socrates? They killed him for his deep thoughts. We aren’t going to get that dfrom our political class, no matter which side of the aisle they are on. Look at all the hell Perry is getting for calling Social Security what it is. Perry is the absolute best we can expect from the political class. I am real afraid he won’t make it, just because he is so honest.
@ Rodan:
If you think that she needs primaried out of her seat, that’s your opinion.
She’s not without personality flaws, but I’m personally pretty happy that she’s there, and am not going to roundly condemn her.
She’s exposed herself as a lousy Presidential candidate, and she’s not going to win.
@ Iron Fist:
It is a long way to go. Perry will get better in his debating skills. Obama is beatable – he has a record he cannot run away from.
@ Speranza:
That is the way I feel about it. The more I learn of Perry, the more confident that the man is the person we need as the next President of the United States. He is head ands shoulders above Romney, and Obama doesn’t even register on that scale.
Steven Hayward from Powerline has this to say in a post
“Giving up on Bachmann”
And then Sarah joined the Perry pile-on on Greta Monday night.
Both of them: dead to me.
Speranza wrote:
I’m growing rather weary of Sarah, myself. I mean, I like the lady, really I do, but I don’t consider it necessary for her to comment on everything currently at issue in the arena. I’m likewise growing weary of the speculation that she’s going to enter the race. I hope she doesn’t, because like it or not, she’s a polarizing figure and skews negative in the polls.
Carolina Girl wrote:
Her polling even amongst Republicans has too many negatives. In 2008 she was a breath of fresh air, three years later she is rather stale.
Ha bachman vaccinations has theblogmocracy as the number 2 result in Google.
Vaccine Safety and Vaccine Intelligence should be the focus. Whooping cough is a horrible disease for a kid to get when a vaccination is available. The first step towards vaccine safety will be government transparency. else there will always be disbelievers. but it will be like convincing troofers that steel melts. but the government case for vaccinations and their risk should be very upfront with money made as a side issue
Rodan wrote:
Who selected Rick Perry as a Tea Party voice? Who selected Marco Rubio or Allen West as a Tea Party voice? The same people who selected Michele Bachmann as a Tea Party voice: Tea Partiers!
Speranza wrote:
It would be nice if either of you could give me a real reason for why Sarah shouldn’t run in 2012. Poll results and personal feelings don’t make good reasons.
I’m glad Bachmann is in the HoR and I hope she stays there for a long time to come.
(that’s me practicing saying something a little unpleasant like “I don’t really want her as the GOP Presidential Candidate” while not being unpleasant. how’d I do?)
My opinion was solidified when she blathered on about how horrible to force 12 year old little girls to get a vaccine but she just had to refer to it as “an injection into their bodies”. So, she doesn’t want to help protect these little girls from Cervical Cancer later in life? Well, God forbid one of Bachmanns daughters gets cervical cancer later and then she gets to explain to the now grown and likely to be infertile young woman why her own mother failed to protect her when a vaccine was available. This is a losing proposition and she hung herself with it by doubling down and saying (paraphrase) that some woman she’d never met before told her that her daughter got mental retardation from the vaccine. really? come on.