While much of the eastern seaboard dries out from Hurricane Irene, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has found herself in hot water over the claim she made in Florida over the weekend that the storm and last week’s historic earthquake were sent by God to wake up politicians in Washington to the views of the tea party.
Bachmann’s campaign says the whole thing was a joke, and that’s certainly how CNN played it this morning.
Here’s the video:
Critics are already jumping on the joke explanation, saying it shows poor taste. Jim Manley, former spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, tweeted this morning that making jokes about the storm which led to more than 20 deaths and millions in property damage shows Bachmann “has really jumped the shark.”
“Her comments are morally reprehensible, cynically political and an affront to people of faith,” he wrote.
The Bachmann campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Manley’s take.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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