Bachmann Bails On Tea Party Convention

With Michelle Bachmann joining Marsha Blackburn in pulling out of the Nashville Tea Party convention, I’m thinking it’s only a matter of time before Sarah Palin says thanks but no thanks, too. After all, Palin doesn’t want to associate herself with anything that carries that stench of merde and the Tea Party confab is increasingly becoming just such a beast:

"Bachmann's office cited the same concerns that other Tea Party activists have voiced about the first-of-its-kind national gathering: namely, the for-profit model of organizer Judson Phillips, a self-described 'small town lawyer' with a history of financial problems."

Ouch. Now that’s gotta hurt.

I’m not gloating here: these folks are absolutely right to withdraw from this event. Setting up a for-profit corporation with yourself as the benficiary for an event of this kind doesn’t just "smell scammy” it is scammy.

I do think it’s a little telling that a movement which began as a right-wing astroturf campaign would continue to have issues with exploitation of their movement. Kinda shows that the anger and emotions behind the Tea Party are real but as an organized movement it’s got a long way to go.

But I’m sure the Tea Party folks will get their act together eventually and all will be hunky dory.

Going Galt On The Census

Our favorite wackadoodle Rep. Michelle Bachmann has announced she’s going Galt on the U.S. census:

"I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home," said Bachmann, who warned of corrupt ACORN involvement in the census. "We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."

Turns out boycotting the census was a campaign of the Libertarian Party in 2000. Some Libertarians are calling for a repeat this time around, as well.

Okay, here’s the deal, folks. The census is used to determine how much Federal money your state receives. And the census is used by your state government to determine how much money your local government receives. And Congress uses Census information to determine how many seats your state receives in the House of Representatives. It’s how the government plans stuff like spending on education, healthcare, senior citizens programs, etc.

So, opting out of even part of the Census is not only illegal, it’s just plain stupid. Especially for a Congress Critter who, as part of the government, should know better.

Still Dropping

According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, gas prices are still dropping. The national average for regular unleaded is $3.77, down from a high of $4.11 a month ago. However, locally I’ve seen prices at $3.67 around town.

This reminds me that back in April when gas prices started climbing into the stratosphere, local conservative yakker Steve Gill said it was the Democrats’ fault.

Well, bless his heart.

So, now that gas prices are falling, do Democrats get the credit? Since they were in charge back in May when Congress voted to stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, over Republicans’ objections?

Estimates of the impact of suspending the deposits varied. Some economists predicted the impact would be negligible, while Speaker Nancy Pelosi, citing others who have studied the issue, said prices could drop 5 to 24 cents a gallon.

But Representative Joe L. Barton of Texas, the senior Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said the measure was meaningless. “If all the members of the House would go out onto the steps and clap our hands three times and say, ‘Down prices, down prices,’ that would have as much impact as passing this bill,” he said.

Heh. But gas prices are dropping. No new oil wells have been drilled. ANWAR is still a wildlife refuge.

So suck on it Congressman Barton. And you can take Rep. Michelle Bachman with you, since she thinks ANWAR is the “most perfect place on earth” to drill for oil.

Maybe she needs to check out the Middle East?

I See Your Fantaticism And Raise You One Zealotry With A Side Of Biblical Illiteracy

Rep. Michelle Bachman, R-Wingnuttia, takes the right-wing habit of cherry-picking Bible passages to score political points to new levels of idiocy:

GOP Rep. To Environmentalists: Jesus Already Saved The Planet

"[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she's just trying to save the planet," Bachmann told the right-wing news site OneNewsNow. "We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet -- we didn't need Nancy Pelosi to do that."

Oooh, saving the planet--bad! There goes the premise of every Hollywood blockbuster of the past 30 years.

By Bachman's logic, why search for a cure for cancer, or AIDs, or any other disease, since Jesus already saved us all 2,000 years ago? Why fight starvation, since those kids with the swollen bellies in Africa were saved 2,000 years ago?


Why--dare I ask it--fight abortion, since those “unborn babies” you’re constantly yammering about were already saved 2,000 years ago?