Profiles in Theocracy: Michele Bachmann

"Profiles in Theocracy" is going to be a regular feature of my "Best of the Worst 2012" series because I really see the candidates for the GOP nomination as being likely to signify their theocratic bona fides to the Religious Right harder than ever before.  It's just a feeling I have. Now, it might make sense for me to cover a figure like Rick Santorum, for whom familiarity actually did breed contempt to me and whose theocratic tendencies are pretty well-known , but I think I have to go with Michele Bachmann on the strength of that clip.

She had to introduce legislation to ban gay marriage. That's what God told her to do.  God said, "Hey, Michele, other people's rights? Screw'em.  No, really, I am totally asking you to tell people about whom I certainly know you have not informed yourself, that their personal business and deeply meaningful personal relationships with the persons they love? Are so totally not even sanctified by by Me and shouldn't be recognized by your state either." How odd. She prayed about her particular hang-up, and her God told her what she probably wanted to hear. And then, being her, she totally was "under fire" by people who, for some inexplicable reason, wanted to be treated like their rights and their relationships mattered, and so she had to watch their protest, like, hiding behind bushes, which I am sure felt awkward.


Also, she was recently asked whether she thought homosexuality was a public health hazard beause she was giving a speech for the FAMILY Leader, a very anti-gay group in Iowa. (I hate the religious right for making me feel grumpy about groups that have "family" in their name--what is with them and "family"?) She tried to evade the question, which is very odd. Of course we know the answer.  Her husband has a mental health clinic which is believed to "help" people "pray away the gay" through the abusive scam known as reparative or conversion therapy. Which has received state funds of about $30K, which is totally nothing compared to the $250K the family has received in farm subsidies, but is, as a figure >0, nothing to sneeze at from a person allegedly dead set against socialist government spending.

Anyway, I'd go into how there's a religious intersection between her theocratic tendencies and her embrace of Tea Party nonsense that was all hanging out at a thing they were calling "Prayercast", which featured "oldschool wrestling mike-voiced" Lou Engle. Because I have little patience for these people and their attitude towards transparency, let's assume the requested  take-down of the post for the video was not because of "copyright" (is anyone gonna make a cent, here?) but because of embarrassment--they are embarrassed that Teaparty Caucus Republican Michele Bachmann was privileged to start the prayer against the demon Obamacare. It's all good--I totally understand why they would rather you not know how her faith and her desire to see for example, probably, seniors face an insurance company "death panel" over anything like the government functioning in the role of "brothers' keeper", like duh! (Except, beatitudes n'stuff seems to imply that  we knd of are our brothers' keeper was the takeaway of Christianity, I thought.)

Of course, Michele Bachmann doesn't believe anyone is anyone else's keeper. Which means she has the mark of Cain and no one should even touch her. Not even snark at her wide-eyed ignorance combined with overt theocentrism.  (That link is her on a "Wallbuilders/David Barton" podcast. and as I've pointed out before, Wallbuilders/David Barton, is a total intellectual fraud. But Bachmann is comfortable with untrue statements.)  (Another parenthetical--like her statement that Planned Parenthood is Lenscrafters for abortion--hur hur hur.)

So if you're loving the homophobic, history-ignorant, mouth-running signifying stylings of Michele Bachman, you might just be a theocrat.. And while I don't want to slag Christians, I don't mind slagging theocrats--

She's one, and she's more than enough. I find her homophobia hateful and her opinions ill-informed.