yustyoking

            The following are my opinions.

            Paul McCartney must be shaking his head, considering the kind of women produced by that song of his! God help us, empowerment!

            My best friend is a staunch Republican, singing the praises of Michele Bachmann. Since Michele is so often portrayed in the press as a nut job, my buddy felt that I ought to make a point of hearing her for myself. I had no idea when I would have that opportunity.

            Thanks to David Gregory and Meet the Press, I have now heard, first-hand and unadulterated, Michele Bachmann.

            I have not been a party to this woman’s decisions leading up to her candidacy, so I will not try to second-guess the chain of events. I can only judge the ripeness of the pear as it sits before me on the plate.

            Michele Bachmann appeals to a certain segment of the Republican electorate because she is not merely channeling Ronald Reagan, she is mimicking him. On TV, she trotted out all the same tropes: Government is the problem, not the solution. Don’t have government try to do tasks best left to private industry. The less government, the better. The Market is self-regulating. Everything goes to Hell when government intercedes in the affairs of the private sector. I, too, was once a Democrat, but saw the light and became an arch conservative. The way you grow the economy is by putting a little extra money in people’s pockets, not by sending that money to Washington in the form of tax revenue. I have many friends among the Democrats and will be able to work with them on bipartisan agreements.

            Michele Bachmann is a rerun! Having seen and experienced the original, I am not impressed. Reaganomics injured America in ways so lasting, this country may never recover.

            Of course, when Ronald Reagan took over, America did not have trillions of dollars in debt. The ruptured economy makes a Michele Bachmann or a Newt Gingrich positively dangerous. This is not the time for roll-back, this is the time for TVA-style Works Programs. We have roads, bridges and an electric grid that all need repair. We have out-of-work people who would gladly fill those jobs. Not everyone is prepared to raise a sweat, but there are enough hardworking folks out there to get some life back into the economy. Not at the top, trickling down, but squarely in the middle of the economy, where the largest segment of the population lives.

            “Mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery” and all that b.s., but I expected Michele Bachmann to at least come up with a schtick of her own. Ron Paul and Ross Perot have sculpted their own philosophies. Quoting Ronald Reagan verbatim does not make you a great political leader, Michele. Create something, don’t just parrot the single most popular leader in American history. Ronald Reagan did terrible things to this country, but—“The Great Communicator”— people still swoon at the mention of his name.

            I think Michele read a biography of Reagan and decided, “There’s a lot of mileage left in this old crate! People will vote for this.” It’s a cynical performance, even down to misquoting her opponents and making erroneous statements, just as dear old Ronnie, “The Gipper,” was prone to do.

            She, too, wants her place in history.

            Human kind being a flawed work at best (God goofed, but okay), I usually cut politicians some slack. Watching Michele Bachmann evade, ignore and talk over David Gregory’s more trenchant questions, I think Michele deserves whatever criticism she gets. Watch her performance online and decide for yourself.

            I don’t think the plight of people in the midwest having to go a month without cable TV is such a major crime to lay at President Obama’s door. If he warned the country that Social Security checks might be delayed in August — causing people to cancel their cable service! — that’s what a default is all about. Instead of discussing serious economic policy, Michele Bachmann prefers the old political maneuver of babbling incessantly about the little people in life and what a hard time they are having. It wasn’t cute when Al Gore did it, it wasn’t cute when George W. Bush did it. It’s boring and it’s evasive. I, too, could sing you a Song of Woe! 

            We’ve heard this homespun philosophy before. It ain’t new. It was no fun the first time and it’s no funnier now. It certainly won’t solve the massive debt, unemployment and shaky international relations currently plaguing the country.

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