Anti-government critic Bachmann chides Obama for not ‘commandeering’ boats to deal with the oil spill
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), a darling of the tea party movement and a loyal ally to House Republican leadership, is known for decrying almost every form of government action as socialism. Bachmann has denounced emergency loans to banks, student lending programs, health reform, and regulations as examples of “gangster” government and onerous government takeovers. “People don’t want the federal government to either own or control the private economy,” she said. But despite her opposition to government, Bachmann took to the floor of the House of Representatives on Friday afternoon to slam President Obama for lacking “competence” because he did not use the government to seize ships to deal with BP’s oil spill. “Where were the boats that could have been commandeered to be sent into this region to deal with the oil plume,” Bachmann thundered with characteristic disgust:
BACHMANN: The administration, they were hands off. They didn’t do anything. Where were the boats that could have been commandeered by the government to be sent into this region to deal with that oil plume as it was coming up in the water and destroying marine life? Nowhere to be found. Why? The administration was hands off on this policy.
Bachmann is not the only anti-government conservative who is eager to bash Obama by now advocating government takeover of the oil spill. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) spent much of the summer of 2009 mocking “Washington, D.C. and other officials” for seeking to “spend more money” during an economic downturn. But now, Jindal is furiously begging federal officials to spend more money assisting with the oil spill control and clean up. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who denounced clean energy efficiency standards as “setting up a global warming Gestapo,” is now also pleading for the federal government to take over the oil clean up response.
I now live in this woman's district. I would vote for Skeletor over this woman. At least his ideology makes sense.
The GOP/Tea Party is condemning the US Government – the Obama Administration – for NOT seizing private property.
:doh
You can't make this stuff up.
What on God's Green Earth would cause anyone with a brain to vote for this lady?
Satan or Bachmann?
Tough choice.
I now live in this woman's district. I would vote for Skeletor over this woman. At least his ideology makes sense.
:2wave:
Hello neighbor! The dichotomy of living in the 6th CD and having Batcrap Crazy Bachmann as a Rep, but having a brilliant Senator like Al Franken is indeed, fascinating.
What a freakin' embarrassment to us all.
I'd be embarrassed too if I had Franken as my Senator. My condolences.
Equating criticism of the government takeover of General Motors and Chrysler to the federal government's constitutional responsibility to protect our shorelines and national wildlife refuges from disasters is blatant dishonesty. It is the federal government that licenses deepwater oil leases in the gulf, not the states. It is the federal government that inspects these rigs for safety, not the states. It is the federal government that is required to insure these rigs comply with environmental regulations, not the states. It is the federal government's responsibility to insure oil companies are prepared to deal with oil spills, not the states.
From the smell, I have a strong sense of where you pulled that out of. Have a nice day.
Al Franken rocks.
Given that other posts have stated that her positions do not make sense is pretty good evidence that people are not being dishonest. They simply fail to understand the ideology. I have made a personal study of Conservative ideology and I still don't truly understand it at times, despite trying.
:2wave:
Hello neighbor! The dichotomy of living in the 6th CD and having Batcrap Crazy Bachmann as a Rep, but having a brilliant Senator like Al Franken is indeed, fascinating.
What a freakin' embarrassment to us all.
I wasn't referring ONLY to her post.
Multiple posts with the same position are not proof of accuracy ... or honesty.
That makes your response fundamentally dishonest than. That is, of course, assuming you are taking the posts at face value. If not than your view is largely incidental and irrelevent.
Your post makes no sense, which is not unusual.
I love it when libs cry hypocrisy in situations like this. Yes, conservatives believe that in most cases the federal government should stay out of people's lives. THIS is not such a case. There are legitimate duties and responsibilities of the federal government and this is one of them.
Equating criticism of the government takeover of General Motors and Chrysler to the federal government's constitutional responsibility to protect our shorelines and national wildlife refuges from disasters is blatant dishonesty. It is the federal government that licenses deepwater oil leases in the gulf, not the states. It is the federal government that inspects these rigs for safety, not the states. It is the federal government that is required to insure these rigs comply with environmental regulations, not the states. It is the federal government's responsibility to insure oil companies are prepared to deal with oil spills, not the states.
But if she meant commandeering, I adamantly disagree with her statements on that.
That's one thing, but the criticism here is entirely based on her use of the term "commandeering".
I don't disagree with the idea that this particular issue is something that the federal government and the States affected have shared responsibility over. The fact that it will affect multiple states automaticallly places more responsibility on the Feds than any other group.
My issue with her comments has nothing to do with teh fact that she is saying that tyhe Feds ****ed up.
It's that she apparently believes that the govenrment should be seizing private property, or should have seized private property, to help combat this oil spill.
I have major problems with that.
Granted, she may have mispoken. She did not go into detail on what she meant exactly with that, so I give her the benefit of the doubt.
But if she meant commandeering, I adamantly disagree with her statements on that.
Parish leaders in Jefferson Parish at Grand Isle have been commandeering fishing boats for cleanup duty. Last I heard, they've commandeered around 30. I haven't heard any complaints yet.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), a darling of the tea party movement and a loyal ally to House Republican leadership, is known for decrying almost every form of government action as socialism.
What about her paycheck--is that socialism? Or her health plan?
What goes on in some of these districts? How do these wing nuts get elected?
If Bachmann had said that "every form of government action is socialism", you might have a point. Instead it was a blog site called Think Progress that made the pronouncement.
Think Progress... yeah, I'm sure they are fair to conservatives....:roll:
“Nothing is more effective at reaching a congressman than having a citizen come to Washington, D.C. – not asking for a handout, not asking for tax money, not asking to take some liberty away from somebody else, but just asking for freedom.”
I want to make sure you got that – being a good American, to Ms. Bachmann, means “not asking for a handout” and “not asking for tax money.” Did you get that?
If that is what it means to be a good American, then why is it that Ms. Bachmann and her husband’s business – Bachmann and Associates, Inc. – take in tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money? What is Bachmann & Associates, you ask? Bachmann & Associates is a Christian mental health clinic run by Bachmann’s husband. It opened in 2003, and since that time it has been taking money from Minnesota’s public funds (that means taxpayer money) under two different provisions of law. Both provisions of law, one known as Rule 29 funds and the other as Rule 31 funds, are voluntary for health clinics, meaning that the Bachmann’s were not required to sign up under these rules to operate their clinic. They chose to sign up for them! Now who’s the good American, eh?
Bachmann is a joke and disgrace to the GOP, Congress, Women...
You only have to google her name to find out her days are numbered, local papers and voters in her district now see right through the shrill harpy of the far-right fringe.
Being in Congress is just a scam for her, she'll milk it for all it's worth, never make a contribution, and then be gone....
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