7 Absurd Michele Bachmann Moments She'll Always Be Remembered For

Republican representative and former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has today announced that she will not be seeking re-election to Congress next year. The Tea Party favorite from Minnesota, who has a reputation for making ridiculous, often outrageous comments, is currently serving her fourth term in Congress. Although she did not give a clear reason for her decision, she only narrowly won her congressional election last year and her presidential campaign is also facing an investigation into its fund-raising activities. While Democratic strategist James Carville argued that many Republicans would be “relieved” that she is leaving politics, Foreign Policy’s Stephen Walt tweeted:

So here are just some (there are many more) of the reasons, in no particular order, that comedians will miss Bachmann and few other people will:

1. Being gay is “personal enslavement”

During a 2004 speech, Bachmann said that, “We need to have profound compassion for the people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life, and sexual identity disorders … Because if you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. Personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement. And that’s why this is so dangerous.”

Zero compassion shown there for the real struggles that LGBT Americans face. And this was not the only anti-gay comment she made.

2. Many scientists believe in intelligent design

Back in 2006, Bachmann defended her belief in intelligent design by claiming in a speech that “there are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design.” Obviously their identities are such closely guarded secrets that no one has ever heard of them. Funny that.

3. Bachmann’s call for a new McCarthyism

In 2011 Bachmann insinuated that Barack and Michelle Obama were anti-American and called for a McCarthyist investigation into the “the views of the people in Congress and find out if they are pro-America or anti-America.”

Perhaps she should have asked if they were an Ameri-cans or Ameri-can’ts instead. Makes about as much sense.

4. Global warming is a hoax and carbon dioxide is harmless

During a 2008 speech, Bachmann called global warming “voodoo, nonsense, hokum, a hoax,” and in a 2009 Earth Day speech in Congress she claimed that “carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn’t one such study because carbon dioxide is not a harmful gas, it is a harmless gas.”

Except for all the studies that do show the harmful effect carbon dioxide, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, emissions are having on the planet.

5. Whitewashes history and says Founding Fathers worked “tirelessly” to end slavery

At a 2011 event, Bachmann attempted to whitewash history, saying that everyone who came to America was treated equally and that the Founding Fathers “worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States.” Which just is not true. While some of the founding fathers may have ostensibly opposed slavery, they were certainly not all working “tirelessly” to end it.

6. Obamacare will literally kill people

Earlier this year Bachmann said in Congress that Obamacare, the controversial health care reform that Republicans continue to try to repeal, must be repealed “before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens.”

Say what you like about Obamacare, but I am pretty sure that health care is designed to save people rather than “literally” kill them.

7. Bachmann leads Islamophobic witch-hunt

In 2012 Bachmann made the completely unfounded claim that members of the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated the U.S. government and called for an investigation: “The Muslim Brotherhood has been found to be an unindicted co-conspirator on terrorism cases and yet it appears that there are individuals who are associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who have positions, very sensitive positions, in our Department of Justice, our Department of Homeland Security, potentially even in the National Intelligence Agency.”

Even Senator John McCain called her out on her “unwarranted and unfounded attack.”