When Michele Bachmann was on Meet the Press yesterday, she had some thoughts she wanted to share on Jerry Sandusky and the child sex scandal he and Penn State are currently involved with. She first mentioned that if, God forbid, something like this had happened to one of her children, she would want to find Sandusky and "beat him to a pulp." And for the first time, I'll admit, I actually agreed with Bachmann. If anything so horrific ever happened to anyone I love, violence would definitely be the first thing that came to mind. (I'm not running for president, though.)
Her second comment revealed how she feels that this case should remain strictly on a state level. She doesn't think Washington should get involved because “Congress has a lot of other things to pay attention to.”
And this is where the old Bachmann I know and love made an appearance. Clearly, the woman had no idea what she's talking about.
Before I get into why the sentiment of Congress having better things to do with their time is ridiculous, I just want to touch upon the language Bachmann chose to use: "Beat him to a pulp" and "Congress has a lot of other things to pay attention to." The first statement, while I can definitely relate to it, is, well, kind of childish (kind of, dare I say, Sarah Palin-esque). Was there not a more eloquent way to express her rightful rage and shock at Sandusky than merely using words that she thought would rile people up? And as for her second statement, well, let's just call a spade a spade and say that Bachmann clearly doesn't know exactly what Congress is up to if she's speaking in such vagaries (and since her absentee rate at work is terrible).
It would have been nice if instead of just bashing the man everyone in the nation is bashing, Bachmann offered some solutions, some things she would do -- as president -- to deter such an awful thing from happening again. For instance, she could have talked about how the government needs to stop cutting the funding for underprivileged kids, and how they need to pay closer attention to the schools and after-school activities, so kids don't wind up in shady programs with people like Jerry Sandusky.
This is, coincidentally, sort of how Obama handled the situation when talking about it. At a news conference yesterday, the President referred to the Sandusky case as "heartbreaking," then talked about how college sports are fun and can be important, but they shouldn’t get in the way of protecting vulnerable youngsters.
See? Appropriate language and thoughts on how to prevent such a situation. It can be done.
Do you think Michele Bachmann talked about the situations appropriately?
Image via david_shankbone/Flickr
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Comments 79
I think that no matter what she said, you would have found something to criticize.
I agree that her choice of words weren't the best, but additional federal funding for underpriviledged kids will not deter sex offenders. It will give more $$ for beaucrats to waste and steal. Child sex offenders should be locked up for the rest of their lives because I believe they 'murder' the innocence and trust of children. Also, these predators cannot be rehabilitiated. They are attracted to children, plain and simple. Finally, all people - young and old - need to realize how important it is to report these things when they know they are going on. Had 1 person confronted Sandusky, then this may have been a difference situation all together.
I am totally not a Bachman fan. However, no matter what she said, you would have found fault. And frankly she didn't say anything different from half of the U.S. I don't know anyone that hasn't said that or worse about that disgusting slime ball. Should she have thought about her phrasing first? Absolutely. But this is one time I am not going to hang her for saying what every one is.
You DO realize, don't you, that this very program, the Second Mile, is likely one of those programs that "funding for underpriveleged kids" wold have gone to, right? That that very funding was probably already going there? Which means that Congress was already supporting Sandusky's actions - if you want to twist it that way.
Bachmann said what every other parent in America was thinking, and what every other parent would DO if in that situation. She gets NO blame here - stop putting it on her. The responsible party here is Sandusky. The accessories are McQueary, Paterno, et al, who turned a blind eye for years (especially McQueary who was a freaking EYEWITNESS and didn't do a damn thing except protect his own butt by reporting it - talk about doing only what is minimally necessary).
No more laws would have protected those kids. More laws will not stop predators. What WILL stop them is actually ENFORCING the laws, and ok, maybe one more: sex offenders who hurt kids NEVER, EVER leave jail. And if that means they get the Death Penalty, so be it.
We get that you hate Bachmann, Palin, and every other strong Conservative woman out there (hello, there! That means you hate me, too! Nice). Can you please stop bashing them every time they open their mouths?
And Matt, me too. I've never once thought to blame the government or lack of funding. The "author" is silly.
Typical Lib response to a problem is to blindly throw money at it. Harkens back to the joke about the man bleeding from the loss of all his limbs. The Liberal heaps great piles of cash on him, and is puzzled all the while as the man has the nerve to bleed to death.
This is the sentiment I took from this "article." Money will stop pedophiles raping children. It simply isn't true.
Yeeeeeeah.....by all means, let's add the "what would you do, as President of the United States, to deter child rape?" question to the debates. I'm not sure what's funnier, that notion, or the idea that Obama's soundbite amounted to "thoughts on how to prevent the situation". Wow - I guess there actually are standards low enough that Obama can actually meet them!
That said - no problem with the Bachmann quote, and I actually would prefer an authentic response than the canned and sanitized quip we got from BO. But certainly, that doesn't spin as well - why bother giving her credit for saying what most mothers in America are thinking, when we can spin this into yet another irrelevent Conservative bash? Just keep following the script.
I'm glad Michele made that gaffe... it made me suddenly aware child sex abuse SHOULD be made a Federal issue — just like Kidnapping. What's so different about egregiously crossing a State vs a moral line with crimes against children... Hm? Maybe then the perps will think twice when they know what's at stake.
THANKS, MICHELE!
Good one, PonyChaser... you're right, the Feds are supporting the creeper. : /
Color me cranky, but I've always maintained child molesters can only be minimally redeemed thru medical experimentation, then shipped to a remote prison planet.