Michelle Bachmann, the outspoken chairman of the House Tea Party Caucus, is running for President on strict demands for fiscal restraint.
Her outspoken dedication to fiscal restraint is commendable. Her stance against raising the debt ceiling, no matter how much was cut, was a principled stance. There is no need for the United States Government to borrow more money. It is time to cut, cut, cut the spending.
Yet the questions on most reporters' minds are about her social views. Her heated rhetoric on these issues may cost her the nomination. If she does win the Republican nomination, it will be a dream come true for Obama, who can simply paint her as a Tea Party Extremist so outside of the mainstream, that Obama will look like a stable centrist.
To put it bluntly, Michelle Bachmann would be to the 2012 Presidential Election what Christine O'Donnell was for the 2010 U.S. Senate Race in Delaware.
She has demonstrated a number of times her opposition to gay marriage, and she has characterized homosexuality as aberrant and sinful. She even set up a clinic to counsel individuals into leaving the homosexual lifestyle. Like Christine O'Donnell in her interview with Piers Morgan, candidate Bachmann has repeatedly ducked questions about her opinion of gays, their proper status in society, and to what extent she respects their rights as American citizens. Despite her calm demeanor in the face of these divisive questions, Ms. Bachmann simply has left no room for herself to wiggle out of her strong views on this matter.
A reliable Tea Party favorite, her outstanding views outdistance the mainstream and distract the core debate from fiscal issues, the one cause which will bring down the Democrats across the board in 2012. Ms. Bachmann would better serve this country if she stood her ground but gave up the Presidency.
As Speaker of the House Henry Clay once quipped, "I would rather be right than be President." If Bachmann wants to stay right with the right wing of her party, let her stay in the House and be the necessary check on the establishment. The last thing the Republican Party needs is Christine O'Donnell redux, but this time at the national level frustrating this nation's attempt to stop the liberal assault our institutions and values.
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