Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum going nowhere
Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 10:23 AM
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They're going nowhere of any great consequence and most of the country already knows it. They may even know it themselves.
Why am I impatient to see the back of them? Because they're raging fundamentalists posing as populists. Because they represent the most backward bigoted echoes of the past. Because the list of Americans they don't like is already too long.
And worst of all, because their social agenda is dragging the GOP into the past not the future.
Both Bachmann and Santorum last week signed the controversial 'pledge' pushed by conservative crackpot Bob Vander Plaats, of the Iowa based group The Family Leader.
The 'pledge' requires candidates to oppose same sex marriage, infidelity, pornography and for good measure Sharia law (which is a hot topic in Des Moines, apparently).
It wouldn't be a social conservative document if there wasn't also a swing at African Americans and sure enough Vander Plaats 'pledge' contained a section which said African American families were better off under slavery.
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'Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President.'
Nice, eh? This week Mitt Romney said he would not sign the 'pledge.' Andrea Saul told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Romney 'strongly supports traditional marriage,' but that the oath circulated last week by The Family Leader 'contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign.'
Meanwhile another controversy surrounding Bachmann's candidacy has emerged. At her husband's counseling center, Bachmann & Associates, he is an enthusiastic practitioner of the completely discredited practice of ex-gay 'reparative' therapy. Gays, Bachmann has stated, are a part of Satan and should be opposed with Christian quack 'therapy.'
As Republican presidential candidate Gary Johnson put it at the weekend, the 'pledge' Bachmann and Santorum signed is odious because it condemn gays, single parents, divorcees, Muslims, women who choose to have abortions 'and everyone else who doesn’t fit in a Norman Rockwell painting.'
These candidates have no chance, but we should oppose them all the more for selling their divisive snake oil (and in the case of the Bachmann's receiving government funding to do so) to the American public.
32 comments
seanomelbourne | Jul 13, 2011, 07:22 PM EDT
A recent poll claimed that 21% of the electorate in the USA are anti blak,mexican right wing christians and we know who they vote for.I wonder if Bachman can convince another 30% of the people to believe her extremist views.
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baileyBD | Jul 13, 2011, 05:10 PM EDT
what a contrived, biased, misleading and biggoted article. So, Christians are out moded? So, Christianity is beneath an "intelligent" person? These candidates, Bachmann and Santorum, are standing up for their Christian values. the writer of this article has grossly misrepresented those mores, mocked those beliefs and misconstrued information to bias the uninformed reader. Santorum and Bachmann, for starters, have not tried to appear to be moderate. And I for one and DAMN SURE against Sharia Law. While I am not against same sex unions, same sex marriage seems too over the top and unnecessary. The Bible says that marriage should be between one man and one woman. I believe the Word of God trumps the whims and rationalizations of mankind. So do many, many Americans. The election that just took place last November is a clear indicator that we wish to return to our roots and put this country back on the right path so that prosperity and freedom are recognized as God given gifts and are NOT from man (or the government)!
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eiriamach | Jul 13, 2011, 02:54 PM EDT
There's some trend research suggesting that the many Americans who follow these media-mogul candidates on Twitter and FOX News and such sites have no intention of voting for them. For all the attention they get (is it a morbid fascination with their ignorance?), they're not likely to win any elections.
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Chilidog99 | Jul 13, 2011, 02:27 PM EDT
Maggiepoo. Learn the rules of English spelling, grammar and sentence construction.
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FastEddy | Jul 13, 2011, 11:57 AM EDT
You just don't get it: B & S are not. Cut taxes, cut g'ment spending, stop borrowing from the IMF.
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Chilidog99 | Jul 13, 2011, 11:40 AM EDT
Michele Bachmanns problem is that she thinks that she should be the only one allowed to marry a gay man.
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Chilidog99 | Jul 13, 2011, 11:39 AM EDT
Jims 3331 wrote: "Maybe she can bring some class and dignity to the White House."
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LOL. right. Will that be before and after she declares being any of the following to be illegal, Gay, Muslim, Catholic, Hindu, or Budhist.
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Chilidog99 | Jul 13, 2011, 11:22 AM EDT
I whole heartedly agree. Bachman has peaked too fast and too soon. Her radical religious stance on social issues is too extreme for the majority of republicans, let alone the majority of Americans. Her constant mistakes are not only embarrassing, but they illustrate a sub-par intellect. As for Santorum, he is nothing more than a frothy mix of his own making. He never had a chance and never will.
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PatriciaMarya | Jul 13, 2011, 11:02 AM EDT
Cahir O'Doherty - you are my hero! Day after day, completely correct information! Let me add some more facts to your Arsenal of Truth: Eric Cantor voted for Plan D - an unfunded Republican-created plan that is an out and out gift to Big Pharma and the investor-driven health insurers with absolutely no checks and balances or caps anywhere. It now carries a $310 deductible in addition to premiums and co-pays that now come in 3 tiers!! Boehner, McConnell and Cantor voted FIVE (5) times during the Bush Regime/Admin to RAISE THE DEBT CEILING w/o any worries about reducing spending - 2002, 03, 04, 06, 07!! (I use the word "regime" for the 2000 Bush (s)election because VP Gore won the popular vote by over 500,000!) Now I realize that Gore had to be stopped from getting into Office because he was running on keeping Social Security intact! Do the 200 Republicans who signed Grover Norquist's pledge of No Taxes know that his wife is a Muslim; that Michelle Bachmann's husband has lied about his educatonal credentials and can practice only in Minnesota because it is one of the only states where you can put out your shingle in the Mental Health Industry without any criteria!
But more than that - why is the Press not doing their own research, their homework and calling out these out and out lies in their TV interviews? And what I always say, the Louder the Voice, the Lower the IQ. And as another Irish-American, the late, great Patrick Moynihan put it "While you are entitled to your own opinions, you are not entitled to your own Facts."
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francisquinn | Jul 13, 2011, 10:48 AM EDT
I dont know why I waste my time reading this LIBERAL crap that your column spews.
I used to read the NYT but got smart and stopped...Now you guys have taken their place...
I guess you cannot wait until the Irish "BIG L" Christian Quinn throws her ------in the ring..
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jims3331 | Jul 13, 2011, 10:45 AM EDT
Whats wrong with a candidate who signs a pledge opposing infidelity? By the way O'Dorherty last I looked Bachmann is doing quite well in the polls. Maybe she can bring some class and dignity to the White House.
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IAPRINCESS | Jul 13, 2011, 10:41 AM EDT
Nowhere is good enough. They are wasting our time.
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shamrock99 | Jul 13, 2011, 10:16 AM EDT
One would be a fool to eliminate Bachmann from the race. Be realistic!!
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cmart16 | Jul 13, 2011, 10:12 AM EDT
Earth to O'Doherty:
You have no say in America elections.
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