Michele Bachmann to Speak About Something She Seems to Know Little About: The Constitution

By Michael Cohen Fri., Mar. 4 2011 at 9:29 AM

Michele Bachmann can't be bothered with mere facts

After Charlie Sheen injected tiger blood and seven-gram rocks into the national discourse this week, you may be numb to subtly absurd political gaffes. But let's take a few minutes to look at the congresswoman currently visiting Florida, who is known for purporting falsities and misinformation.

Later today, Rep. Michele Bachmann will speak to the Palm Beach County chapter of the South Florida Tea Party at Abacoa Golf Club in Jupiter. The invitation says that the Minnesota Republican will speak about spending and constitutional issues. But a quick scan of

Bachmann's file on Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact.com shows various statements that cast serious doubt on her judgment and knowledge of these subjects.

The figure had sparked outrage among many conservatives before Bachmann blasted it as an example of massive overspending. However much it outraged, the figure wasn't large enough to inspire any fact-checking efforts. It had originated from an anonymous source quoted in a report from an Indian news agency.

Regarding the Constitution, Bachmann said that it requires her to tell the census only how many people live in her home.

"And I know for my family, the only question we'll be answering is how many people are in our home. We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."

The folks at PolitiFact found this to be not only inaccurate and misleading but that it encourages others to break the law.

Bachmann, you may remember, jumped into the national spotlight in January, when she delivered the Tea Party response to President Obama's State of the Union address. That's when she claimed that government efficiency standards infringed upon our liberty to purchase certain light bulbs. The Sarah Palin comparisons soon followed.

Considered a GOP hopeful in the 2012 presidential primary, some see her trip to Florida and other early-voting states as posturing for the nomination. But Bachmann hasn't decided whether she'll run. And she's also remained silent on the Florida Legislature's decision to bump the primary date up to January 29, in violation of rules set by both parties. Given her willingness to accept dubious assertions as facts and construct her own version of the truth, maybe we can learn more from her silence.

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Tags:

Charlie Sheen, GOP, Michele Bachman, Tea Party

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anonymous and angry

you disgust me. Since when did it become the media's job to test the veracity of the comments made by fringe politicians? I am so disgusted that not only do I feel the need to disagree, but a strong urge to beat this writer with a piece of garden hose. And the same goes for anyone who doesn't share my twisted worldview. It makes no difference that Bachman cited an unnamed source from an Indian news agency. The only thing that matters is the $200 million figure conforms to the narrative I'm trying to present. As for the census, why does the Fed need to know how many ppl live in my house? So Barack HUSSEIN Obama has a better idea of how many more ppl he needs to exploit in order complete his coup... You're not just a terrible writer, but a pervert and a fiend. May God have mercy on your soul...

DTraynor

Really? is this big news that liberal writers think the government is entitled to intrude into our homes and ask personal questions about our lives? The Constitution establishes a census for redistricting purposes. That doesn't require information about our income or our religious beliefs. Screw the Feds and their invasive questions. As for the source on Obama's trip being a report from an Indian news source, so what? Do you know the exact total? Can you make an educated guess? Does it matter? Don't the libs get tired of saying "tax the rich more" while they jet set all over the world? Also does the India story about the excessive size of the traveling party and its ensuing cost relate to some Constitutional issue being stated or discussed by Michelle Bachman? This article is about a liberal writer trying to come up with enough key words to get noticed. Charlie Sheen? Really? Lets go with Michael Moore’s plan to confiscate all the cash because it's a natural resource for the country not some commodity that people have earned. You are a bottom feeder of a writer. Go find a story somewhere that says something besides your opinion.

Deuce Prez

Interesting question.

I didn't know that the census for was biased for or against any particular party. As a previous P/T census taken, we went to people's homes....not democratic/republican/independent/green party homes. If the Census Bureau did not have a completed form from a household, they sent census takers there. Period. We didn't like the long form any more than those being asked the questions. We preferred to go in, ask the short form questions and get out and go to the next house.

Have the forms changed since Pres. Obama was elected? Why wasn't all of this flack brought up before?

Dave

I think you miss the point. Isn't this article about Bachman having some lack of understanding of the United States Constitution? That seems to be the set up for the article (as long as you miss the throw away Charlie Sheen line put there to increase relevance for an irrelevant writer with an irrelevant story). This is an assertation about Bachman that is not backed up by the evidence presented by the writer. As for the Census, they have asked more questions at each release of the newest census. Its purpose is to find a total numeric value of the population according to the Constitution. It is not to inquire into income, religious beliefs or other invasive information as it is currently released. My primary objection is to the idiot writing his ideology, putting a misleading title on it, sprinkle with demagoguery from Charlie Sheen no less, for search engine seasoning and calling it journalism. It's still a fried turd from a moron.