Roadmap To The Dimmest Bulbs In Congress: Co-Sponsors For Michele Bachmann

Sometimes you think Michele Bachmann (R-MN) can't really be as jaw-droppingly stoopid as she comes off in the media. Then she opens her mouth. Fittingly, she spent part of April Fools Day with Fox's resident imbecile, Glenn Beck (video below) discussing the latest manufactured symptom of Republican Party derangement. Brendan Nyhan teaches Government at Dartmouth, Ken's alma mater, and he explains Bachmann's mythical global currency hysteria in the context of congressional myth creation: "It's a brilliant approach to politics-- you scare people with a phony rumor, take a stand against a position no one supports, and then claim credit for its defeat."

Bachmann (R-MN) is hyping the myth that the Obama administration is planning to replace the dollar with a global currency. In fact, the proposal under discussion (which the Obama administration does not support) would create a new global reserve currency-- it would not replace the dollar as the legal currency here in the US.

Bachmann has even proposed a constitutional amendment that would prevent the president from entering "into a treaty or other international agreement that would provide for the United States to adopt as legal tender in the United States a currency issued by an entity other than the United States" As TPM DC's Eric Kleefeld points out, it has a disturbing number of cosponsors (currently 32). Are these members-- who are all Republicans-- aware that no one is proposing creating a new currency that would serve as legal tender in the United States? I suspected that they might be pandering to ill-informed constituents but education, income, etc. are not closely related to cosponsorship-- the only consistent predictor is the conservatism of the legislator's previous voting record.

Here's the whole list of co-sponsors, the bolded ones having signed on right after Bachmann's Beck appearance.

Todd Akin (R-MO)
Spencer Bachus (R-AL)
Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD)
Judy Biggert (R-IL)
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Paul Broun (R-GA)
Henry Brown (R-SC)
Dan Burton (R-IN)
Michael Conaway (R-TX)
John Culberson (R-TX)
Mary Fallin (R-OK)
John Fleming (R-LA)
Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Walter Jones (R-NC)
Steve King (R-IA)
Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Doug Lamborn (R-CO)
Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
Tom McClintock (R-CA)
Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI)
Ron Paul (R-TX)
Joseph Pitts (R-PA)
Bill Posey (R-FL)
Tom Price (R-GA)
David Roe (R-TN)
John Shadegg (R-AZ)
Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
Zach Wamp (R-TN)

Are these the biggest morons in Congress? Well... Lynn Westmoreland's not on the list-- and neither is Mean Jean Schmidt. Makes you wonder. But, anyway, here's the promised clip, Beck meets Bachmann, April Fools Day Special:




UPDATE: Wanna Guess Which District In Minnesota Has The Worst Foreclosure Rate?

Michele Bachmann and her reactionary politics are deadly poison for her constituents. A Minnesota Independent analysis of foreclosure data from across the state reveals that the crisis is worst where congressional representation is doing the least to address the issue: Rep. Michele Bachmann's 6th district leads the state with 5,227 foreclosures and 1.8 percent of households in foreclosure in 2008.

Bachmann, who called families facing foreclosure "irresponsible," hasn't sponsored any legislation to help prevent foreclosures, but voted against five key foreclosure relief bills. Her attentions have been focused elsewhere: she co-sponsored 14 [dead-end] bills to restrict abortions and five to promote Christianity in government.

By contrast, Rep. Keith Ellison, whose 5th district has the state's second worst foreclosure rates, has been active in working to turn the trend around. His bill to protect renters from eviction should their landlords face foreclosure was praised by the New York Times editorial board; he he authored the Fairness for Homeowners Act; and he co-sponsored another dozen bills aimed at aiding families and communities impacted by the foreclosure crisis.