Is Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) smarter than a 10th grader? One high school sophomore wants to find out, throwing down the gauntlet and challenging the congresswoman to a debate and test on the U.S. Constitution.
In a letter to Bachmann, New Jersey high schooler Amy Myers wrote that she was troubled by Bachmann’s, “factually incorrect, inaccurately applied or grossly distorted,” facts about the United States. As a result, Myers wrote, she hoped to test her own knowledge against Bachmann’s, to see who really knew more about the Constitution and the country.
“Rep. Bachmann, the frequent inability you have shown to accurately and factually present even the most basic information about the United States led me to submit the following challenge, pitting my public education against your advanced legal education,” Myers wrote.
Bachmann has made several highly-publicized inaccurate historical claims in recent months. Back in January, she flubbed a number of facts about the founding fathers, and said that America was founded on “diversity.” Then in March, as her nascent presidential campaign began to take shape, she lauded a crowd in New Hampshire for being residents of the state where the battles of Lexington and Concord were fought. Those battles actually took place in Massachusetts.
In the letter, Myers also said that Bachmann’s statements not only make her look bad, but make women as a whole look bad by extension.
“Though politically expedient, incorrect comments cast a shadow on your person and by unfortunate proxy, both your supporters and detractors alike often generalize this shadow to women as a whole,” Myers wrote.
The proposed debate will most likely never happen. When reached by TPM, Bachmann spokesman Doug Sachtleben said the congresswoman’s office had no comment about the letter, or the challenge.
But for what it’s worth, there’s already a Facebook page asking Bachmann to debate Myers.
View the full letter below, via CNN:
