October 17-22, 2008: Republican Representative Attacks Obama’s Patriotism, Then Claims She Was ‘Trapped’

Michele Bachmann. [Source: Think Progress (.org)]House Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) slams the patriotism of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Appearing on MSNBC’s Hardball, Bachmann uses Obama’s disputed ties to former Weather Underground member William Ayers and Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, to attack Obama’s patriotism and character. “I’m very concerned that he may have anti-American views,” Bachmann tells host Chris Matthews. “That’s what the American people are concerned about.” Bachmann goes farther, suggesting that anyone with liberal or progressive views is “anti-American.” Matthews, apparently stunned by Bachmann’s remarks, asks how many Congress members she is referring to, and Bachmann replies, “You’ll have to ask them.” Bachmann then calls on the news media to conduct investigations into the “anti-American activities” of Congressional members, perhaps similar to the investigations conducted by former Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee of the 1950s. “What I would say—what I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that,” she says. [Think Progress, 10/17/2008]
'Misreading' of Her Words - The next day, Bachmann denies ever calling Obama’s views “anti-American.” On a Minneapolis radio talk show, she says: “I feel his views are concerning. I’m calling on the media to investigate them. I’m not saying that his views are anti-American. That was a misreading of what I said. And so I don’t believe that’s my position. I’m calling on the media to take a look at what his views are.” [Think Progress, 10/18/2008]
'Chris Matthews Laid a Trap' - On October 21, Bachmann tells the St. Cloud Times that the entire controversy is Matthews’s fault. In Bachmann’s view, she was victimized by a clever and manipulative host. “Chris Matthews laid a trap, and I walked into it,” she says. “Chris Matthews was using the term [anti-American] over and over, and I should not have used it.… This was Chris Matthews. I made a big mistake by going on the show. I never should have.… I just didn’t recognize—I never watched the Chris Matthews show before. I should have before I went on. I didn’t recognize that he would lay a trap the way that he did.” [Think Progress, 10/22/2008]
Renewing the Attack - On October 22, Bachmann appears as a guest or caller on several right-wing radio shows, where she continues to launch attacks against Obama’s patriotism and character. On Hugh Hewitt’s show, she says flatly, “Barack Obama’s views are against America.” On Mike Gallagher’s radio show, she asks of Obama’s policy proposals, “Are they for America or will they be against traditional American ideals and values?” She continues: “And I’ll tell you what. Punishing tax rates, redistribution of wealth, socialized medicine, inputting censorship in the form of the un-Fairness Doctrine, and taking away the secret ballot from the worker has nothing to do with traditional American values. That’s why your listeners need to know. Otherwise the United States may be literally changed forever.” She also tells Gallagher that the media scrutiny of her comments is part of a coordinated effort “to get my scalp on a platter.” She explains why the media is “out to get her”: “I touched a nerve, which shows how ultra hyper-sensitive leftists are right now in this country. They know we’re a center-right country and they know Americans would shrink back if they truly come to understand how Obama will radically change this country. I mean they’re so afraid.… [T]hat’s why shows like the Today Show are banding together with Keith Olbermann [another MSNBC talk show host] and Chris Matthews to get my scalp on a platter.” She ends her interview with Gallagher by making a “desperate” plea for campaign contributions. [Think Progress, 10/22/2008]