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Bachmann Blasts 'Redistribution Of Wealth' Escrow Fund, Says BP Shouldn't Be 'Chumps'


Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

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Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is emerging as a fierce critic of the Obama administration's proposed escrow fund to handle damage claims against BP.

The Minnesota Independent reports that Bachmann spoke Tuesday to the Heritage Foundation, and badmouthed the idea. "The president just called for creating a fund that would be administered by outsiders, which would be more of a redistribution-of-wealth fund," said Bachmann. "And now it appears like we'll be looking at one more gateway for more government control, more money to government."

Also, David Weigel reports that Bachmann also said: "They have to lift the liability cap. But if I was the head of BP, I would let the signal get out there -- 'We're not going to be chumps, and we're not going to be fleeced.' And they shouldn't be. They shouldn't have to be fleeced and make chumps to have to pay for perpetual unemployment and all the rest -- they've got to be legitimate claims."

Comments (165) | Join the Conversation!

Recommend Recommend (2)

June 16, 2010 10:27 AM   

The gift that keeps on giving.

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June 16, 2010 11:03 AM    in reply to Early Out

Teh Stoopid, it burns!!!!

Bachmann-Palin Overdrive in 2012!!! Please make is to.

Oh yeah, throw in Oily Titz as the AG (for sh*ts and giggles)

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June 16, 2010 11:13 AM    in reply to preachy

Hmmm.. Bachmann-Palin. BP for short!

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sbv

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June 16, 2010 11:45 AM    in reply to RoboticSpacePenguin

i like it! :)
ok, so by now we have all read the overwhelming critical critics of barack's speech last night; no one liked it, we've heard it all before, it was disappointing in its lack of detail - so forth and so on. perhaps it is true, barack has been listening more to the right wing crazies, the tea partiers, fox news and the gop criticize him for doing any thing.

perhaps it is time he started listening to the democrats and progressives in particular; but the questions remains, will it accomplish anything? will anything get done with the reality of the 60 vote senate rule and a country that does not trust him?

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June 16, 2010 12:23 PM    in reply to sbv

At least we still have Bachmann to set us straight.

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June 16, 2010 12:44 PM    in reply to sbv

IF ONLY Obama would actually listen to the people who voted him into office, that being Democrats and Progressives.

As is, I still think he is Dick Cheney's manchurian candidate, as he is FAR more conservative than I ever imagined.

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June 16, 2010 11:42 PM    in reply to davewtf

Another troll. Don't you folks ever get tired of trolling?

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June 16, 2010 11:46 PM    in reply to chameleon

trolls trolling trolls who troll: don't you ever get tired of it?

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June 16, 2010 11:51 PM    in reply to Bolshevik in Jesustan

Do you ever get tired of making asinine and vapid statements? Until then, shut the fuck up.

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Ivo

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June 17, 2010 12:27 AM    in reply to Hobbes83

Right? The commenters around here are getting absurd. You guys do know that not all criticism of Obama is trolling. That he is actually almost entirely bankrupt in several areas of leadership, most especially the violations of our civil liberties he so criticizes Bush for during the campaign and his time in the Senate. Glenn Greenwald said it best: "but just contrast all of this to what is taking place in the United States under Democratic Party rule. We get -- from the current Government -- presidential assassination programs, detention with no charges, senseless demands for further reductions of core rights when arrested, ongoing secret prisons filled with abuse, military commissions, warrantless surveillance of emails, and presidential secrecy claims to block courts from reviewing claims of government crimes. The Democratic-led Congress takes still new steps to block the closing of Guantanamo. Democratic leaders push for biometric, national ID cards. The most minimal surveillance safeguards are ignored. Even the miniscule limits on eavesdropping powers are transgressed."

That said, Bachmann is insane and should be run out of politics.

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June 17, 2010 12:48 AM    in reply to Ivo

Ivo (rolling up my sleeves) you are one of the lefties that I love. As some of us (me, Chameleon, Free Rider) have said, we aren't the Obamabots that many like to make us out to be. We have wrote many letters to the president urging him to end Bush-era policies that we don't agree with, yet we know that there are people who would seek to block these things for political reasons. I don't know if you've read previous posts from me and others that agree with me, but I feel as if you understand that politics are a little more complicated then what we assume they are. I don't like FISA how he continued FISA, and I damn sure don't like the fact that Congress is allowing Gitmo to continue existing, but I understand the ultra-partisan nature of D.C. right now.

That being said, Ivo, PLEASE don't get frustrated and give up. Give it time and a little patience. He can do it if we just give him a little slack. I'm not a blind follower, I just understand that we live in a political landscape in which things aren't done overnight, they're done incrementally. Good night, and good luck.

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Ivo

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June 17, 2010 12:59 AM    in reply to Hobbes83

Look (as Obama likes to say), I hear you. And you're right, I see what's going on. At the same time, a lot of these Bush era policies, especially many that Greenwald has been so adept at pointing out could be eliminated with the stroke of a pen and an Obama executive order, no Congress needed. But I think that a lot of Progressives (even the evil ones) are feeling a lot of despair because of this. Really, I'm just worried about what this country is becoming.

I've voted for Obama twice now, once for Senate and once for president. I don't criticize his every move, but like you, am not an Obamabot (but will admit getting swept up in the 2008 Obama wave). I think that the continuation and expansion of these Bush-era policies is just obscene, it's hypocritical, and the exact opposite of what O's rhetoric prior to be elected implied he would pursue. I'm just not sure we can really do anything about it, but I'm trying not to give up entirely.

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June 17, 2010 1:47 AM    in reply to Ivo

"Really, I'm just worried about what this country is becoming."

I'm worried about the same thing. We can either let the teatards take over, or we can make our voice heard and do the right thing. People look to this election to see where things are going to go, but I think that Democrats will be just fine. I'm wondering what the right is going to run on for 2012.

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Ivo

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June 18, 2010 1:35 AM    in reply to Hobbes83

The same thing they've always run on. Gubmint is bad. Minorities are bad. Vote right, vote white.

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June 18, 2010 1:50 AM    in reply to Ivo

Amen, Fucking +1. Ivo, good night and good luck.

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June 17, 2010 2:04 PM    in reply to Hobbes83

butthurt?

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June 17, 2010 2:34 PM    in reply to Bolshevik in Jesustan

Stupid?

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June 30, 2010 9:04 AM    in reply to chameleon

Whose calling whom a troll? I'm as liberal and progressive as the best of them.

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June 16, 2010 11:46 AM    in reply to preachy

You ain't seen nothin' yet!

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June 16, 2010 11:04 AM    in reply to Early Out

Yeah, like the clap.

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June 16, 2010 11:29 AM    in reply to preachy

More like herpes.

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June 16, 2010 10:03 PM    in reply to Early Out

That's the wonder of Bachmann, I just hope she keeps on giving all the way through the mid-terms ! !

Please God, don't let her be mute.

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June 17, 2010 9:18 AM    in reply to Rick Shreiner

Her wingnut base will probably re-elect her anyway unless the census that she told people to ignore shows her constituency shrinking and her district is reconfigured.

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June 16, 2010 10:31 AM   

Her position makes perfect sense - after all, we *always* let the responsible party decide which claims to pay out. Doesn't anybody remember how we'd let a driver who crashed into another car decide how much medical treatment that the other passengers should get? Or what about all the criminals who get to decide how much their victims should be paid in restitution?

Apparently, Bachmann felt she hadn't really brought the crazee for a few days and had to throw MN back into the running with SC and NV for "teabaggiest state".

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June 16, 2010 10:59 AM    in reply to Matt Jones

Being from Iowa, I really hate to remind you, but Steve King is keeping us in the running, too. And it's pretty much all on his own. Grassley has been strangely quiet for a while.

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June 16, 2010 12:17 PM    in reply to Metzengerstein

Nice try, but I live in Az.

'Nuff said.

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June 16, 2010 1:09 PM    in reply to It's Pat

HA, I'm from Oklahoma!

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June 16, 2010 10:15 PM    in reply to cacamp

*snort* Idaho, the home of crazy!

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June 17, 2010 8:13 AM    in reply to CyberDuckie

How do liberals survive living in states like Idaho Oklahoma and Arizona? Or South Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky Tennessee, Alabama for that matter?

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June 16, 2010 6:22 PM    in reply to Metzengerstein

Sorry, but Steve King doesn't mix it up and bring the truly crazy like Bachmann does. He's only got the straight up racism card.

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June 16, 2010 10:34 AM   

Bat-shit crazy is as bat-shit crazy does . . .

Go Tarryl Clark!

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June 16, 2010 10:35 AM   

Go to Cajunland and spout off, Michele. You make good crawfish bait. Har har har.

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June 16, 2010 11:13 AM    in reply to Ugg the Repug

I was just pondering if she had the guts to go say this to the people that have actually lost their jobs and livelihoods, and will be without them for a long time as a result of this.

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June 16, 2010 11:52 AM    in reply to PartTimeRoadie

She has no shame. How can anyone vote for such a person? She has slapped the faces of the hardworking people of the Gulf. They are ruined and she stands with BP. A smack someone should give her. Shame.

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June 16, 2010 10:36 AM   

Time to up Shelly's meds again. The true Bachmann [Maximum Crazy] Overdrive is comin' out again.

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June 16, 2010 10:41 AM   

I think we are beginning to see some wedge issues come up here. I'd like to see her visit these states and tell those people and state governments not to be so hard on BP, tell them to oppose an escrow fund. This could be fun. I suspect she went a little too far with this nutty statement, even for the red states.

The more she and Palin talk, the more the bloom comes off the rose. Soon they will implode under the accumulation of all their stupid talk.

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June 16, 2010 10:42 AM   

Let me get this straight. I slam into your car after running the red light. This causes $10k of damage to my vehicle. Then if you have to pay me the $10K back to reimburse me for my damages, that is "redistribution." In Bachmann's world, "tort reform" means I shouldn't have to pay you more than a fraction of the damages caused by the wrongdoer. Oh yeah, according to Bachmann, all the claimants are "shysters" trying to scam the system.

When will people learn that this position is the real agenda of tort reform - shifting the costs of negative externalities (pollution, etc.) onto the back of the general public - thus increasing profits at our expense.

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June 16, 2010 11:56 AM    in reply to jiff

Yep, Republican definition of tort reform: protect the corporations on the backs of the victims of their negligence or criminal actions.

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June 16, 2010 12:24 PM    in reply to ahumbleopinion

I think this pretty well sums it up. thank you

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June 16, 2010 3:13 PM    in reply to thomas1

What makes it especially frustrating is that there is a need for tort reform to block the large number of genuinely stupid lawsuits (e.g., people who get hurt while illegally trespassing suing the landowner, or "tort reform" advocate Robert Bork tripping on the stairs and suing Yale). But any attempt at that gets hijacked by wingnuts who want to prevent lawsuits based on gross negligence like this.

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June 16, 2010 4:46 PM    in reply to midnight rambler

I challenge you to present credible evidence that there are, in fact, a "large number of genuinely stupid lawsuits" that are actually resulting in patients winning windfall judgments for genuinely stupid claims, or that "tort reform" where it has been implemented has had any non-trivial impact on courts' caseloads.
My research and experience tell me that "tort reform" is about as needed as prevention of "voter fraud." Both are myths created to limit individuals rights through subterfuge and disingenuous claims.

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June 16, 2010 11:44 PM    in reply to Mr.E.

Thank you. I work in the legal business all of my adult life and I can assure you it is not the case.

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June 17, 2010 3:00 PM    in reply to Mr.E.

I challenge you to present credible evidence that there are, in fact, a "large number of genuinely stupid lawsuits" that are actually resulting in patients winning windfall judgments for genuinely stupid claims, or that "tort reform" where it has been implemented has had any non-trivial impact on courts' caseloads.
That's exactly my point. It's not needed for malpractice, but that's where the attention gets directed by so-called "tort reform" advocates. What is needed are laws that prevent $8 million judgements for injuries suffered during trespassing (which have happened in Hawaii) - the actual number of judgements does not have to be high to have a huge chilling effect on people - and to require payment of court costs and legal fees from people like Bork who file frivolous suits.

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June 16, 2010 11:44 PM    in reply to jiff

and then we can get rid of that annoying OSHA, and UI, and Medicare, and SSI. Then we could have a free market system like they do in Somalia!

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June 17, 2010 2:35 PM    in reply to Bolshevik in Jesustan

Okay, I get it. This is snark.

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June 16, 2010 10:44 AM   

She really does just kind of leave you feeling stunned with the way she can weave knowing lies, egregious stupidity and paranoid psychosis into such a richly textured, complex fabric of crazy.

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June 16, 2010 10:55 AM    in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve

What's truly scarey is the fact that she's a career politician, which means that there are lot's of voters who find her the quintessential embodiment of their ideals.

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June 16, 2010 11:15 AM    in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve

She is channeling Beck!

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June 16, 2010 1:40 PM    in reply to afisher

"Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?"

Sorry, wrong Beck.

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June 16, 2010 1:44 PM    in reply to matyra

Stop getting crazy with the cheez whiz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsCAy9ErdKY

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June 16, 2010 2:31 PM    in reply to LisB

excellent

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June 16, 2010 11:16 AM    in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve

Dana Perino.

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June 16, 2010 2:28 PM    in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve

The stunning part is the people that admire and believe her. Either that or they're just as stunning in their shameless hypocrisy.

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June 16, 2010 10:44 AM   

The Dems should run with this, but they won't. Schmucks.

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June 16, 2010 10:55 AM    in reply to NuttyProf

That's the other scarey thing about her.

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June 16, 2010 10:57 AM    in reply to NuttyProf

I don't know about the Dems at the national level, but Tarryl Clark and the Dems in Minnesota will definitely run with it.

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June 16, 2010 10:45 AM   

Yeah!!!

Fuck the US and the Gulf Coast, BP should be allowed to lawyer their way out of their responsibilities for 20 years just like Exxon did!

America!!!

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June 16, 2010 11:51 PM    in reply to fsudirectory

FUCK YEAH, SEAKING!

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June 17, 2010 12:54 AM    in reply to Bolshevik in Jesustan

This is satire. I don't think that you are this stupid to actually advocate for such an idiotic comment.

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June 17, 2010 2:02 PM    in reply to Hobbes83

thank you, Captain Obvious.

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June 17, 2010 2:38 PM    in reply to Bolshevik in Jesustan

Then I have to apologize for my previous comments. Sorry about that, you're sarcasm is a little too high sometimes, so it comes off as a wingnut. I finally put it together when you made that Somalia comment. You could have just told me before I went off the cliff.

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June 17, 2010 4:31 PM    in reply to Hobbes83

lol sorry. no, I'm no wingnut. I'm definitely a member of the moonbat clan. :D

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June 16, 2010 10:45 AM   

Definitely not Minnesota Nice. The locals will probably say it's because she was born in Iowa.

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June 16, 2010 11:19 AM    in reply to ejg3

Don't be naive. Her district loves her.

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June 16, 2010 11:26 AM    in reply to Overreach THIS!

I am waiting for the census to redistrict her out of existence.

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June 16, 2010 11:33 AM    in reply to vasu

May God speed that blessed day unto us!

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June 16, 2010 10:50 AM   

'Redistribution Of Wealth' must only go UP to the top 2%. That is the only acceptable form of socialism in the sociopathic, right wing brain.

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June 16, 2010 10:53 AM   

Kinda makes you want to rub her nose in a tarball.

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June 16, 2010 10:54 AM   

Comforting the comfortable. Afflicting the afflicted. Sounds like a winning campaign slogan to me, Michele. You go with it!

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June 16, 2010 10:59 AM   

BP: "Oh, you didn't dot your "i" on your claim...that's not legitimate."

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June 16, 2010 11:33 AM    in reply to mibwilso

BP: "You only provided 4.5 years of business records, we require 5, sorry, you're just trying to take advantage of us!"

Fisherman: "I've only been in business for 4.5 years!"

BP: "See, you're a liar too!"

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June 16, 2010 11:03 AM   

This is what President Obama is up against. Another "responsible" member of the loyal opposition in Congress heard from. The people of Minnesota deserve better than this...they just don't know it yet.

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June 16, 2010 11:03 AM   

I don't think BP is getting a lot of sympathy from Minnesota sportsmen. Something about the visuals of wetlands and migrating waterfowl coated in a thick brown goop just isn't going to win them over.

But, don't let that deter you, Michele. Embrace that ideology. Put a death grip on it.

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June 16, 2010 11:04 AM   

when she breathes, it's a redistribution of carbon dioxide.

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June 16, 2010 11:10 AM   

Minnesota-ians should hang their heads in shame.

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June 16, 2010 11:33 AM    in reply to ariuszme

Why should we Minnesotans hang our heads in collective shame? We didn't vote for her; her crazy-ass 6th district did. All of which may become moot if she's redistricted out of existence.

I would love for her to follow up on the reporting that she's running for Senate. I would prefer she run against Franken, but I'm guessing that if she does, it would be against Klobuchar.

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June 16, 2010 1:11 PM    in reply to counter coulter

I would love to see her run against Franken. Franken is probably the only person that could make her feel ashamed of herself. Or make her flip out and get violent in a debate. There needs to be more comedians working for the Dems, I think the inherent wit and simplicity of comedy is the only thing that could get the simple-folk to at least become Independents.

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June 16, 2010 11:56 PM    in reply to counter coulter

shit I'd love to see her run against Klobuchar. She's got a razor-sharp wit, as evidenced by her appearances on TRMS.

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June 17, 2010 12:52 AM    in reply to Bolshevik in Jesustan

Yet again, shut the fuck up you moron.

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June 17, 2010 2:07 PM    in reply to Hobbes83

NO U.

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June 17, 2010 2:33 PM    in reply to Bolshevik in Jesustan

Excellent retort. It really is a shame that you couldn't even include 'you.' I'm very hurt by this response, you've done an absolutely fantastic job at responding. Mission Accomplished.

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June 17, 2010 4:33 PM    in reply to Hobbes83

In case you haven't noticed, I'm using internet memes in these responses. Both "butthurt" and "NO U" are things found over on e/b/aumsworld.

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June 17, 2010 5:20 PM    in reply to Bolshevik in Jesustan

Yeah, I put it all together when you made the Somalia comment, AFTER THE FACT Again, I'm very sorry for attacking you, I feel like an idiot. You must be a regular at the Wonkette.

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June 16, 2010 11:11 AM   

Oh please... Oh please... Let her opponents run this clip 50 times a day!

"Don't be chumps!" Puuhhhlllleeeezzzzeee!

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June 16, 2010 11:13 AM   

What's funny is that I still cling to this image of Minnesotans as being crusty, not worldly but down-to-earth and practical -- Garrison Keillor's people. And then SHE opens her mouth again. Has anyone tested the water in that district?

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June 16, 2010 11:31 AM    in reply to Lizskin

Actually, the water is polluted in the sixth, by 3M chemicals.

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June 16, 2010 11:15 AM   

The spooky part is when she debates an opponent, listens to their side and then completely misrepresents their position right in front of them. Elwyn Tinklenberg (the best name ever) just stared at her with this disbelieving look on his face. And the morons in her district think she is a genius.

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June 16, 2010 11:18 AM    in reply to blkblt

Morons is right.

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June 16, 2010 11:28 AM    in reply to blkblt

No. What's spooky is that the MN public votes her into office, people actually listen to her and the media feels fit to give her the "bullhorn," so to speak, without an ounce of criticism...or even just pointing out that what she said constitutes evidence that she needs Haldol.

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June 16, 2010 11:16 AM   

Let's hope this looney tune never shuts up. She's one of the best things the Ds have going for them headed into November.

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June 16, 2010 11:17 AM   

You can listen to her elaborate on her crazy thoughts on this topic on Minnesota Public this morning:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/06/16/oberstar-bachmann-obama-address/

As to the cause of the spill, she said:

"Whether BP was reckless, we're not sure what happened on BP's side or whether there was a failure on the government's side through the Minerals Management Service to not have oversight of existing rules and regulation."

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June 16, 2010 12:26 PM    in reply to Davran

Ahh, so the gangster thug government wasn't gangster thug enough. Got it.

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June 16, 2010 12:38 PM    in reply to It's Pat

Exactly.

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June 16, 2010 12:35 PM    in reply to Davran

Right. Because that's unquestionably an either/or proposition, Chelly. It's not because BP was negligent. It's because of a failure of MMS oversight. There BP was, going along doing everything right and proper and by the book, but because MMS failed in its oversight responsibility, that oil and gas just came gushing up that pipe and exploded. Clearly, if we had gotten rid of that layer of government altogether, it never would have happened, because then there wouldn't have been an oversight failure.

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June 16, 2010 11:23 AM   

She's the single most convincing argument in existence for full-on public education reform and overhaul.

See Michelle stupid. Stupid Michelle stupid.

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June 16, 2010 12:10 PM    in reply to Sniffit

Here's her education bio from wikipedia. I'd say her public school history is the sanest thing about her.


Bachmann grew up in Anoka, graduating from Anoka High School in 1974. She graduated from Winona State University and later received her J.D. degree from Oral Roberts University and an LL.M. degree in tax law from the College of William and Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law. She was a member of the final graduating class of Oral Roberts' law school, and was part of a group of faculty, staff, and students who moved the ORU law school to what is now Regent University.

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June 16, 2010 2:32 PM    in reply to Bass

I knew Oklahoma would show up in there somewhere.

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June 16, 2010 11:25 AM   

Wasn't she the one a couple weeks ago asking why the government did commandeer hundreds of private vessels and send them to the gulf?

The audacity of this twit is astounding.

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June 16, 2010 12:37 PM    in reply to vasu

See, in Bachmann world, it's ok to forcibly take private boat holder's ships to help manage the oil spill made by BP. But making BP pay for the cost of the ships and cleanup equals redistribution - which is a very bad thing.

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June 16, 2010 11:26 AM   

Somebody's got to stand up to "all that stuff" in Washington, see? Bachmann shakes things up! The Government is going to think twice the next time it tries to hold some mass-scale criminal responsible!

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June 16, 2010 11:28 AM   

Oh wow, that actualyl makes a lot of sense dude.

Lou
www.ip-spoofing.net.tc

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June 16, 2010 11:28 AM   

The entire redistribution of wealth in this country goes from the working and middle class to the wealthiest filthy fucking rich top 1% ! If you just look at the income statistics for the last decade of Bush and the rethuglicans you see clearly that the top top tippy top rich fucks have sucked ALL THE WEALTH CREATED BY OUR SOCIETY IN A DECADE into their private big fat bank accounts and left everyone else standing still and/or sinking like rocks.

Like the trickle down bullshit we are always fed by right wing fanatics the redistribution lie is just a cynical scam that keeps poor people poor in a society of incredible wealth.

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June 16, 2010 11:34 AM    in reply to hollywood

Actually, it's even better than that. If you read the executive summary and prologue to the budget from last year, there are some fantastic statistics showing just how much trickle-down "economic gravity" is a big fat lie. Personal favorites:

1989 - The top 1% of wage earners in this country earned 10% of the total national income.

2004 - The top 1% of wage earners inb this country 22-24% of the total national income (can't remember which, but yes, more than double from 1989).

1989-2004 - Average middle-class salaries remained approximately the same and failed to compete with inflation.

I don't know that it gets much clearer than that, but you can always start throwing in the stats about the tiny percentage of Americans who own something liek 50% of the property and corporate interests, etc.

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June 16, 2010 11:30 AM   

She is why birth-control should be readily available to woman regardless of age. She is the gift that keeps giving to Minnesota Democrats...of course.

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June 16, 2010 11:34 AM   

It is redistributing wealth. From the greedy corporation responsible for making the mess to the people whos lives are ruined by the mess. And, for once, it would be nice if it would actually happen.

I'm not holding my breath.

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June 16, 2010 11:44 AM   

Has she even taken the time to visit the gulf region? Can we throw her into the oil saturated gulf? What is this woman's problem?

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June 16, 2010 11:49 AM   

How can we egg her on to double down and bring the rest of her caucus with her?

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June 16, 2010 11:51 AM   

I have been following politics since I was a kid, and I have never seen such a wackjob. I feel bad for the Dems in her state as she embarrases them almost on a daily basis. Maybe another interview on Chris Matthews "Hardball" would make for great comedy. What a joke that she is.

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June 16, 2010 11:54 AM   

Give her a sponge, a roll of bounty and kick her sorry ass onto a beach filled with angry, oily Pelicans.

Oh, and rub her in fish oil before she's sent out.

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June 16, 2010 11:54 AM   

LOL

Next she'll be bad mouthing those anti-American's on the Gulf Coast who are CLEARLY trying to hurt BP by getting their sand and wildlife in BP's OIL and RUINING IT!!!

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June 16, 2010 12:02 PM   

Yep. You go ahead and run with that.

The more I see of GOPers like Bachmann, the better I feel about the 2010 midterms. Thanks, Michelle!

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June 16, 2010 12:04 PM   

I just got a fund-raising letter from my rep. in MN-05, Keith Ellison:

There is one thing that every Democrat can agree on...Michele Bachmann needs to go!

While I and many other members of Congress are working hard for middle class families, Michele Bachmann is going on fame building media tours across the country rather than working for her constituents in Minnesota.

She seems to be more focused on raising her profile than on raising the standard of living for Minnesotans.

I can't take it anymore! We need a new ally working for Minnesotans in the 6th District and I am calling you to help make that happen.

I don't think I've seen that before where a rep. in one district tries to raise funds to unseat a rep. in another district. But, I like it. Keith has his own re-election campaign going, but I think this could help a lot if he gets his own constituents to help out in the 6th.

And, obviously, it's not the whole state that's screwed up. It's just a little under 50% of the 6th CD, if the last election is any indication.

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June 16, 2010 12:08 PM   

How can a person so wrong about everything keep getting elected? Are all the people in her district home schooled

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June 16, 2010 12:09 PM   

Bachman: a dyslexic Robin Hood Steal from the poor give to the rich

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June 16, 2010 10:38 PM    in reply to fla_kracker

+10 internets to anyone who can source this...

Michele Bachman, Michele Bachman
Riding through the land
Michele Bachman, Michele Bachman
Without a merry band
She steals from the poor
And gives to the rich
Stupid bitch

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June 17, 2010 3:51 AM    in reply to Chupacabras

-- a riff on Monty Python's The Ballad of Dennis Moore

Points please . . .

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June 16, 2010 12:13 PM   

Must be the speech writer's day off, or decade.

Michelle Bachman, too crazy for the private sector but fully representing the crazy public sector. A nut in every pot!

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June 16, 2010 12:17 PM   

She is at the point that she just says the opposite of what President Obama says, no matter how ridiculous it is.

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June 16, 2010 12:37 PM    in reply to Les Ismore

Which kind of aligns her with the "progressives." Maybe there's an opportunity for them to cut some deals with her, the way Jane did with Grover.

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June 16, 2010 12:34 PM   

"They shouldn't have to be fleeced and make chumps to have to pay for perpetual unemployment and all the rest -- they've got to be legitimate claims."

She's pushing the buttons of racial resentment here.

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June 16, 2010 12:39 PM    in reply to Bass

Well, let's see.

Republican politician? Check.
Camera in her face? Check.
Lips moving? Check.

Yep, definitely pushing the buttons of racial resentment.

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TJF

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June 16, 2010 3:46 PM    in reply to Bass

Naaahh.

As everyone knows, "the rest" refers to The Professor and Mary Ann.

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June 16, 2010 8:40 PM    in reply to TJF

Then why did they have to make it explicit the second season? Hmmm?

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June 16, 2010 12:44 PM   

Is this the thread where you can buy the counterfeit and knockoff Chinese sportswear and luxury goods? 'Cause there's definitely some wealth redistribution potential going on there.

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June 16, 2010 12:50 PM   

Maybe she would like to give all of her assets to BP so they don't get fleeced.

BettorsChat

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June 16, 2010 1:43 PM   

she collects farm subsidies.

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June 16, 2010 2:32 PM   

Funny, I don't remember stepping though the looking glass.
Bachmann would make Lewis Carroll proud.

Alice: I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir, because I'm not myself you see.

Alice
It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.

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June 16, 2010 2:52 PM   

Guess Bachmann believes that a down payment when leasing a vehicle is "wealth redistribution", too, then.

Is the same thing...putting money aside even though you have as yet not incurred any bills for use of the vehicle.

Guess Bachmann is against ANY form of deposit, in fact...

Shouldn't have to do that, right, just because all parties involved KNOW you're about to inflict wear and tear in your use of whatever it is the deposit is required for which are unpredictable in advance?

Daggone...that Bachmann is so anti-business as to verge on being a commie.

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June 16, 2010 4:26 PM    in reply to ibsteve2u

What Michele fails to understand is that the purpose of money is to be redistributed. Well, that's just one of many things she fails to understand.

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June 16, 2010 3:35 PM   

Just be sure to keep those god damn Government hands off her family's farm subsidies.

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June 16, 2010 3:55 PM   

Lets just put a muzzle on her and be done with it. Isn't that what you do with a yappy dog?

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June 17, 2010 3:57 AM    in reply to gerry

Well I have known people to have the vocal cords removed on yappy muts.

Now that would be marvelous!

I get giddy just at the mental visual of that stupid bitch opening her pie hole and just the quiet sound of air and spittle being expelled from her gullet.

Where oh where are the death panels and mercy killings when they're needed?

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June 16, 2010 4:03 PM   

I'm really surprised that Michelle's not upset about BP's redistributing all that wealth all over the beaches and pelicans... Those people are getting all that crude oil FOR FREE! BP = Socialists!

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bw

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June 16, 2010 4:06 PM   

I sure hope the Democrats and 525 groups stick enough money into defeating this nut job idiot come November.

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June 16, 2010 4:15 PM   

Bachmann doesn't upset me. What upsets me is that a majority of voters in Minn. are so incredibly stupid as to actually vote for her. Anyone who works and votes for Bachmann is like a chicken voting for KFC.

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June 16, 2010 4:24 PM   

Why is anybody giving this BATSHIT crazy woman attention? Does she even show up for work anymore? SOMEBODY in the House needs to file an ethics complaint over HER activities and attendance record.

Thats what the OCE is for and why they allow outside complaints with merit and standing, SO MINNESOTA actually sane people, SHE IS YOUR MESS GET HER OUT OF THERE.

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June 16, 2010 4:30 PM   

Got that right, "special needs" Republican. Redistributing the cost of the cleanup from the tax payer to the corporation that caused it.

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June 16, 2010 4:33 PM   

The sad thing is that Minnesota is going to re-elect her.

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June 16, 2010 5:04 PM   

Michele Bachmann is just a whole new kind of stupid!

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June 16, 2010 5:38 PM   

Michelle Bachmann to Gulf Coast: "Accidents happen, why should YOU get money that some poor, hardworking oil company made just because they happened to make a little spill in your neighborhood? Accidents happen, suck it up!"

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June 16, 2010 6:18 PM   

MB has certainly lifted the stupidity cap.

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June 16, 2010 6:20 PM   

It looks like she's ahead of Steve King in today's round of Battle of the Batty.

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June 16, 2010 6:37 PM   

Seriously, how does this woman keep getting reelected? Is her entire district just so strongly conditioned to vote for the 'R' that they ignore everything else?

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June 16, 2010 9:45 PM    in reply to Helpcomputer

Yes. Dumbest district in the state.

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June 16, 2010 7:07 PM   

90% of the nation's wealth is controlled by the top 3% of the people.
This was accomplished, aided and abetted by the laws passed by Congress
favoring the wealthy.
In other words, the law has been used to 'transfer wealth' to the wealthy
and from the middle class.
The issue is not whether the law 'should be' used to 'transfer
wealth' - that happens repeatedly and continuously.
The issue is: How should the law be used to transfer wealth more equitably,
from the wealth to the middle class.

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June 16, 2010 9:48 PM   

Stoopid Monkey.... If ever there was a charactor that fit right in to the Cartoon Networks " Adult Swim " line up, it`s Michele Bachmann. She is so funny !... when she loses her re-election bid in Nov., she should consider the stage. She is better than any woman comic out there. She is funny and does not even realize it. She thinks that what comes out of her mouth is profound, but believe me she`s as funny as hell. She even has a stupid look on her face when she opens her pie hole, and says something dumb, just like Red Skelton used too. Michele Bachmann is even funnier than the " D List " comedian Kathy Griffin. Yep,... she has chosen the wrong profession.

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June 17, 2010 9:21 AM    in reply to dbl.r7711

Sounds like Victoria Jackson. Except for the funny part. Vickie's not funny.

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June 16, 2010 9:58 PM   

She is dysfunctionally conservative.

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June 17, 2010 12:31 AM   

Michele Bachmann is a Looney toon. Unfortunately American politics have descended into Looney toonism and predictably will fail completely at some point. You should bail out now and immigrate to a sensible country…like new Zealand…or…similar.

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June 17, 2010 2:04 AM   

If Tarryl Clark is unable to beat her this November I may actually cry.

And please stop blaming all of Minnesota for Bachmann. We didn't vote for her, the 6th district did, and they are so completely ass backwards it's depressing. I'd never met an actor who was against gay marriage until I started working in Anoka.

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June 17, 2010 5:55 AM   

I redistributed wealth today. I bought a pack of cigarettes.

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June 17, 2010 7:25 AM   

Seriously 6th district... what is this woman doing being your representative? Time to throw out the garbage!

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June 17, 2010 4:20 PM   

Michelle Bachmann: Taking down the GOP one batshit insane statement after another.

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