Michele Bachmann is a "poor man's Sarah Palin"???

I not all that convinced that Rep. Bachmann is all that "stupid" ... I believe she plays to her audience ... I believe that there is a "small" audience who appreciate her kind of ridiculous speaks. I'm not sure she'll be able to troll for votes outside a very limited base of folks though and come out ahead of any potential presidential candidate on either side. I'm baffled by "poor man's Sarah Palin" ... what ... that Rep.Bachmann has not dumped, reneged her oath to serve her constituents and gone after riches ... what?? I do think that in the "real" serious world, I would NOT want either teaching my children American history ... nor anything else for that matter.

I was watching that show live when she made that remark and I have to admit I sort of winced. I like Meghan but she could have chosen her words a bit more carefully in this case. She was absolutely correct about Bachmann not being a leader but she should have left it at that, especially since for so many on the right speaking ill of Palin in the biggest of "no-no's". I think their NEW 11th Commandment is "Thou Shalt Never Criticize Sarah Palin in any manner!" I can't believe there are people we both know definitely know better who are defending Bachmann's ignorance! I'm not sure if she really is that ignorant of our history or if she has some hidden motive for saying this to her base. From some of the things she's said in the past, I have to agree with Chris Matthews when he says she's a "balloon head"...lol! Annie

Perhaps you should review or re learn your history. The 3/5 compromise came about because the south wanted count slaves toward determining the number of votes in congress and in the electoral college. The north knew that this would give the south too much power. http://www.suite101.com/content/the-threefifths-compromise-a13821 The framers of the country had to decide between allowing slavery and forming a viable country or outlaw slavery and having a weakened country ripe for an invasion by a foreign power. many of the founders realized that slavery could not and would not be economically viable in the future. The framers of the Constitution also put in a provision to change as the country changed and the 13th amendment made the 3/5 clause a mute point because all people were freed. As to the voting privileges the founders felt that those who paid the bill should have a say in how it is spent. They felt that if you allowed people who did not pay for things to vote then they would vote to give themselves more. Look at Detroit with their high taxes to provide a very liberal welfare system. People are walking away from nice home because they can not afford the taxes. Look at California and all the free stuff people wanted but fewer and fewer people are paying taxes. A few years ago CA legislators voted to give people in the state retirement system (including themselves) yearly raises of 8% because that is what the state was making on their investments. Now try and repeal the law that is forcing the state to sell off the principal to pay for the increases. There have been reports that some retirees are making more in retirement than they did on the job. In many large cities there is a constant fight over where city employees should live. Given the choice many city employees choose to live outside the City because of the taxes. They are willing to take the money but do not want to pay taxes. Illinois had a large demonstration by Public Employee Unions several months ago demanding that the state raise the taxes on the rich to pay for increases in their salary and benefits. Why should they get a raise when everyone else is taking a pay cut or having their hours reduced? The idea of giving voting rights only to those who owned land was because they were the ones who would be paying the bill. By the way Rep Bachmann holds a Law Degree from William and Mary Law School. She also knows that the correct citation in the Declaration of Independence is "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" and not We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed .... with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness as our President seems to forget.

That would be a question for Meghan McCain. I really do not know why what she says matters much. Regarding Bachmann, she seems to be doing pretty good with out your support. I do find it telling that so many liberals clamped on to that one statement in her speech. Perhaps she was speaking of the base the forefathers laid down. Clearly the signers of our Constitution did not abolish slavery. Most thinking individuals know this. But they did start the ball.

I think Dana Loesch said it best when she opined that Meghan McCain has figured out that she can make more money with Palin's last name than she can with her own. I suppose the number of people becoming famous for nothing more than excoriating Palin will soon have to move over to make room for people becoming famous for denigrating Bachmann. Chris Matthews is safe, he talks about both of them constantly. I don't think MSNBC considers Bachmann "one of their own". By your estimation, Fox News isn't even a news organization so why does that matter? CNN showed the Bachmann speech in its entirety. I certainly hope that a candidate's viability is not going to be determined by Meghan McCain. Whoa, and we thought the country was in trouble before...

I don't know how the "poor man" term is taken universally, but we use it here as an insult-slash-joke - a 1/2 dozens move. Like, for example, I could call you the "poor man's AnniePA" for making an anti-Bachmann/Palin post, and it would mean like the generic version of the original, at least how we use it around here. But there are many ways it can be used. I guess McCain was trying to be insulting while still leaning on the "it's funny" side - like Jon Stewart, only Stewart has talent and doesn't get airtime because his father's a somebody.