American election 2012

[luke]

Michele Bachmann signs controversial slavery marriage pact
Michele Bachmann, the Republican presidential candidate, signed a Christian conservative pledge that stated that African American children were more likely to grow up in stable families during the era of slavery than under President Barack Obama.




The controversial linkage of slavery to family values was made in the preamble to a pro-traditional marriage pledge given to White House contenders by The Family Value, a group in the first-voting state of Iowa, where Mrs Bachmann is the joint Republican front runner.

"Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President," the opening statement introducing the pledge read.

Mrs Bachmann and Rick Santorum, another Republican candidate, signed the pledge, which condemned gay marriage, abortion, infidelity and pornography.

There was a wave of criticism from the Left and bloggers. "If you took a cracked pot and you cracked that cracked pot, you'd be approaching the level of cracked pottery we are talking about here," said Rachel Maddow, a liberal host on MSNBC.

"Given that families were broken up regularly for sales during slavery and that rape by masters was pretty common, this could not be more offensive," wrote Cheryl Contee on her blog Jack and Jill Politics, mainly about black issues.
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"When will Republicans inquire with actual Black people whether or now we're ok with invoking slavery to score cheap political points? It has to stop. It is the opposite of persuasive and is another reason Republicans repel. It's hard to believe that Michele Bachmann would be foolish enough to sign this pledge."

The Family Value subsequently removed the offending language. "After careful deliberation and wise insight and input from valued colleagues we deeply respect, we agree that the statement referencing children born into slavery can be misconstrued," said Bob Vander Plaats, the group's head.

Mrs Bachmann, who is tied with overall Republican front runner Mitt Romney in Iowa, signed the two-page pledge but her campaign stressed that the "candidate vow" portion contained no mention of slavery.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/republicans/8628717/Michele-Bachmann-signs-controversial-slavery-marriage-pact.html

if palin doesn't run ( i hope she does! ) at least this bachmann should provide a bit of entertainment

i'd be interested to see the statistics they base their statement on;

"Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President,"

i mean, that hasn't just happened in the last couple of years has it ? would it have been the same as when bush was in office? i wonder if they address the actual policies they blame for this?

stupid way of trying to raise it though, bringing up slavery.

[faceless]

I'm sure the statistics for non-black children in poor families have probably risen by a similar amount.

[major.tom]

Just goes to show that there's not limit to how low they're willing to stoop to score a point with their (aptly-called) "base". One has to wonder at their thought process (if any) for making such an asinine argument.

Paraphrasing: "sure, slaves had no rights, were traded, bought and sold as chattel, forced to work (sometimes to death) for no wages, were subject to beatings and rape at the whim of their owners, but at least their families (which were not recognized as legal) stuck together."

[Twirley]

She says it like it's Obama's fault! This was the case long before he became president. Is she just plain crazy releasing a statement like this?! I agree with Face that I'm sure this situatoin is the same for non-black children. Hey, I know my father legged it as soon as he could when I was a kid. He even lived round the corner ad I hardly ever saw him. In fact, my husband of 8 years has never even met him!! And yes, I'm white!

[luke]

Galvanising intensity or the look of lunacy? Right-wing livid over Michele Bachmann portrait
It seems likely that she will come top of the crucial Republican straw poll in Iowa this Saturday



Hand-wringing has broken out across the American politiscape over the cover of the latest edition of Newsweek, which features a portrait of the Tea Party-adored presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann that might lead some voters to conclude that the congresswoman would be better off in a padded cell than the Oval Office.

No one could fault the magazine on its timing. It seems likely that in spite of her radical conservative views, Ms Bachmann will come top of the crucial Republican straw poll that is set for this Saturday in Iowa, the Midwestern state that will kick off the nomination process with state-wide caucus voting next February.

Struck by a blitz of criticism, Newsweek editor Tina Brown defended the choice of photograph, even if it shows Ms Bachmann wearing a decidedly startled expression. Or, as New York Magazine put it, the kind of look "you might see on the face of a serial killer who just spotted a new victim".

"Michele Bachmann's intensity is galvanising voters in Iowa right now and Newsweek's cover captures that," Ms Brown contended in a brief statement. The Daily Beast, her weekly's online sister, posted outtakes from the same event where they photographed Ms Bachmann in Iowa, saying, "Many of the photographs taken for the feature showed Bachmann with similar intensity."

A glance at the other pictures, some of which appear on the inside pages of Newsweek, nonetheless confirms what everyone suspected: none make the candidate look quite as zany as the one on the cover.

Right-wing bloggers, including Michelle Malkin, are incensed. She accused Newsweek of using "bottom-of-the-barrel moonbat photo clichés about conservative female public figures". The National Organisation for Women (NOW) joined the criticism.

"Surely this has never been done to a man," NOW director Terry O'Neill said. "What they are saying of a woman who is a serious contender for president of the United States of America... They are casting her as a nut job."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/galvanising-intensity-or-the-look-of-lunacy-rightwing-livid-over-michele-bachmann-portrait-2335013.html

it is a terrible picture ...

jon stewart covered this on his show the other day and said if you want to make her look bad you don't need to stitch her with a bad photo, you can just use what she says!

i'm not feeling so bad anymore that palin isn't running so far, with bachmann being maybe more crazy than she is ... imagine if she wins though!

[faceless]

She must have given permission for the photo to be used - but if she didn't then what hope is there for her being able to control the whole of the USA?

She obviously needs to be interred in a re-education camp...

[Skylace]

She didn't give permission. She wouldn't have to either.

[faceless]

So they just got her into a studio and took the picture by surprise?

[Brown Sauce]

anyone going for the pres of the US, or pm in the UK, has got to be ambitious to the point of madness. The photo is honest.

[Skylace]

[faceless]

I know the background could be anywhere, but the lighting and detail of the picture suggests it was done in a studio (or a setup opportunity such as a red carpet event) from closeup.

My point is that if it was a studio effort then she should have made sure she had complete control over what they used - if she, or her team, can't sort such details in advance then that's a sign of their uselessness.

I did look for sites that know where the picture is from, but there don't seem to be any...

[major.tom]

Hair makes it extremely difficult to crop a person out of a non-studio setting. If you zoom in on her hair, you'll notice the odd one shoot out and visible against the blue or red backgrounds. And if you look closer to her right ear, you can sort of make out the blue background through it.

There also appear to be multiple light sources reflected in her eyes.

verdict: looks like a studio shot to me.

[luke]

Bachmann Wins Iowa Straw Poll, Ron Paul comes second

Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Iowa Straw Poll Saturday, affirming her status as a top-tier candidate in the Republican race to challenge President Obama in 2012.

Bachmann received 28 percent of the nearly 17,000 votes cast. Texas Rep. Ron Paul was close behind her with 27 percent. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty came in a distant third with 13 percent of the vote, followed by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum with 9 percent and businessman Herman Cain with 8 percent.

"We just sent a message that Obama will be a one-term president," Bachmann told her cheering supporters outside of her bus. Bachmann cast her victory as a "down payment on taking our country back."

"We just crossed a very important hurdle, but it's the first one," she said to Mike Huckabee. "This is a wonderful result today and we couldn't be more grateful to the people of Iowa."

The daylong political festival was the first indication of how these Republicans are faring with the GOP base. Nine candidates were on the ballot, and voting ran for six hours on the campus of Iowa State University.

Most of the buzz had revolved around Bachmann, whose supporters were a huge presence at the outdoor circus before the votes were cast.

But Pawlenty arguably had the most on the line as his aides had said that if he didn't finish at least second or third, they would have to evaluate whether he can move forward.

It remains to be seen how the third-place finish would affect Pawlenty's campaign. Poor showings usually force some candidates, mostly those who are not well-known and are struggling to raise money, to abandon their bids, and that could happen this year, too.

But Pawlenty, whose heated exchanges with Bachmann was the highlight of Thursday's debate in Iowa, immediately congratulated his Minnesota rival.

"We made progress in moving from the back of the pack into a competitive position for the caucuses, but we have a lot more work to do," he said in a statement. "This is a long process to restore America -- we are just beginning and I'm looking forward to a great campaign."

Paul, who has had the most devout and loyal following at the event this year, got the surprise showing he was looking for in hopes that it would convince Republicans that he was more mainstream than not in his second shot at the GOP nomination.

"Dr. Paul is surging in this race, and today's results show the strength of his grassroots support and top notch organization," Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said. "These straw poll results, our growing poll numbers and our strong fundraising shows that our message is resonating with Iowans and Americans everywhere."

In the last few weeks, Santorum has been making noise with a family tour of the entire state of Iowa. And having barely registered in public polls for months, he got fourth-place finish he was seeking.

Two major Republican players -- former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- are not on the ballot but their supporters were still trying to make a splash for them at the straw poll because for the first time, Iowans were able to submit write-in votes.

Perry, who announced his candidacy earlier Saturday, came in sixth place with 3.6 percent of the vote, ahead of GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, all of whom didn't compete in the contest.

The poll results are nonbinding, amount to a popularity contest and offer candidates a chance to test their get-out-the-vote organizations.

Those willing to shell out $30 for a ticket were eligible to vote, though some campaigns paid for tickets they distributed to backers. Some also organized bus caravans to bring backers to the event. Turnout in the past has ranged from 14,000 to 23,000.

Bachmann's victory may provide a road map for the Iowa campaign heading into the caucuses that are just four months away. But the straw poll has a mixed record of predicting the winner of that contest.

In 2008, Romney won the straw poll, but the big news was the surprising second-place showing of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses, but dropped from the race soon after. McCain, who eventually won the nomination, didn't compete in the straw poll and finished in 10th place.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/13/finally-here-ames-straw-poll-first-test-2012/

the final results were;

Bachmann (4,823)
Paul (4,671)
Pawlenty (2,293)
Santorum (1,657)
Cain (1,456)
Perry (718 write-in votes)
Romney (567)
Gingrich (385)
Huntsman (69)
McCotter (35)

[Skylace]

[Skylace]

So what happened is Chris did a photo shoot, and either A) Noticed he had a great terrible pic and took it to Newsweek (another others) to use or B) Newsweek approached him knowing that he had taken photos and picked the one they wanted (that looked really bad)