Rep. Michele Bachmann Tells Voters Not To Pay Their Taxes

Rep. Michele Bachmann, the self-appointed Empress of Tea Bag Junction and sworn enemy to thoughtful political discourse, keeps topping her previous nutty declarations with new dollops of far-right insanity.  Although Bachmann's public meltdown has been fascinating to watch, compassionate family members might want to seriously consider placing her in an institution where professionals can monitor her ongoing disconnect from reality.

File this under Very Strange Guidance From An Elected Official:  The Minnesota congresswoman has recently been advising her constituents to protest health care reform by refusing to pay their taxes.  Eric Kleefeld reports for TPM:  At a rally at the Minnesota State Capitol on Saturday, Bachmann declared illegitimate the potential route that House Democrats could take to pass the health care bill. She was specifically railing against a parliamentary tactic by which the House could skip voting on the Senate bill by declaring it passed as part of the reconciliation bill. Bachmann pronounced this to be taxation without representation. "They have just started a revolution, and they did it!" said Bachmann.  "But mark my words, the American people aren't gonna take this lying down," Bachmann later said. "We aren't gonna play their game, we're not gonna pay their taxes." 

A clever scribe at This Week writes:  The Tea Party hero is telling people not to pay taxes if ObamaCare passes. Is Bachmann fighting the good fight - or losing her grip on reality?  This isn't the first time "Mama Che" Bachmann's tried to "incite Americans to revolution," armed or otherwise...  If she wants to flout the soon-to-be-passed health care law, and her oath to uphold it, fine. But taxpayers shouldn't foot her salary, and generous health benefits, while she becomes "an enemy of the U.S. government."  What else fits her "civil disobedience" criteria? It is "dangerous" for Bachmann to call on Americans to "break the law," just because she doesn't like how a bill was passed, says Tom L. Williams in Liberaland. It opens the door for us to similarly protest other "illegitimate" bills rammed through Congress this way - like Bush's tax cuts.  I want Bachmann to follow through: Bachmann's "freakout" is great news for liberals, says Jonathan Chait at The New Republic. It means she and her team realize they didn't, in fact, kill the bill. In fact, "it's going to be fun" watching her "civil disobedience campaign" take shape.

As this Teabagging Queen floats merrily along Denial, urging her fellow Americans to break federal law, let's hope that she eventually finds the safe harbor she so desperately needs.  In a truly merciful world, Michele would be indulging her fantasies at a secure facility that prohibits sharp objects, overstimulating conversation, and Fox News.  But we don't live in a merciful world, and Minnesota voters keep sending her to Congress.