Hell Yes, We're Going To Miss Michele Bachmann

12 Comments

by: Colorado Pols

Thanks for the memories.

The New York Times' report yesterday, after the fun we've had over the years we're obliged to note:

Representative Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota Republican whose status as a leading Tea Party voice in Congress has faded in the wake of a failed bid for president and a widening investigation into her campaign spending, said Wednesday that she would not seek re-election.

Mrs. Bachmann, defiant as ever as she insisted that she would have won re-election had she tried, said the legal inquiries had nothing to do with her decision. She vowed to continue to fight for the principles she said she holds dear: religious liberty, traditional marriage, family values and opposition to abortion.

“I fully anticipate the mainstream liberal media to put a detrimental spin on my decision not to seek a fifth term,” she said in a gauzy network-television quality video posted on her campaign Web site. “They always seemed to attempt to find a dishonest way to disparage me. But I take being the focus of their attention and disparagement as a true compliment of my public service effectiveness.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann will be missed by many on both sides of the aisle, for very different reasons. Despite her regular embarrassment of anyone intelligent with an (R) after their name, her cultlike popularity on the hard right, and perpetual readiness to "go there" in response to just about any question–there being "completely crazy"–made her a national star. Democrats likewise were happy to see Bachmann's profile elevated, as she projects to most well-adjusted, literate adults an image that cannot help but damage the Republican brand as a whole.

As for Bachmann's legacy, it can be found in armies of similarly looney Tea Partiers grateful for the validation.

What's your favorite Bachmannism? We keep coming back to the Carter/Obama swine flu conspiracy, but we expect readers will have their own personal favorites. And we wonder–who will be the next Bachmann?

12 thoughts on “Hell Yes, We’re Going To Miss Michele Bachmann”

Craig says:

May 30, 2013 at 9:23 am

Yeah, right. Just like we miss Marilyn – – – – what's her name?

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davebarnes says:

May 30, 2013 at 9:48 am

We have a contender

http://gohmert.house.gov/

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1. Phoenix Rising says:
  
  May 30, 2013 at 10:02 am
  
  We have several contenders; Rep. Gohmert is definitely toward the top of the list, but Sen. Cruz is a rising star… Still, Rep. Bachmann had a kind of magic about her pronouncements. She will be missed.
  
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2. Gray in Mountains says:
  
  May 30, 2013 at 10:03 am
  
  yeah, hes the one. Grown up Guppy
  
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BlueCat says:

May 30, 2013 at 10:12 am

Problem is, as many including Rachel Maddow and E.J. Dionne have pointed out, her method of throwing ridiculous, purely speculative charge after charge out there proved quite effective in getting at least some of them wide coverage, including in the main stream media. In fact her constant complaints about being treated unfairly by the mainstream media were very successful in getting many main stream journalists to ask questions at press conferences based on some her absurd paranoid theories, thereby conferring a degree of credibility, just to prove that they weren't being unfair.

She may be leaving but her method lives on. She also won her seat so narrowly last time that she might actually have been defeated by the right kind of Dem in a 2014 re-election bid. A fresh GOP candidate in her deep red district, even another Tea Party darling, will probably have no trouble defeating a Dem challenger since Bachmann's problems were about her, not her Tea Party approved policies. So… not all that much to gloat over.

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1. MADCO says:
  
  May 30, 2013 at 11:44 am
  
  She had access to too much classified information for me to miss her. Plus, she dissed on Paul Wellstone needlessly, so good riddance .
  
  i wonder if she will go. Back to her gov't job or give up any part of her pension.s
  
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jaytee says:

May 30, 2013 at 12:08 pm

There are low-information lawmakers and then there was Michele Bachmann, the lowest of the lowest-information lawmakers. But she has googly eyes and nice hair and she loved to sling wingnnut speculation on Roger Ailes' low-information wingnut conspiracy theory network. Bachmann was fun and horrible and now she will become a millionaire lobbyist for gay conversion therapy.

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1. Curmudgeon says:
  
  May 30, 2013 at 2:22 pm
  
  "Gay Conversion Therapy?!?" That is totally uncalled for and unsubstantiated. It's out of line to insinuate that Marcus Bachmann was straight before he married Michele.
  
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BlueCat says:

May 30, 2013 at 12:12 pm

Not saying I'll miss her. And having her off the Intelligence committee is a good thing but of limited limited value considering those still on it. Just saying it doesn't really do much good and reduces by one the number of the seats the Reds could conceivably lose. Every one of those is a rare and precious opportunity. If we take CD6 away from them, it would be great to have as much company as possible.

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1. exlurker19 says:
  
  May 30, 2013 at 12:29 pm
  
  When we take CD 6 from them. . . FTFY, BC.
  
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  1. Legally Aubrey says:
    
    May 30, 2013 at 1:30 pm
    
    Hell yeah, "when" !
    
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  2. BlueCat says:
    
    May 30, 2013 at 2:06 pm
    
    Hope you're right but Andrew had better have something more than yard parties up his sleeve to raise money if he's sticking with his stupid no PAC money pledge. PACs covers a lot of territory and many represent exemplary citizens. Besides the danger of bringing a knife to a gun fight, Andrews anti-PAC stand vilifies many very unfairly. That said, I hope he proves me wrong to be very concerned about this and wish his campaign all the best. He may be a flaky campaigner but I think he'd be a fine Rep.
    
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