Michele Bachmann: the New Joe McCarthy?

 











Channeling Joe McCarthy - Have you no decency, ma'am, at long last ?

Michele Bachmann is a Republican U.S. Representative from the state of Minnesota. Below is a link to a full blog post with part of the interview she had on Oct. 17 with Chris Matthews. In that interview she called Obama, "Anti-American," and called on the media to investigate the U.S. House and Senate to ferret out other "Anti-American" members. I am not the first to say this but, she is raising the specter of Joe McCarthy and one of the darkest times in our county's history by calling for another witch hunt in to so-called "Anti-Americans". Whatever her intentions by making these careless and incendiary comments, they have had an impact that she could not have foreseen. See the link for that consequence.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/1008/Bachmann_comments_raising_money_for_opponent.html

Is this indicative of the the general Republican response to opponents with whom they disagree? Plainly, the Republican mantra, whether it be their vice-presidential candidate or Ms. Bachmann, as examples, appears to be at times and at its worst, "if you don't agree with me you must be Anti-American." That type of rote, circular argument (if one can call it an argument without being insulting to those that actually want to have a meaningful debate and trade constructive arguments on issues of substance) is, I would assert, the epitome of "Anti-American." Perhaps one should ask, "have you nothing better to offer to the discourse, ma'am?" But, I again return to that fateful question asked of Joseph McCarthy decades earlier by Joseph Welch that essentially derailed McCarthy and his sad, witch hunting hearings. Specifically, to Ms. Bachmann and those of her ilk I ask, "have you no sense of decency, [ma'am], at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

Update: From

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http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/31261989.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUec7PaP3E77K_0c::D3aDhUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU