An Apology from Minnesota's Sixth
I live in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. For those of you who haven't been following the recent news concerning the Republican Presidential Race, that means that my constituents are responsible for the atrocity gracing so many magazine covers these days:
Michele Bachmann.
First things first--be clear: I did not vote for this woman. Now, I understand my politics are not for everyone, and I understand that there may even be times when Republicans--this pains me to say--may be (partially) right on some things. I admit I have taken great joy over the past few years in calling Bachmann crazy (and a few other names I shouldn't repeat in public) but I've recently come to see the danger in that sort of rhetoric.
And not because I'm wrong, either.
Bachmann recently made the cover of Newsweek in a famously unflattering picture above the headline "The Queen of Rage." Conservatives complained the picture made her look crazy. They were right. And as much as I delighted in a little Michele Bachmann torment, I suddenly realized that every time the media dismisses or discredits Bachmann as "crazy," we're avoiding the real issue. The woman won the Iowa straw poll. Clearly pointing out her insanity isn't doing anyone seeking to discredit her much good.
The truth is, Michele Bachmann isn't crazy. Every time we call her crazy, we absolve her of the responsibility she bears for the cruel things she says. It's as if we say she isn't really responsible for it because she isn't really "all there." Her rhetoric isn't incoherent. It's hateful. It's mean-spirited, small-minded and extremely dangerous. People have made a big deal of her refusal to answer direct questions concerning her stance on gay-marriage. The media believes they can make her look bad by forcing her to admit she doesn't like gays. As if this admission--despite the fact her husband counsels people on how to "quit" homosexuality and her repeated attempts to introduce an Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution--would surprise anyone. The truth is, the people who support her know what she thinks, and they don't disagree with her.
No matter how often she mistakes John Wayne for John Wayne Gacy (that was one of my favorites), or shrieks at people in Congress for being Un-American, some people in our country are responding positively to her. This woman is one of three possible republican nominees for President. We need to take her threat seriously. This woman isn't Sarah Palin; she's not stupid and uninformed. She's mean.
Our country needs to stop mistaking unpalatable opinions for ignorance and insanity and be honest about what this is: it's hatred. Pure and simple. The more we dismiss such hate as "craziness" the more her supporters are excused from the responsibility they bear for supporting her. If we hold her accountable for her narrow-minded meanness, suddenly she doesn't have to prove she's not stupid, she has to prove that she's not cruel, and that takes a lot more effort, and may just force a real change in rhetoric and the acceptability of some views in our society.
Michele Bachmann is exactly what's wrong with politics in the country. Should she become President, I cannot imagine what would happen globally, and I'm not just being alarmist. Her polarizing opinions would leave an impact on this country not even possible to fathom at this point. I truly believe it would leave a permanent rift in the Republican Party between moderates and Tea Party members, and our economy--already lagging--would make the Great Depression look mild. Civil rights and civil liberties in this country would be sent back decades.
And let's face it, after this blog entry, we all know I'll be on a list somewhere.
Michele Bachmann might just be the Boogie Man.
And that's not crazy.
Michele Bachmann.
First things first--be clear: I did not vote for this woman. Now, I understand my politics are not for everyone, and I understand that there may even be times when Republicans--this pains me to say--may be (partially) right on some things. I admit I have taken great joy over the past few years in calling Bachmann crazy (and a few other names I shouldn't repeat in public) but I've recently come to see the danger in that sort of rhetoric.
And not because I'm wrong, either.
Bachmann recently made the cover of Newsweek in a famously unflattering picture above the headline "The Queen of Rage." Conservatives complained the picture made her look crazy. They were right. And as much as I delighted in a little Michele Bachmann torment, I suddenly realized that every time the media dismisses or discredits Bachmann as "crazy," we're avoiding the real issue. The woman won the Iowa straw poll. Clearly pointing out her insanity isn't doing anyone seeking to discredit her much good.
The truth is, Michele Bachmann isn't crazy. Every time we call her crazy, we absolve her of the responsibility she bears for the cruel things she says. It's as if we say she isn't really responsible for it because she isn't really "all there." Her rhetoric isn't incoherent. It's hateful. It's mean-spirited, small-minded and extremely dangerous. People have made a big deal of her refusal to answer direct questions concerning her stance on gay-marriage. The media believes they can make her look bad by forcing her to admit she doesn't like gays. As if this admission--despite the fact her husband counsels people on how to "quit" homosexuality and her repeated attempts to introduce an Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution--would surprise anyone. The truth is, the people who support her know what she thinks, and they don't disagree with her.
No matter how often she mistakes John Wayne for John Wayne Gacy (that was one of my favorites), or shrieks at people in Congress for being Un-American, some people in our country are responding positively to her. This woman is one of three possible republican nominees for President. We need to take her threat seriously. This woman isn't Sarah Palin; she's not stupid and uninformed. She's mean.
Our country needs to stop mistaking unpalatable opinions for ignorance and insanity and be honest about what this is: it's hatred. Pure and simple. The more we dismiss such hate as "craziness" the more her supporters are excused from the responsibility they bear for supporting her. If we hold her accountable for her narrow-minded meanness, suddenly she doesn't have to prove she's not stupid, she has to prove that she's not cruel, and that takes a lot more effort, and may just force a real change in rhetoric and the acceptability of some views in our society.
Michele Bachmann is exactly what's wrong with politics in the country. Should she become President, I cannot imagine what would happen globally, and I'm not just being alarmist. Her polarizing opinions would leave an impact on this country not even possible to fathom at this point. I truly believe it would leave a permanent rift in the Republican Party between moderates and Tea Party members, and our economy--already lagging--would make the Great Depression look mild. Civil rights and civil liberties in this country would be sent back decades.
And let's face it, after this blog entry, we all know I'll be on a list somewhere.
Michele Bachmann might just be the Boogie Man.
And that's not crazy.
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