Leave it to Glenn Beck to turn Rep. Michele Bachmann's ethics investigation for improper use of her PAC donations into a conspiracy theory that the U.S. government has secretly been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Beck: Bachmann Ethics Investigation Is a Muslim Brotherhood Plot:

As Beck sees it, Bachmann has been a target of the Brotherhood for a long time because she has been "uber clear" about the threat posed by the organization and so, in retaliation, the State Department has been relocating hundreds of Muslim Somali refugees into her congressional district. And for daring to ask why this was happening, says Beck, "now she's under investigation":

[Editor's note: Somalis have been settling in the U.S. since the 1920s. The Twin Cities is home to the largest Somali community in America, and it's been that way long before Michelle Bachmann started her wacko conspiracy theories. Nice try, Beckster.]

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If anyone needed further proof that Sean Hannity's show on Fox "news" is a complete clown show, here you go. After complaining about House Speaker John Boehner stripping some of these "tea partiers" from their committee assignments and even the possibility of him negotiating with President Obama over this so-called "fiscal cliff," guest Mark Steyn called Rep. Louie Gohmert "one of the few serious people in Congress."

Louie Gohmert.... terror babies Louie Gohmert.

Here's more of the recent insanity that's come out of that man's mouth in case anyone's forgotten.

Rep. Gohmert: ‘Slavery was a blot’ but U.S. is worse off now

Gohmert: Contraception mandate is like banning communion

Gohmert to 'Numbnuts' McCain: Shut Up About Bachmann’s Anti-Muslim Witch Hunt

Louie Gohmert (R-TX): George W. Bush Did A Better Job in Afghanistan Than Obama

Rep. Louis Gohmert says Obama has more of an allegiance to the Muslim Brotherhood than America

'Terror Babies' Gohmert: Libya Goal Is To "Deplete The Military" So Obama Can Call Up Private Army

Rachel Maddow: More Guns Does Not Equal Less Crime

'Terror Babies' Louie Gohmert Predicts Doom for America and the Military From Repeal of DADT

Update: The Huffington Post noted on Wednesday that Gohmert was the only member of Congress to vote against a bill that would have removed the term "lunatic" from all federal laws.

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A fundamentalist Christian minister has become the first to link Hurricane Sandy to marriage equality and the "homosexual agenda."

Gay Star News first reported on Monday that Defend and Proclaim the Faith ministries founder John McTernan had posted on his blog that Hurricane Sandy is proof that "God is systematically destroying America."

"If you add the area of the drought and now the hurricane together, it would be about 80 percent of the country!" the preacher wrote. "As I said, the Holy God of Israel is systematically destroying America right before our eyes."

He continued: "Just last August, Hurricane Isaac hit New Orleans seven years later, on the exact day of Hurricane Katrina. Both hit during the week of the homosexual event called Southern Decadence in New Orleans!"

McTernan noted that "God's judgement" began 21 years ago, on October 20, 1991 when President H.W. Bush initiated the Madrid Conference to negotiate peace between Israel and Palestine.

"Twenty-one years breaks down to 7 x 3, which is a significant number with God. Three is perfection as the Godhead is three in one while seven is perfection," he explained. "It appears that God gave America 21 years to repent of interfering with His prophetic plan for Israel; however, it has gotten worse under all the presidents and especially Obama. Obama is 100 percent behind the Muslim Brotherhood which has vowed to destroy Israel and take Jerusalem."

The Christian leader warned that even electing Mitt Romney might not save the country from God's wrath because both President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee supported LGBT rights.

"Both candidates are pro-homosexual and are behind the homosexual agenda," McTernan insisted. "America is under political judgment and the church does not know it!"

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After recapping the whole witch hunt by Bachmann and her fellow House members going after Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, and Newt Gingrich's defense of Bachmann on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer this Wednesday, Colbert had this response to Gingrich's defense of Bachmann's McCarthyism:

COLBERT: Yes, it takes a brave man to randomly accuse someone of something horrible, based on no evidence and then demand they refute the evidence that you don't have. So tonight, I am accusing Newt Gingrich of being a baby-eating werewolf. There it is. It's out there now.

Do I have evidence? No. But someone has to stand up to him. Where do I find the courage?

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I've got to wonder why CNN thinks interviewing the washed up, flame throwing, race baiting, ex-Speaker of the House is worth putting on the air with little or no rebuttal. But sadly, here was Newt Gingrich defending his buddy Michele Bachmann and her McCarthyism and host Wolf Blitzer doing very little to counter it.

Gingrich Glorifies McCarthyism To Defend His Support Of Bachmann’s Anti-Muslim Witch Hunt:

Today on CNN, Newt Gingrich applauded the central tenets of McCarthyism to justify his support for Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) baseless campaign to root out alleged Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the U.S. government. Host Wolf Blitzer singled out Bachmann target Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, telling Gingrich that it’s “ridiculous” to include her and that the whole thing reeks of McCarthyism. But the former House Speaker — and Mitt Romney supporter — wouldn’t back down, praising McCarthyism for rooting out communists and defending Abedin’s inclusion in Bachmann’s witch hunt. “This State Department has been amazingly pro-Muslim Brotherhood,” he said, “American citizens have the right to have the Congress ask the question.” [...]

Bachmann has been widely criticized for her anti-Muslim campaign, including by some top Republicans, particularly for singling out Abedin. But the Minnesota congresswoman has yet to offer substantial proof of any Muslim Brotherhood plot. In fact, actual members of the Islamist group have recently lamented that they can’t even take over the Egyptian government.

You could tell Blitzer was plenty irritated with Gingrich for attacking someone he's friends with, but that didn't stop him from allowing Gingrich from doing his best to justify the witch hunt and with treating Gingrich with a whole lot more deference than he deserved, to put it mildly. I had zero respect for Blitzer before watching this interview. The fact that he could sit there and allow someone like Gingrich attack a friend of his like this without pushing back further is really disgusting. Every time I think CNN can't do something to make sure their ratings tank even further, they manage to surprise me and one up themselves as they did here.

Transcript via CNN below the fold.

Continue reading »

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Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) on Sunday advised presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to pick tea party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) as his running mate.

During a panel discussion about Romney's selection for the Republican ticket, CBS host Bob Schieffer asked Rendell if he had a prediction.

"I just want to go on record, I'm for Michele Bachmann for vice president," Rendell laughed. "I want everyone to be clear about that."

"But I do think that Gov. Romney has chosen the right criteria," the former Pennsylvania governor continued. "He's going to pick someone who he believes is ready to be president. Gov. [Bob] McDonnell would fit that bill. So would Sen. [Rob] Portman and some of the others that are being talked about."

"People don't vote for vice president. Although, let me say that I believe that America has a spectacular vice president [in Joe Biden], who's done just an amazing job. And I think that weighs on President Obama's side."

It's no secret that Rendell believes that Bachmann would scare independent voters away from supporting Romney in the same way former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may have hurt Sen. John McCain's chances in 2008.

Bachmann has been mired in debt since suspending her failed campaign for the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year. Recent polls have indicated that her re-election to the House is not certain this year, with 34 percent of voters in her district giving a "poor" rating.

The Minnesota Republican has most recently come under fire from Republicans and Democrats for suggesting that that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, had infiltrated the U.S. government on behalf of radical Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood.

(h/t: Politico)

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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) on Friday refused to condemn Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) suggestion that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, had infiltrated the U.S. government on behalf of radical Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) accused Bachmann and four other Republican lawmakers of “specious and degrading attacks” after they called on inspectors general in the State, Homeland Security, Defense and Justice departments to investigate “potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration” of the Obama administration by Abedin, an aide to Secretary Clinton and wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY).

McCain was just the first in a series of Republicans -- including House Speaker John Boehner, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner and former Bachmann campaign manager Ed Rollins -- who spoke up to condemn the anti-Muslim accusations.

Although Cantor had recently said his party needed to be more tolerant of LGBT people and Muslims, he seemed on Friday to legitimize Bachmann's call for an investigation.

"If you read some of the reports that have covered this story, I think that her concern was about the security of the country," the Virginia Republican insisted to CBS host Charlie Rose. "So, that's about all I know."

In an interview with BuzzFeed last week, Cantor called on Republicans for an "acceptance of diversity."

"I’ve always said we need to be a party of inclusion not exclusion," Cantor explained. "We need to be promoting tolerance and, you know, as someone who is a religious minority, I sort of grew up with having that mindset, knowing full well that I am in a very distinct way from a religious background, separate and apart from the mainstream of this country."

He added that it was "absolutely wrong to stereotype or look badly at anyone because of their religion."

(h/t: Think Progress)

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It appears Fox doesn't want to let their viewers know why Hillary Clinton was met with protests in Egypt if this interview with Neil Cavuto and Fox regular, KT McFarland is any indication. Cavuto was discussing the fact that Hillary Clinton's motorcade was met with demonstrators a little over a week ago and they managed to get in a little fearmongering over the Muslim Brotherhood's future role in Egypt's government. What they somehow managed to fail to mention is Michele Bachmann and her cohorts' role in causing the protests. Imagine that?

For a reminder of what set things off, here's more from Think Progress: Bachmann’s Islamophobic Conspiracy Theory Fuels Egyptians’ Anti-Clinton Protest:

Egyptian protesters threw shoes and tomatoes at Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s motorcade in Alexandria this week. The New York Times reported that their demonstration “delighted conservative bloggers in the United States” but “what has attracted less attention” is why they were protesting: a conspiracy theory cooked up by Islamophobes in the U.S. that the Obama administration is working on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood:

Pressed by American reporters to explain where they got the idea that their new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, had been foisted on them through a U.S. plot, rather than the will of the majority, several Egyptians cited information gathered from American blogs or news sites.

An Egyptian-American Christian who met Mrs. Clinton on Sunday cited a recent assertion by Representative Michele Bachmann, a Republican, “that the Obama Administration is pursuing a closeted pro-Muslim agenda,” in a conversation with Time magazine’s correspondent, Abigail Hauslohner.

Rumors that the Obama administration has provided the Muslim Brotherhood with billions of dollars in aid remain an article of faith with many Egyptians who are convinced that Mr. Morsi’s victory was a sham, despite repeated efforts by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to correct the record on Twitter.

That’s right — Bachmann’s ludicrous allegation that the Muslim Brotherhood has “penetrated” the United States government convinced anti-Islamist Egyptians that the U.S. is backing their domestic Islamist opponents. The source for Bachmann’s ravings is Frank Gaffney, a conspiracy theorist who claims that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the government and that shari’a law is coming to the U.S.

It seems Cavuto and McFarland are more concerned with protecting Michele Bachmann and her fellow wingnuts who are all regular guests on Fox than letting the viewers know they were the cause of Clinton's "really awful" treatment in Egypt. I'm sure not wanting anything to get in the way of their fearmongering about the Muslim Brotherhood has something to do with it as well.

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Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert on Tuesday lashed out at Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and other Republican "numbnuts" who have criticized Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) for suggesting that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, had infiltrated the U.S. government on behalf of radical Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Last week, McCain accused Bachmann, Gohmert and three other Republican lawmakers of "specious and degrading attacks" after they called on inspectors general in the State, Homeland Security, Defense and Justice departments to investigate “potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration” of the Obama administration by Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary Clinton and wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY).

Other Republicans like House Speaker John Boehner, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner and former Bachmann campaign manager Ed Rollins have also condemned the anti-Muslim accusations.

"Well, it’s obvious that John McCain didn’t even read the letter because of what he said in accusing Michele and us of making these horrible accusations," Gohmert told conservative radio host Dennis Miller on Tuesday.

"And I wish some of these numbnuts would go out and read the letter before they make these horrible allegations about the horrible accusations we’re making."

He added: "But we also know that John McCain himself had said back in the early stages of stuff going on in Egypt that he was, in his words, 'unalterably opposed to helping the Muslim Brotherhood.' Well, obviously the unalterable person has been altered, so he is OK with it now."

Last week, Gohmert told U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that his suggestion that Homeland Security Advisory Council member Mohamed Elibiary was working for the Muslim Brotherhood had nothing to do with the fact that he is a Muslim.

“The allegations are not because he is Muslim,” Gohmert insisted at a House Judiciary Committee hearing. “You’ve followed me around the world, you’ve seen me huggin Muslims around the world, because the ones I hug are our friends, and this administration seems to have a hard time recognizing members of terrorist groups who are allowed into the White House."

"Numbnuts" is derogatory slang term that mostly likely originated in the U.S. military. It is often used to to describe an ignorant person, but it can also imply cowardice, sterility or impotence.

Better late than never but it appears Michele Bachmann's over the top fearmongering is losing her some more friends on the right. Last week it was House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers. Now we've got her fellow Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner pushing back at her nonsense as well.

Conservative Congressman Blasts Bachmann’s Anti-Muslim Allegations, Stands Up For Religious Liberty:

One of the most conservative congressmen in the country stepped up to defend Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and the rights of all Muslim-Americans yesterday against Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) spurious accusations that she is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, calling them “the wrong thing to do.”

During a town hall held by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) on Sunday, a constituent lauded Bachmann’s anti-Muslim witchhunt about a supposed Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the U.S. government and called on her congressman to support her efforts. Sensenbrenner instead used the opportunity not only to defend Abedin, but to advocate for the larger notion of religious pluralism in America and a separation between church and state.

The longtime Republican congressman went on to praise the Constitution’s ban on religious tests to hold office, saying Thomas Jefferson’s vision “was right.” When the constituent responded with bigoted accusations about Islam, Sensenbrenner countered: “Religion is a personal issue to every one of the people who lives in the United States…And that has been one of the most cherished freedoms that this country has had since it’s beginning”:

SENSENBRENNER: Let me say that I do know Huma Abedin and I think that the comments that were made about her in that letter, whether or not they were taken out of context, were the wrong thing to do… I think the Constitution in saying that there shall never be a religious test for any office of trust and profit under the United States meant that people should not be judged on the basis of their religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs. That was Thomas Jefferson that put that in the Constitution — I think he was right.

CONSTITUENT: I think that there’s a political ideology that’s a concern in Islam that is concerning and that should be looked at and we should know that this person is not a threat…

SENSENBRENNER: Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, the First Amendment prohibits the government from making a distinction between what is “good religion” and what is “bad religion.” That’s none of the government’s business. Religion is a personal issue to every one of the people who lives in the United States, whether you practice a faith, how you practice a faith, whether you don’t practice a faith, whether you say you’re a member of a faith but don’t practice it, it’s none of the government’s business. And this is the whole issue of religious freedom. And that has been one of the most cherished freedoms that this country has had since it’s beginning.

Read on...