I have to work hard to stifle my gag reflex in order to defend ANYTHING about Michele or Marcus Bachmann, two of the most despicable excuses for humanity I can think of. Even so, as Americans they have every right to believe as they do. I’ll certainly defend their right to believe as they see fit…regardless of how despicable, reprehensible, and distasteful I might find their beliefs. I will also state for the record that while ridiculing the Bachmanns for their political and/or religious beliefs might be fair game, there’s no acceptable reason to stoop to ridiculing them on a personal level.
Regardless of what you might think about Marcus Bachmann, engaging in speculation and conjecture about his sexuality is beyond the pale. I, like many observers, have issues with his (and his wife’s) rabid opposition to anything that smacks of homosexuality. Nonetheless, we do ourselves and our cause a disservice by judging him based on what his physical appearance may, or may not, seem to be. Oppose Bachmann because of his ignorance, fear-mongering and condescension when it comes to homosexuality, but what’s to be gained by parsing why we feel he may or may not be gay? We may oppose everything that the Bachmanns stand for, but being Democrats doesn’t connote upon us the right to condemn Marcus Bachmann for possibly being gay. There’s nothing wrong with being gay; condemning those who are simply because of your narrow religious beliefs is another matter altogether- and that’s what we should be focused on.
Personally, I don’t care if Marcus Bachmann buggers goats behind closed doors. One’s sexuality is and should be a private matter. Would that the Bachmanns could see their way clear to understand this. That they cannot (and the consequences resulting from that) is the issue that we should be addressing, NOT whether or not Marcus Bachmann’s alleged femininity is an indication of his latent homosexuality. I don’t care who or what he sleeps with; the fact that he’s married to Michele Bachmann would seem to be punishment enough.
The political beliefs of the Bachmanns (and their religious beliefs, insofar as it relates to their politics) are fair game. We should be debating what we think is wrong and inaccurate (if only because there’s so much of it) about their overarching ignorance and bigotry. We should be exposing their hypocrisy…because it’s not exactly in short supply. What we shouldn’t be doing is taking the debate to a personal level. Doing so only damages our cause and our credibility, and it hardly serves the purpose of ensuring that the only way Michele Bachmann gets to the White House is by Presidential invitation or as a tourist.
We don’t need to stoop to the level of those on the Far Right in order to expose the hypocrisy, ignorance, and uber-Jesus-y arrogance of Michele and Marcus Bachmann. They can do that all by themselves. We should be focusing our energies on spotlighting how completely and thoroughly wrong they are, and how their vision of America stands in stark contrast to that of most normal, decent Americans. We don’t live in a theocracy, and we should be focusing our attention and energy on defeating those who would seek to turn America into a theocracy. Beyond that, Marcus Bachmann can schtupp farm animals for all I care….
