Michele Bachman and the House Intelligence Committee

Anne here -

If you haven’t already signed it, I’d like to issue a WWJTD activism alert for the petition by the People for the American Way to remove Michele Bachmann the House Intelligence Committee.

There are any number of reasons for doing this, but primary among them is that she has never met a right-wing conspiracy theory she hasn’t embraced with open arms. PFAW asserts that “conspiracy theories and religious McCarthyism should have no place in our government, especially in the [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence], on which Rep. Bachmann sits.” Personally, I couldn’t agree more.

PFAW will be delivering the petition to John Boehner’s office Monday, so time is of the essence.

The petition:

Dear Speaker Boehner:

In service to ugly Islamophobic fear mongering, Rep. Michele Bachmann continues unabated in her unfounded and irresponsible attacks on dedicated public servants — a witch hunt that has targeted Huma Abedin, a key aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and now includes allegations that President Obama may be aiding the rise of global Sharia law.

Conspiracy theories and religious McCarthyism should have no place in our government, especially in the House Intelligence Committee, on which Rep. Bachmann sits.

Please remove Rep. Bachmann from her seat on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence immediately. Members of the House Intelligence Committee are entrusted with classified information that affects the safety and security of all Americans. That information should not be in the hands of anyone with such a disregard for honesty, misunderstanding of national security, and lack of respect for his or her fellow public servants.

Signed,

You

Bachmann has said some crazy scary things and apparently believes them to be true. During the Republican primaries last year, the Associated Press finally gave up trying to validate all of her statements – there were so many untruths its fact-checkers couldn’t keep up.  Among others, she claims that the Obama administration is supporting radical Islamist groups. Her false and irresponsible attacks have gone too far even for many of her fellow Republicans – including her own former campaign manager, who says her anti-Islamic witch hunt has reached McCarthyism levels. PFAW says that “this isn’t a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It’s about defending all of our values.”

Want to know some of her favorite conspiracy theories? These are a few that demonstrate her unfitness to sit on the House Intelligence Committee:

• President Obama has “enforced Islamic speech codes here in the U.S.”
• President Obama is intent on imposing Sharia law at home as well as  abroad.
• “If [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] has a nuclear weapon he [says he] will use it to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. He will use it against the United States of America.” (No, he didn’t.)
• The Federal Census will lead to concentration camps.
• Americorps is essentially operating reeducation camps for America’s young people.
• There are “unAmerican” members of Congress who endanger the American way of life.
• The Soviet Union is rising again and threatens the American way of life.

If you want more detail on Bachmann’s batshittery, check out PolitiFact.com or FactCheck.org‘s entries for her. They are enlightening.