Historically incorrect statements show woeful disconnect from nation
As summer 2011 looms closer, so does the swarm of Republican politicians announcing their possible candidacies for president. Names have been flying all over the place, from Mitt Romney to Donald Trump to Sarah Palin. However, there is one name on the list that terrifies me: Michele Bachmann.
The problem is, unlike other highly conservative politicians, Rep. Bachmann is just nutty. In two recent speeches, she incorrectly said the Battles of Lexington and Concord happened in New Hampshire. Unfortunately for Bachmann, those important battles happened in Massachusetts, something even my 10-year-old sister knows. When criticized by the media on these issues, she ignored the fact that she was the one who recalled history incorrectly and claimed their criticisms were part of the “(President Barack) Obama press contingent.”
Bachmann has some serious issues not only in recalling basic facts about American history but also in her understanding of the basic premise under which this country was founded. In another speech, Bachmann discussed at length how the founding fathers of America fought to eradicate slavery, ignoring the fact that many of them owned slaves and that the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Civil War were nearly 100 years apart. She also seems to believe that when people began to come to America, skin color, language or economic class did not matter because “we were all the same.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Americans and Europeans enslaved an entire race of dark-skinned people who, even after emancipation, did not receive equal rights until the latter half of the 20th century. Moreover, for much of the 19th century, Asian-American immigrants on the West Coast received second-class citizenship, as did many Irish, Polish and Italian immigrants on the East Coast.
Finally, her assumption that class standing did not affect status in America is preposterous. For the first 100 years, many were denied the right to vote unless they owned land. Bachmann’s statements show just how out of touch she is with not only America’s history but America as a whole.
I could go on with more examples, but there is no need to belabor the issue. The point is, not only is Michele Bachmann not somebody I would want as my president, she’s someone I would not want to touch the Republican candidacy with a 10-foot pole. She clearly lives in a world where lower-class people, minorities and non-Christians do not exist. Her idea of history is skewed, utopian and inappropriate. I can only hope that her tease into launching a presidential exploratory committee is just that — a tease. Certainly she is getting media attention and many followers, but I can only hope that, at the most, she’ll go the way of Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, toward a job at Fox News and far away from the White House.