while there is still time. Otherwise, she has alienated lots of voters like me who lost respect for her with this issue.

nt

I am past disappointed. I am annoyed and am not giving her more money.
She was beyond out of line on this, and it seems to be part of a pattern where she is truly clueless outside of her considerable and impressive areas of expertise.
But if she continues this sort of ill-informed deceptive positioning, I think it well to consider here other areas of claimed expertise and accomplishment.
As a parent of a child who was born with significant issues, the only thing I can imagine being more heartbreaking than dealing with the challenge would be to fall prey to deceptive pseudoscientific claims about why the problem exists.
The vaccine “issue” is exactly that sort of deception. It is baseless, it manipulates vulnerable people, it actually harms children when parents are fooled into believing that vaccines harm children.
As to the vaccine in question, I would ask the parents who have decided that their children should not get the vaccine this: Is cancer a suffiicient punishment for sexual sin? If so, then forbid your children to get heppatitis B vaccines as well. Because if cancer is sufficient punishment, then certainly heppatitis is no big deal either.
As to Ms. Bachmann, all she has really proven is that she remain as a member of Congress, and the sooner she realizes this the better off we all are.
As to Gov. Perry, maybe he will, and maybe won’t win the nomination.
If this vaccine ‘issue’ plays a role in it either way, then we have fallen prey to pseudo-science in a tragic way.

, and drop out of the race because she has lost me and I lot of Conservatives that I know..

2 weeks ago she was my first choice, now I want her to drop out and say she was wrong.

She seems to have a scorched earth attitude..Her numbers are low so lets take everyone with her…

It is no wonder she loses head-to-head against a president with a 39% JAR by ten points. Her campaign has become about what she perceives is best for HER, not running the best Republican conservative to take back the country. This round of attacks reeks of desperation.

I now stand with those who say she needs to exit the race immediately, if not sooner.

A) Find a second source other than the Times, and B) Why not contact Michelle Bachmann directly instead of trashing her publicly on a conservative blog.

Then if she still stands her ground, publish the story stating you provided info.

. . .”Appeal to Moonbats” doesn’t appear acceptable on our side of the aisle.

Makes me proud, actually. Disappointed in MB, but better to know now than further down the line.

…she should know she can’t and she should get out. Question is, what impact her endorsement will have on its recipient?

I raised two girls in Texas, so I’m very familiar with its mandatory vaccination policies. A couple of details conveniently omitted by Bachmann:

1) Texas is more vulnerable to a lot of childhood diseases that have been eradicated in many other states because of the illegal alien problem. So, mandatory vaccinations are pretty common in the schools. For example, when that HepC series was approved, the State almost immediately required it for the next school year.
2) Texas has a large number of Christian fundamentalists, for whom vaccines are anathema. So, there was both a medical (e.g., auto-immune deficiencies) and religious opt-out available to any parent who did not want their daughter to receive the PPV shot, as there is with any mandatory vaccination.

As to the primaries, Bachmann lost my vote on this one issue. I’m a big believer in herd immunity, in which children with auto-immune deficiencies and diseases are protected by those who can and have been vaccinated.

In the general, I’ll vote for Quasimodo if that’s what it takes to pry Obama out of the White House.

but this is why you don’t want to get behind someone whose only accomplishments are voting in Congress and having a biography. Regardless of the letter after their name.

* actually, I rather enjoy it.

…but Mitt Romney (evidently) believes in anthropogenic Global Warming, and gets praised.

Both are terrible, destructive hoaxes. But global warming has an entire industry built around it, and the patina of “thoughfulness”.

Let’s not get carried away with this just yet, eh?

This post misses the point. During the debate, Bachmann criticized Perry on the basis of separation of powers and government’s power to interfere with personal liberty.

These two issues are central to conservative political thought, and they form the foundation of just about every critique lodged against President Obama.

First, Bachmann’s argument that Perry overstepped his executive power by enacting the Gardasil mandate through executive order reflects a valid concern for separation of powers and constitutional government. At the state level, as well as at the federal level, the government’s powers are distributed to the three branches on the basis of legislative, judicial, and executive powers. Of course there is limited overlap to restrain any of the three co-equal branches from overstepping their role. However, the executive violates separation of powers if he engages in essentially legislative or judicial action. Bachmann argues that an executive order such as Perry’s did perform an essentially legislative function (it created new legal responsibilities for Texas citizens). For someone who believes that the Constitution means what it says and expects legislators and executives to perform their clearly defined roles, Perry’s order is an offense to ordered government. This critique would be even stronger if Perry made such orders as President because of the federalism issues it would raise.

Secondly, Bachmann expressed disdain for Perry’s willingness to invade the personal liberty of Texas’s citizens. Vaccines do not cause autism or other major medical conditions. However, administering a vaccine does involve discomfort and possible minor maladies. Also, individuals have to pay for these mandated vaccines. Perry’s order would force Texans to buy something, and he did not even consult with the legislative branch as to whether this is a policy the people want. His subversion of the legislative process makes the order’s liberty violation even more egregious.

Clearly, Bachmann’s insistence that vaccines cause serious health problems is unfounded and reflects poorly on her viability as a candidate. However, the separation of powers and liberty critiques of Perry are no less accurate and alarming. Bachmann’s argument raises serious concerns about Perry’s conservative credentials.

one of my favorite candidates prior to the most recent GOP debate. After listening to her less than honest attack against Rick Perry regarding the HPV vaccine (making it sound like there was no opt-out provision) and listing to her additional comments after the debate implying that the vaccine causes mental retardation, frankly I think she is now finished as a serious candidate.

However I’m still glad Rick Perry is getting vetted in this manner. Running for president is meant to be difficult because the process needs to steel the candidate for the rigors of the office.

Michele Bachmann was absolutely wrong about the “vaccinations cause retardation” claim (though her real point was about having the freedom to choose which risks to take).

Yet I’m surprised at the vehemence of this diary. You’re worried that the GOP might be called “anti-science”??? They already are called that by the Left–almost daily–and even if Bachmann dropped out, the Left would still call the GOP anti-science.

And suddenly you’re worried that David Brooks and David Frum will call us “anti-science”??? David Frum??? Since when do you care what David Brooks or David Frum says??? (One has only to search this website to find out what you think of David Frum.) And yet suddenly you’re fearful of what they will say about us?

Give me a break.

The real reason you want Michele Bachmann out of the race is that you’re afraid that having three Tea Party favorites in the race–Bachmann, Cain, and Perry–will split the Tea Party vote and base vote, and enable Romney to squeak through. Right?

Bachmann doesn’t have to roll over and play dead for Perry. No one has crowned Perry yet.

Let him defeat her fair and square–if he can–in the primary process. Or let him cut his own deal with her in exchange for her dropping out.

There is a world of difference between an intentionally fraudulent scientific study and an ANECDOTAL experience. Michelle Bachmann never said Gardasil makes kids retarded. She just didn’t. She recounted a personal experiences she claims she had with a mother who approached her, in tears, thanking her for speaking out against Gardasil, since it had caused, supposedly, her daughter to become retarded. Is the story true? I don’t know and none of you do either. Bachmann also never repeated one of that repudiated scientist’s claims, that vaccines can cause autism. She just didn’t, and none of you can honestly say otherwise. I really think you Perry fans are just enraged that Bachmann has damaged Perry so much with this one attack that he will never be able to run away from this scandal. She hit him on a social conservative angle, on a government’s proper role angle, and on cronyism. And there is WAY more where that came from in regards to Perry. Merck wasn’t even on Perry’s top 200 contributors list. This will only get worse for him.

She said little girls’ lives were at risk. She implied that the story she related is true. All of this was irresponsible and displayed ignorance or deception for political gain. Not a good quality in a candidate. I think all of the arguments against the Gardasil policy are weak but this one is indefensible.

If Merck wasn’t even on Perry’s top 200 contributors list, then your case for cronyism is pretty weak. You say there is WAY more coming on this angle. What exactly?

Just so you know, my top choice is probably Cain, my second is Perry, although that could change. Bachmann was in the top 2 or so until this week.

No one was ever given the shot as a result of the order. The order was overridden by the legislature before it could take effect, and Perry signed the override. If he really only cared about Merck, he could have vetoed it. Bachmann stated that Merck made millions off the deal, which of course is false.

I have my issues with mandatory vaccinations. But, within the confines of state-run education I understand them to the point of vaccination for communicable diseases that can be transmitted just by being in proximity of an infected person. It would not matter if they were mandatory, I would get them for my kids anyway. With that said, I do not agree with Perry’s order, even though it did have an opt-out because I am rather sensitive to the nanny-state “nudge,” which is exactly what this was. My preference in that situation would be to support a public awareness campaign to let people know the dangers and let them judge the risks and take action as they deem appropriate.

I think the whole issue is over-blown, however. There was no element of force, children being vaccinated against the wishes of their parents, like it has been made out to be. That, in itself, is false.

If there is one thing that I am very tired of, it is lying politicians whether it be one Republican lying about another, Democrats lying about Republicans, or Democrats just plain old lying about everything. Lies are lies, and Bachmann did not do herself any favors in my eyes by making herself look just like Democrats, lying when it might play to her advantage. She is just one more of those sorts and not worthy of the Presidency.

Michele Bachmann latched onto the Tea Party in a quest to climb the political ladder and is nothing more than an opportunist in the same mold as Obama. It’s absurd that she believes she’s ready to be president after two terms in the House. Obama had two years in the Senate, so I suppose she feels that four years in the House is more than sufficient. Bachmann’s shameless self-promotion has been a turn-off from the very beginning, and the Tea Party is seeing the real Michele as evidenced by her sinking poll numbers. The faster she exits stage left, the better off the race will be.

I agree 100% with the OP. Before her presidential campaign I liked her and defended her, but she has lost all credibility with me. I will neither vote for or support her in any way, under any circumstance.

….and all I can say is that she is officially toast. The whole first session was about Gardasil and she was studdering and stammering to explain herself to Leno.

The second session was just her trying to explain the Tea Party movement (of which she did a pitiful job). Not one question was answered as to what her view for the country consisted of. She completely blew a chance to get her message out.

When someone asks to define the Tea Party, it is a very simple matter…. The Tea Party was started as an offshoot of Rick Santelli’s rant about government spending too much. Word got out about his rant where he said we should have a bunch of Tea Parties to protest the spending. Those of us who actually were at those first Tea Parties keyed in on 3 main points: stop spending, reign in federal government control, and get back to the simple constitutional model our forefathers gave us. All the rest of these social issues are chaff and do not need to be part of the national dialogue. All this does is splinter what would otherwise be a formidable group. Besides which, if we actually got back to the Constitution, the states would sort out the social issues themselves.