Michele Bachman, a lousy choice in Concord, Lexington, and Everywhere Else

When we get worried about what people say, we tend to focus on the wrong things that people say. Michele Bachman provides a perfect example. She recently said that Lexington and Concord were in New Hampshire, which has gotten a lot of attention. Now, she should know where these places are ... particularly as a member of the Tea Party. It's not, however, essential knowledge when it comes to running the country. It is a little troubling that her reaction to this gaffe would be to blame the media, but not nearly as troubling as any number of other things she has said that she has no problem taking credit for. Calling Obama's administration a "gangster government" would be one example. Here are a couple more ...

"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 want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back."

"Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn't even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas."

"Not all cultures are equal."

"Unelected bureaucracies will decide what we can and can’t get in future health insurance policy. That's why they’re called death panels."

"Unfortunately, the Census data has become very intricate, very personal, a lot of the questions that are asked. I know for my family, the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home. We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."

"And what a bizarre time we're in, when a judge will say to little children that you can't say the pledge of allegiance, but you must learn that homosexuality is normal and you should try it."

"If we took away the minimum wage — if conceivably it was gone — we could potentially virtually wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level."

"Normalization (of gayness) through desensitization. Very effective way to do this with a bunch of second graders, is take a picture of 'The Lion King' for instance, and a teacher might say, 'Do you know that the music for this movie was written by a gay man?' The message is: I'm better at what I do, because I'm gay."

I'm not worried that Michelle Bachman thinks Lexington and Concord are in New Hampshire. I am worried, that the other things she says mean that hate, fear, and narrow mindedness are very much a part of American Politics.