Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann's Over-the-Top Nonsense

onMar 24, 2009 @ 09:20 PDT

During a radio interview in her home state of Minnesota over the weekend, Republican Representative Michele Bachmann [R-MN] called on all global warming deniers to report for duty “armed and dangerous,” ready to “fight back hard” in a “revolution” against President Obama’s cap and trade plan, warning that it “has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.

BACHMANN: And really now in Washington, I’m a foreign correspondent on enemy lines. And I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington. […]

I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.

Bachman, displaying her membership card from The Flat Earth Society, claimed that humans aren’t responsible for global warming:

BACHMANN: And actually, we want this debate because the science is on our side on this one. And the science indicates that human activity is not the cause of all this global warming. And that in fact, nature is the cause, with solar flares, etc.

Representative Bachman, who when it comes to global warming denial might as well be James Inhofe in a skirt, has declared her leadership role in the GOP’s anti-science movement – hoping to be their new Sarah Palin, perhaps?

During a January 14, 2009 interview with right wing talk show host Glenn Beck, Bachmann identified herself as one of only a handful of members of Congress who are “keepers of the flame” of global warming denial.

According to Bachman’s official House website, she will host forums on “Climate Change & Cap and Trade” at St. Cloud State University on April 9, featuring (oh-so-) special guest Chris Horner, Senior Fellow and chief denier at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Bachman says she asked Horner to come do the forum after hearing him speak in Washington.

“People’s socks will be knocked off” by Horner, Bachman promised her radio audience this weekend.

The sock industry better not count on a “Colbert Bump” from Horner to perform as well as he has for his Exxon funders in the past.

Read more about Bachman’s interview at Think Progress.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

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