The good news: Many of the congresswoman’s fellow congressional Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., are condemning McCarthy-esque tactics of Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.
The even better news: Only four of Bachmann’s colleagues have publicly aligned themselves with her conspiracy, and none of them are from Alabama.
Bachmann, who is no stranger to reckless and evidence-free allegations, started this most recent controversy by calling for the State Department to go on a Muslim witchhunt. Her letters to various federal agencies singled out a Muslim who is a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin. In Bachmann’s telling, Abedin is in league with radical jihadists intent on destroying the United States.
McCain responded last week from the floor of the Senate, “These allegations about Huma and the report from which they are drawn are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”
Of course, U.S. politics have always had a share of crackpots with only a loose connection to facts. A certain amount of toxin regularly courses through the veins of the body politic. The surest antidote is a firm answer from responsible parties, what we’ve witnessed from Boehner, McCain and a host of other members of Congress. That’s a good thing.
