My favorite nut-job Republican, Representative Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota), just never gets a break. If we’re not saying she’s a conspiracy theorist, we’re calling her an ignorant fool.

Now 178,000 people have signed a petition saying that she’s not worthy to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Well, duh. We all know that. Her fellow Republicans know that. Her former campaign staff knows that. But apparently House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) didn’t get the memo reminding him that he knows that. “I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous,” said Speaker Boehner last summer, during the peak of her insane attack on Muslims. Boehner also seems to have forgotten that even her colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee and other party leaders distanced themselves from her because of her irrational behavior and embarrassing accusations.





The People for the American Way (PFAW), an anti-Bachmann liberal advocacy group, petitioned last year to have her removed from the committee and they are outraged that she has been re-appointed.

“Michele Bachmann has used her position on the Intelligence Committee to spread baseless conspiracy theories and smear the reputations of honorable public servants,” said Michael Keegan, President of PFAW. “Speaker Boehner himself called her actions ‘dangerous.’ It’s mysterious, then, why he has chosen to reward her reckless extremism with continued access to sensitive national security information and a powerful platform for her agenda.”

Last summer, Bachmann spearheaded what Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota), a practicing Muslim, termed a “McCarthyistic witch hunt.” (Source: Huffington Post) She lashed out against Muslim members of President Obama’s administration and suggested that the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated Congress. Bachmann claimed that Muslim staffers were agents of Islamic extremism and possibly aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. She requested that inspector generals from the departments of State, Homeland Security, Defense, and Justice investigate potential “policies and activities that appear to be the result of influence operations conducted by individuals and organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

“It appears that there has been deep penetration in the halls of our United States government by the Muslim Brotherhood,” Bachmann said in an interview with radio host, Sandy Rios, in June 2012. “It appears that there are individuals who are associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who have positions, very sensitive positions, in our Department of Justice, our Department of Homeland Security, potentially even in the National Intelligence Agency.”

Bachmann’s most notorious attacks was on Huma Abedin, a high level aid to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and wife of controversial former Representative Anthony Weiner (D-Minnesota). Bachmann accused Abedin of having deep ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and suggested that she may be an infiltrator.

Unfortunately for my crazy lady, one of her own, Representative Keith Ellison, didn’t appreciate this one bit. He personally sent her a letter requesting accountability:

“A full accounting of the sources you used to make the serious allegations against the individuals and organizations in your letters.” He warned her that he expected to see “credible, substantial evidence” for her claims.”

She responded with 16 pages of so-called “evidence” that implicated the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and advocacy groups like the Islamic Society of North America and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Bachmann couldn’t substantiate her claims of “infiltration.”

The People for the American Way petition reads:

In service to ugly Islamophobic fear mongering, Rep. Michele Bachmann continues unabated in her unfounded and irresponsible attacks on dedicated public servants — a witch hunt that has targeted Huma Abedin, a key aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and now includes allegations that President Obama may be aiding the rise of global Sharia law. Conspiracy theories and religious McCarthyism should have no place in our government, especially in the House Intelligence Committee, on which Rep. Bachmann sits. Please remove Rep. Bachmann from her seat on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence immediately. Members of the House Intelligence Committee are entrusted with classified information that affects the safety and security of all Americans. That information should not be in the hands of anyone with such a disregard for honesty, misunderstanding of national security, and lack of respect for his or her fellow public servants.

Keegan said “178,000 Americans are sending Speaker Boehner a clear message: we don’t want our national security in Michele Bachmann’s hands.” The petition was presented to Speaker John Boehner on Monday.

I am an unapologetic member of the Christian Left, and have spent a lot of time working with “the least of these” and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. I’m passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics I discuss, subscribe to my public updates on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me via LinkedIn. I also have a grossly neglected blog. Find me somewhere and let’s discuss stuff.