Michele Bachmann is a candidate who can’t say no (unless we’re talking about raising the debt ceiling, expanding gay rights or vaccinating young girls against cervical cancer, of course.)
A pair of incidents from the past week show a candidate who likes to be agreeable with her supporters — even when that makes for some less-than-ideal headlines.
Exhibit A: Charles Manson For President!
We already know Bachmann has a problem with serial killers — she confused the Iowa birthplaces of John Wayne and the hometown of John Wayne Gacy in a famous incident early in her campaign, leading to a sort-of apology.
A couple days ago, she put her foot in it when the subject of serial killers came up yet again. Here’s what that sounded like, from the Los Angeles Times (via ThinkProgress):
On the radio show, a caller told her he would vote for serial killer Charles Manson over President Obama. “Hey, thank you for saying that,” she replied.
Exhibit B: If We Can’t Vote Him Out, Let’s Run Him Out
On Tuesday, Bachmann was again in Iowa drumming up support for her lagging campaign. And once again, a supporter said something a little out there — and once again Bachmann readily agreed with him.
From CBS’ Sarah Huisenga:
After visiting a coffee shop in this small Iowa town, Bachmann was asked by a man in the crowd, “When will we impeach him and get him out of the way? We should be” The candidate replied, “Well, I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you, I agree, I agree. Some people are really upset.” Then she moved on to the next well-wisher.
Here’s some video of that moment:
The Bachmann campaign told CBS that Bachmann was not, as it seems, suggesting she supports the impeachment of President Obama (something she’s said wasn’t completely far-fetched in the past.)
“She was not saying that she agrees that Obama should be impeached,” spokesperson Alice Stewart told the network. “She agreed with the man on what they were talking about before- that people are frustrated.”
Exhibit C: Well, If You Say So…
Beyond just agreeing with her supporters’ sort of weird statements, Bachmann is often found picking up something someone tells her in passing and running with it as a policy stance. This is what happened with the whole “Gardasil causes retardation” kerfuffle.
As CNN reports today, it just happened again. From Shannon Travis:
Seconds later, Bachmann did what she’s done before: repeat something she’d heard as fact.
“I was talking with a businessman this morning up in Minneapolis,” she said. “And he was up in Williston, North Dakota, where the Bakken oil field is producing.”
“Someone told me that last year that North Dakota was the only nation that actually was running a surplus. And it’s because they’re utilizing their natural energy resources,” Bachmann added.
The congresswoman calling North Dakota a “nation” was clearly misspeaking. But more glaring: North Dakota was one of four states to run a surplus last year.
Once again the Bachmann campaign said that what Bachmann said isn’t exactly what she meant.
“The point Michele was making is that the country and states would benefit by legalizing all energy production and not picking winners and losers, as President Obama did with Solyndra. She disagrees with the president on energy – while he views it in terms of environmental policy, she views it in terms of economic policy,” Stewart said.
She was just being agreeable.
