Bachmann Warns Of “Re-Education Camps” For Young People

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

In an interview on Saturday with local right-wing talk radio host Sue Jeffers, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) warned that the Democrats could soon be requiring America’s youth to attend “re-education camps,” where they will imbibe the philosophy of the government.

The target of Bachmann’s ire is a recently-passed national service bill, expanding Americorps. Although Bachmann said that the language in the present legislation makes service voluntary, she warned that a “Democrat colleague” was proposing to make it mandatory. The discussion happens at the 5:30 mark here:

I believe when it’s all said and done, this service that — I believe that there’s a very strong chance that we will see that young people will be put into mandatory service. And the real concern is that there are provisions for what I would call re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward and then they have to go and work in some of these politically correct forums. It’s very concerning. It appears that there’s a philosophical agenda behind all of this, and especially if young people are mandated to go into this. As a parent, I would have a very, very difficult time seeing my children do this. Again, a huge power-grab, at a cost of billions of dollars.

Another fun part: Jeffers quite vocally encouraged Bachmann to run for the Senate in 2012 against Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar, though Bachmann didn’t respond one way or the other during the course of the interview.

(Via Minnesota Independent and Dump Bachmann.)

Latest DC
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: