BACHMANN WAS “JUST JOKING”

Except she wasn’t. 

On August 28th, when the rest of the Eastern Seaboard was either cleaning up after Hurricane Irene’s on-slaught or in the midst of it, Minnesota presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said during a campaign stop in Sarasota, Florida: "I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?"' Reuters reported that she made similar remarks elsewhere in Florida on Saturday.

This morning, Bachmann’s spokeswoman Alice Stewart said, "Of course she was saying it in jest.” And Bachmann added that anyone who knows her knows she has a great sense of humor.

This is pure gold—having it both ways. 

Anyone who knows Bachmann knows she really believes that God is angry and that He is punishing earthlings for not listening to Him--that is to say, not listening to far-right religious fanatics like Michele Bachmann.

So on the right, the religious fanatics believe Bachmann is in their corner…which of course, she is. And now by claiming she was joking, she has pandered to her detractors on the left.

BTW, according to the Pew Report on religions in the USA, evangelical Christians (which include the far-right) make up about 26% of the population of people who claim a religious affiliation.

Can Bachmann have it both ways? No. But that’s not really the point regarding GOP politics in general and the next election in particular.

And this is the thing that Sarah Palin knows, which Bachmann doesn’t know or doesn’t care about: Until the GOP gets its platform straight and its candidates on-message, it needs distractions. Bachmann is a perfect distraction. Palin is not about to be turned into an official GOP distraction even though that is what she has made of herself anyway.

How smart are Bachmann and Palin? Do these women really want to be President of the United States? Do they really think they can be elected?

They both are smart in a basic egocentric way. They both see becoming President of the United States as a HUGE justification of self-worth. But neither woman is intelligent. Neither woman has had to be intelligent to get what she wants—material comfort and control. 

And here is where we once again have been left with a garbage pile by the George W. Bush administrations.

Both Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin and their minders can look at an ignorant ne’er-do-well like George W. Bush and rightly assume that all one needs to do is get elected. After that, other people run the country.

When the dust clears, could Bachmann or Palin get elected? No. And oddly enough, in this  modern day in the 21st century, the main thing against both Bachmann and Palin is not their ignorance or silliness or lack of knowledge about civics and running the country. The main thing against these women in the GOP is that they are women.