Twelve Years of Nothing Worthwhile

The good news: Michele Bachmann will be out of Congress soon. The bad news: the person replacing her is just as bad, though less of a showboat. (He's a lawyer -- who has personally sued many people he's worked with, a past legislator, and a failed candidate for governor who managed to lose to a Democrat in the 2010 wave election.)


According to the story in today's Star Tribune, Bachmann's 12 years in Congress resulted in just 64 bills introduced, of which five passed the House and just one was signed into law. That one renamed the Post Office in a town in her district. Whoop-de-doo. She always was a lot more about promoting herself than she was about legislating. (I don't know how she was on constituent services.)

As it says in the caption below the Star Tribune photo, she counts the new St. Croix River bridge as her biggest accomplishment. There's lots of blame to go around for that boondoggle, including Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. The bridge endangers wildlife in the river and furthers the already sprawling Twin Cities metro area in an unsustainable way -- perfect for Michele Bachmann and her world view, but not for the state.

I know it's petty but one of the things that gets me most about Bachmann on a personal level is the way she dresses, reinforcing the idea that women need to do everything men do, plus backwards and in high heels. Look at that photo. She could be a model on a winter shoot, dressed in a white fur and contrasting black everything else, with a glimmering silver necklace perfectly arranged. She even has the head cant of a model.

I don't look forward to what she does next. I imagine it will include lots more Michele time on T.V., raising money for the craziest of right-wing causes, and inserting her opinions where they're least needed.

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Past posts about Bachmann:

Michele Bachmann's full speech, September 26, 2008

Who's divisive now?, October 18, 2008

She's got her priorities in order, April 8 2009

Michele B. with a Capitol Tea, November 6, 2009

Support for the HPV vaccine from an unusual source, September 18, 2011