Michele Bachmann unwittingly tells the truth. (Larry Downing/Reuters)

The Minnesota congresswoman struck an urgent tone, issuing dire warnings to voters of the consequences of not electing a Republican who will repeal Obama’s health care law in 2012. "I have wept in Washington, D.C., watching what's happening to our country," Bachmann said. Speaking in hushed and sometimes pleading tones, she warned that the implementation of Obama’s health care law would be a death knell to conservatism in America. "You can't put socialized medicine into a country and think that ever again you can elect as president a Republican or conservative or even a tea partier and think somehow we're going to get back to limited government. It won't happen because socialized medicine is the definition of big government," she said. "That's why this is it—2012 is it," she added, calling it a "last-chance election" for the country.

At a South Carolina town meeting with Gov. Nikki Haley yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann let the cat out of the bag about why Republicans fight social progress tooth and nail.

Put aside the fact that Bachmann's understanding of socialism is about as good as her knowledge of the founding fathers, she absolutely nails Republican governing philosophy: Make it not work. Republicans can't get elected when Democrats do things that the public needs and likes. If you give America's middle class a health system that makes life a little less scary, that's affordable, that takes away the sword of Damacles—the threat of losing health care coverage—you win.

So here's Bachmann's lesson for Democrats. The only hope Republicans have to finally create their permanent political majority is to destroy every good thing government has done or will do for middle class America, the vast majority of us. The best hope for Democrats is fighting tooth and nail to save those very programs.

(H/T Think Progress)