# The Congresswoman with the crazy eyes, part II, crazy in the head **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 1, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420 "2011-05-01T23:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/581 "2012-07-23T23:44:06Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [Michele Bachmann compares Taxes and Debt to the Holocaust](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bachmann_holocaust). Sorry, thought this was about Nancy Pelosi… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/582 "2012-07-27T14:55:16Z")
[Update:](http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/07/bachmann-gets-slap-wrist-huma-abedin-stunt/55092/) > [@](#): > > Elspeth Reeve 705 Views Jul 26, 2012 > > Michele Bachmann was scolded by House Intelligence Committee chair Mile Rogers for her letter to the State Department suggesting the Muslim Brotherhood is stealthily influencing the department and implying that Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin might be an agent for the group. Republicans like Sen. John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner publicly rebuked Bachmann, Rogers was “incredibly angry” over the stunt, Politico’s Jake Sherman reported. There was speculation she could lose her seat on the intelligence committee, but that’s not going to happen, according to The National Review’s Robert Costa. Rogers met with Bachmann last week. Whether Rogers asked her to apologize is a matter of dispute, Costa reports, but “all these sources agree that the discussion was not about Bachmann’s potentially losing her seat on the committee. There’s no doubt that it was a scolding, though.” > > One thing Rogers and other Republicans on the committee were worried about was that because Bachmann sits on the intelligence committee, it could look to outsiders like she was making her case against Abedin based on classified information. “I’m told Rogers was very sensitive to the committee being connected to any non-congressional investigation of Abedin or other federal employees,” Costa writes. > > Boehner has tried to stay out of it, Costa reported earlier, offering another juicy nugget of Bachmannology: Boehner may have spoken out against Bachmann’s charge because Bachmann is tough to manage. Since “she does not consult with leadership on most of her initiatives and does not respond well to emissaries or private counsel, many aides feel that Boehner’s public statement was the best way to send a message — for now.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/583 "2012-07-27T14:58:06Z")
The true test will be what happens after the election. Whether she gets to keep her seat on the committee then, or if they’ll find some way to shuffle her off to something less sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/584 "2012-07-27T16:36:52Z")
There’s got to be a committee on mental illness issues… ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/585 "2012-07-27T17:07:03Z")
I was going to say “and there you go!”, but then I thought about the way her husband’s outfit was “treating” homosexuality… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/586 "2012-07-27T17:09:22Z")
Well, they put a homosexual in a leadership position. That’s gotta count for something. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/587 "2012-07-28T20:22:22Z")
> [@Atlantic](#): > > Boehner may have spoken out against Bachmann’s charge because Bachmann is tough to manage. Maybe they wanted to unleash a flurry of criticism at Clinton and she Bachmann spoke too early for the memo to be sent to Fox? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/588 "2012-07-29T08:03:52Z")
[Muslim Brotherhood’s response: “WTF?!”](http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/120723/michelle-bachmann-huma-abedin-muslim-brotherhood-responds) > [@](#): > > CAIRO, Egypt — Michele Bachmann has again ignited a political firestorm in the US, claiming last week that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has “infiltrated the highest levels of US government,” including the White House. > > The Muslim Brotherhood’s response? > > “I haven’t heard these rumors, but they strike me as ridiculous,” said Ahmed Al Nahhas, a long-time Brotherhood activist and leader in Egypt’s second-largest city, Alexandria. “Surely the United States government selects its employees very carefully.” > > Bachmann claims that Huma Abedin, a Muslim-American aide to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, is central to the battle to subvert the US “from within.” Bachmann says Abedin, who is now under police protection, is influencing White House policy at the behest of what Bachmann says are her Brotherhood-linked family members. > > But in Egypt, the birthplace of the Brotherhood, the organization’s leaders were either perplexed by the accusations or simply hadn’t heard them. Nor had they heard of Huma Abedin. > > “The Muslim Brotherhood can’t even penetrate the Egyptian government,” said a Brotherhood leader in Egypt’s Daqheleya province, Ibrahim Ali Iraqi, in response to the accusations his group had infiltrated top US agencies. > > Indeed, having assumed the presidency following a year of economic tumult and political upheaval, the Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi is grappling with severe domestic problems — not least of which is his battle with the ruling military for executive power. > > “We are in a period of darkness because the country is still governed by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces — and they have a long history of support from the United States,” Iraqi said. “So it’s ridiculous that these accusations are leveled at us.” ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/589 "2012-07-29T17:33:10Z")
Reminds me of [this story](http://www.theonion.com/video/911-conspiracy-theories-ridiculous-al-qaeda-says,14222/). ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/590 "2012-07-29T18:48:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Muslim Brotherhood’s response: “WTF?!”](http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/120723/michelle-bachmann-huma-abedin-muslim-brotherhood-responds) Which, of course, _proves_ that Michelle is getting too close for their comfort. Questions are being asked!!! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/591 "2012-07-30T21:56:26Z")
The Daily Beast: [“It’s best not to get too excited about occasional outbreaks of decency in the Republican Party, because they tend to be short-lived.”](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/27/right-wing-grassroots-rises-to-defend-michele-bachmann-over-abedin.html) The Tea Party grassroots is actually **defending** her accusations here. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/592 "2012-07-30T22:56:10Z")
I’m not getting what Bachman did that was so bad. Three of her family members±mother, father, and brother—have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood or groups that work in concert with them. Bachman never said Abedin was involved, but doesn’t her family associations make it both logical and prudent to look into it? [This explains it well.](http://frontpagemag.com/2012/ben-shapiro/letting-the-muslim-brotherhood-off-the-hook/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6a0ca71611-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag) ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/593 "2012-07-30T22:57:11Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The Daily Beast: [“It’s best not to get too excited about occasional outbreaks of decency in the Republican Party, because they tend to be short-lived.”](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/27/right-wing-grassroots-rises-to-defend-michele-bachmann-over-abedin.html) The Tea Party grassroots is actually **defending** her accusations here. What accusation was that? PLease be specific. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/594 "2012-07-30T23:17:06Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I’m not getting what Bachman did that was so bad. Three of her family members±mother, father, and brother—have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood or groups that work in concert with them. Bachman never said Abedin was involved, but doesn’t her family associations make it both logical and prudent to look into it? > > [This explains it well.](http://frontpagemag.com/2012/ben-shapiro/letting-the-muslim-brotherhood-off-the-hook/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6a0ca71611-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag) Well, for one thing, it would be basically accusing the FBI of criminal incompetence and/or treason, seeing as how they gave Abedin a security clearance… ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/595 "2012-07-30T23:39:17Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Well, for one thing, it would be basically accusing the FBI of criminal incompetence and/or treason, seeing as how they gave Abedin a security clearance… I get your point, but it goes a bit too far. I see nothing wrong with Bachman suggesting that people with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood be investigated/cleared (One being Abedin). If the FBI and/or CIA then come back and say, “we did look into Person A, B and C and we stand by the clearance we gave them”, fine. Or perhaps Person B had a rather light investigation, and now with the change of the landscape in Egypt a fuller investigation is warranted. Seems like a sensible thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/596 "2012-07-31T00:24:24Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I get your point, but it goes a bit too far. I see nothing wrong with Bachman suggesting that people with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood be investigated/cleared (One being Abedin). If the FBI and/or CIA then come back and say, “we did look into Person A, B and C and we stand by the clearance we gave them”, fine. Or perhaps Person B had a rather light investigation, and now with the change of the landscape in Egypt a fuller investigation is warranted. Seems like a sensible thing to do. Have you actually looked at the details of the so-called link between Abedin and the Muslim Brotherhood? It’s like six degrees of Kevin Bacon; completely meaningless as far as her charge that Abedin works on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/597 "2012-07-31T00:38:13Z")
Yeah, that “let’s investigate them, just in case” strategy was met with a chorus of “hell yeah’s” from the right [the last time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11065652#post11065652) we tried something like that. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/598 "2012-07-31T01:59:56Z")
On Facebook I see this coming up with even insults thrown at McCain because he dismissed Bachman, They are really tearing themselves apart, The Tea Party guys and others. And really? FrontPage? Sure they claim now that they are not birthers, no sirree, but they sure could fool many with articles like the one reviewing Birther tripe coming from Corsi and \*\*never \*\*dismissing him, the last review from Frontpage of a book from Corsi on the birth certificate was a wonder, no condemnation on Corsi for being stupid, only equivocations that affirmed that sure this president deserves a dumb investigation like the ones on his birth certificate! [http://frontpagemag.com/2011/benjamin-shapiro/about-the-birth-certificate/](http://frontpagemag.com/2011/benjamin-shapiro/about-the-birth-certificate/) Like \*\*Jack Batty \*\*points out, the idea is to “let’s investigate them, just in case” even if it is an already dumb thing to do based on the evidence, but by golly, something embarrassing \*\*must \*\*still be there in the birth certificate of the president! Or with that Muslim Brotherhood “sleeper agent”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/599 "2012-07-31T02:13:17Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > What accusation was that? PLease be specific. Should be clear from [the link.](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/27/right-wing-grassroots-rises-to-defend-michele-bachmann-over-abedin.html) > [@](#): > > Last week, it seemed for a moment that Michele Bachmann had finally gone too far. After she and four other congressmen demanded that the government investigate State Department Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin, a widely respected aide to Hillary Clinton, for ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, prominent Republicans stepped forward to denounce her. . . . > > \ > > Reports of Bachmann’s irrelevance, though, were premature. As it turns out, there’s still a big constituency for her conspiracy theories in conservative circles. That’s probably why House Majority Leader Eric Cantor came to Bachmann’s defense on Friday morning. Asked by Charlie Rose whether she was “out of line,” he simply said, “I think that her concern was about the security of the country.” Who could fault her for that? > > Cantor’s words demonstrated the power of the conservative backlash against Bachmann’s critics. She may be a joke in the Beltway, but she remains immensely popular with the right-wing grassroots. Having collected $14.8 million in donations this cycle, she’s the second-biggest fundraiser in the House, behind only Boehner. She speaks for an important chunk of the Republican Party, and the Tea Party, the Christian right, and conservative talk radio are all rallying around her > > “John McCain needs to sit down and shut up,” said Judson Phillips, head of Tea Party Nation, in an email blast headlined “Michele Bachmann and the battle for the truth.” The Family Research Council lauded her for asking the “tough questions,” saying, “Like us, she believes the business of national security shouldn’t be driven by political correctness. It requires careful scrutiny, vigorous debate, and fearless leadership—three things on which Rep. Bachmann will not compromise.” Sean Hannity called Bachmann and her four congressional colleagues “modern day Paul Reveres.” Christian radio host Steve Deace tweeted, “Grassroots patriots: want to know who’s at least somewhat on your side? Look at their response to Michele Bachmann controversy. Litmus Test.” > > On Tuesday, Bachmann was even defended by one of Mitt Romney’s most prominent foreign policy advisers, hyper-hawk John Bolton. “What is wrong with raising the question? Why isn’t even asking whether we’re living up to our standards a legitimate level of congressional oversight?” he asked on Frank Gaffney’s radio show. (Gaffney, a former Bachmann adviser, is a longtime font of conspiracy theories about Muslim Brotherhood infiltration.) > > Someone should ask Romney whether he agrees with Bolton and Cantor and thinks Bachmann’s queries about Abedin are legitimate. Chances are, even if he doesn’t, he won’t say so too loudly. Of course, they’re [Just Asking Questions](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/JAQing_off) . . . ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420/600 "2012-07-31T03:24:24Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Yeah, that “let’s investigate them, just in case” strategy… (snip) Is not a good use of taxpayer money, especially when coming from the same crowd that cries “lower our taxes.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-congresswoman-with-the-crazy-eyes-part-ii-crazy-in-the-head/580420.md?page=31)