Shorter Ace: ‘Bitches Lie’

Posted on | December 17, 2011 | 63 Comments

A grossly unfair oversimplification of Ace’s argument? Sure.

But in a multi-candidate Republican primary campaign where everybody’s cutting each other to ribbons, who can complain — if anyone even notices — when I gratuitously play the sexism card?

And isn’t Ace calling the lady a liar?

Michele Bachmann lives in a strange world. People talk about “moral relativism.” Presumably they would claim she’s not a moral relativist.
But truth is an objective fact, is it not?
Ms. Bachmann seems to confuse premises which are politically helpful to her for premises which are actually true.
That seems like moral relativism to me — the world is not as it is, but as I perceive it to be.

Ace is talking about the assertion by Bachmann “that we’ve been hearing all across the country, that money is changing hands” — candidates paying for Tea Party support. Professor William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection says:

You know I have a big problem with Michele Bachmann making statements which are not supported by facts and then repeating them endlessly.
Her campaign is up to much worse in South Carolina, where her local campaign manager has suggested that the Gingrich campaign has paid off Tea Party leaders for support.

Professor Jacobson has hopped aboard the Gingrich bandwagon and is savagely lashing Newt’s critics, as is his right. But notice that this pay-for-play accusation comes from South Carolina, which is to the GOP what Chicago is to the Democratic Party: The dirtiest place on the planet.

A South Carolina Republican primary is always fought according to the Al Davis rule — Just win, baby — and they never heard of a “fair fight.” So either:

Bachmann’s S.C. guy Wesley Donohue is just slinging mud against Gingrich; or
Gingrich and perhaps unnamed others are indeed bribing Tea Party activists for their support.

Are the pay-for-play accusations unproven? Yes, but so were the sexual harassment accusations against Herman Cain, yet the accusations were enough to drive Cain out of the race. And furthermore, just because Bachmann can’t prove that the Gingrich campaign is paying for endorsements doesn’t mean that Bachmann is lying when she says she has “been hearing all across the country” that such shenanigans are afoot.

Maybe the people telling Bachmann this stuff are paranoid, and certainly it is irresponsible for a candidate to repeat such stuff without proof. But you can accuse Bachmann of being a loose cannon without saying she’s engaged in “moral relativism.”

Grossly unfair oversimplification, you see.

Being aboard the Santorum Express myself, I should be happy to sit quietly while Michele Bachmann is accused of lying. Bachmann and Santorum appeal to the same pool of social conservative voters who are crucial in Iowa, so if Ace and Professor Jacobson are calling her a liar, the “smart” thing to do would be to say, “They’re right! You can’t trust that lying hussy!”

Ah, but why do what’s merely “smart,” when genius is an option? Because Professor Jacobson is a Gingrich supporter, and the two-bank carom shot is this headline:

Gingrich Supporter Calls Bachmann a Liar

But did I say genius? Here’s Ace proclaiming his own allegiance after Thursday’s debate:

I thought Perry did well. He’s still my pick.

Ah, so here we have a three-bank carom:

Gingrich, Perry Supporters: ‘Bachmann Lies’

As I’ve said before, Ace is ax-grinding against Bachmann because he’s still butt-hurt about the way she carved up Perry in the Tampa debate three months ago.

Dude: Let it go. It’s not worth it.

But I’m “Not Good Enough for BlogCon,” so nobody ever listens to me.

UPDATE: Ron Paul is a uniter, not a divider:

Ron Paul Takes Swipes at GOP Rivals,
Says Michele Bachmann ‘Hates Muslims’

That should boost Bachmann’s InTrade rating. Damn it.

Category: Ace of Spades, Legal Insurrection, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, South Carolina, Tea Party

Comments

63 Responses to “Shorter Ace: ‘Bitches Lie’”

Dcmick
December 17th, 2011 @ 1:22 pm

Robert, don’t be a blockhead.

We KNOW who has the cash, and the history of buying support. That would be the guy who bought a radio host using the predicate of a book deal as cover for him and the radio host.

So if money was changing hands, it wouldn’t be Gingrich.

What we’re seeing here is Bachmann now quite openly acting as surrogate attack dog for the Mormon, who hasn’t the testicular wherewithal to throw an elbow as a man would throw an elbow.

Bachmann went first after Pawlenty.

Then she followed that up by going after Perry.

The trend line was already in place.

But with her wild and hyperbolic attacks on Thursday night, accusing the guy who got a partial birth ban through the House, who forced the Senate to tack in accordance with him, and forced Clinton to either sign or veto, accusing that man of being de facto, closeted partial birth abortion supporter, ————————————- she’s now acting openly to SUPPORT the one candidate on the stage whose opposition to abortion, any and all abortion, is very much open to doubt.

She’s acting as the attack dog for a guy who told Planned Parenthood that they needed him in the White House. And to top off this surreal spectacle, she’s attacking his opposition on their supposed want of pro-life purity!

And all the while this despicable, opportunistic bitch is dressed in white!

Fuck her! Fuck her ambition! Fuck her falsehoods!
Mandy
December 17th, 2011 @ 1:32 pm

Amen, Dcmick. Bachmann is spewing BS and she knows it. Further, I am a member of my local Tea Party and I resent the Hell out of the notion that we can be bought.
Paul Zummo
December 17th, 2011 @ 1:33 pm

This is one of your most poorly reasoned blogposts. Bachmann is the one who has damaged her own credibility through repeated false allegations and her insistence on basically making stuff up. I mean, to accuse the guy who has no money of influencing voters through some payola? Come on.

It’s a shame because Bachmann has demonstrated an ability to hang with the boys when it comes to policy. Too bad she can’t stop lying through her teeth.
Anonymous
December 17th, 2011 @ 1:50 pm

A couple points:

1) It’s face-saving to claim that the harassment charges forced Cain from the race (although it might have accelerated it.) What drove Cain’s numbers down can be summarized by evoking that moment we all remember, involving “Libya.”

2) “Are the pay-for-play accusations unproven? Yes, but so were the sexual harassment accusations against Herman Cain, yet the accusations were enough to drive Cain out of the race.”

RSM appears to be arguing that because Politico & many others defamed Cain, it’s no biggie for the Bachmann operation to defame Gingrich. Can’t put my finger on it, but I’ll bet there’s a logical fallacy in there somewhere.
Dcmick
December 17th, 2011 @ 1:53 pm

Not that long ago, I actually respected Bachmann. Heard her once on Levin, going over aspect after aspect of the economy, talking how it had been taken over by Obama. She was impressive.

And then there’s now…………..

She constantly affects this earnestness on abortion, meanwhile, she’s taking out one by one, those in a position to threaten Romney. And it’s not like she’s moving up in the polls by doing so.

Which begs the question, she’s either doing this on behalf of the Romney campaign, or she’s doing it because she’s a mirror image of Ron Paul’s kookiness, hurting the cause while pursuing an impossible political perfection.

She’s in the tank for Romney.

And she’s not just hurting herself.

She landed body blows to the Gingrich candidacy, and she did so by throwing roundhouse libels. You could tell Gingrich was clearly puzzled by what he was being defamed with, his supposed want of purity on abortion, and the worst of all abortion types.

DESPICABLE!
Anonymous
December 17th, 2011 @ 2:09 pm

My late great-uncle was always buying things and then bragging about the deal he got. He paid $500 for that Oldsmobile and “they” offered him $800. His boat cost $1200 and he refused when “they” tried to get it from him for $2000. He was a good guy, but if he had taken all those offers from “they,” he’d have died a billionaire.

Michele Bachmann reminds me of my great-uncle. Every other week it’s a new allegation, supported by testimony from “they” — they being some unidentified stranger who approached her at a public event without being noticed or overheard by anyone else, and who has subsequently vanished from the face of the earth.

I’m pretty sure my great-uncle believed in, or at least managed to somewhat convince himself of the real existence of, “they.”

Similarly, I’m pretty sure that these incidents are vivid in Bachmann’s memory.

The difference between my great-uncle and Michele Bachmann is that my great-uncle never attempted to seize control of the nuclear “football,” which he might be tempted to futz with the buttons of after an imaginary visit from “they.”
Donald Douglas
December 17th, 2011 @ 2:14 pm

Well, I’m a Bachmann supporters, was one of the first!
AngelaTC
December 17th, 2011 @ 2:15 pm

I’ve watched the Fox News designated TEA Party leaders like Judson Phillips (out of Tennessee) pretty closely, and I’m inclined to agree that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. It’s pretty naive to believe that none of these groups were formed by people looking at the chance to cash in on a grassroots movement.
Evil Blogger Lady
December 17th, 2011 @ 2:15 pm

I like her hair.
Dcmick
December 17th, 2011 @ 2:16 pm

There was a world of difference between the Gingrich candidacy and that of Cain.

Gingrich climbed despite opposition to him, by sheer force of excellence, by REPEATED demonstrations of his utter mastery of domestic and foreign policy problems.

Nobody else has demonstrated the utter command of the issues that has Gingrich, —————— EVER!

NO other candidate in modern political history has anything close to the utter command that Gingrich enjoys, which is constantly on display!

Reagan wasn’t even close to Gingrich. Just think about that one, that the Gipper himself would pale in comparison to the master that Gingrich demonstrates.

Cain on the other hand was a walking cranial cavity, who couldn’t even explain well his own 999 plan.

RSM, who was cheerleading for Cain, even he couldn’t help but be struck by the lack of professionalism of the Cain candidacy!
AngelaTC
December 17th, 2011 @ 2:17 pm

My TEA Party is pure too, but we’ve never been invited by Fox News to speak on behalf of yours. That’s where the conflicts lie.
Anonymous
December 17th, 2011 @ 2:29 pm

But what constitutes “smoke”? A politically motivated accusation from a woman with a reputation for spreading falsehoods, with zero accompanying evidence?

Angela, I accuse you of getting paid to write your comment. And don’t discount it, either. After all, where there’s smoke…
Anonymous
December 17th, 2011 @ 2:34 pm

No horse in this race any longer….. [whistling past the graveyard/]
EBL
December 17th, 2011 @ 3:06 pm

Now now, you can disagree with Ms. Bachmann, but she would spew cow patties. Accuracy matters.
EBL
December 17th, 2011 @ 3:08 pm

I like Ms. Bachmann because she is a farm girl. I think I would be sympatico with her.

I do love Ace. But he tends to be a an angry bull when he doesn’t get his way.
ThePaganTemple
December 17th, 2011 @ 3:16 pm

I’d like to see Bachmann going after Romney more myself, and she did go after him some in the last two debates. But let’s face it, Bachmann knows that if Romney loses support its not going to her, so she’s concentrating on knocking out the ones who are more in competition with her. I personally have disagreed with that policy. My feelings have always been, if she were to succeed in knocking out Romney, that is going to help her maybe draw support away from the other people whose support is soft. For example, why would somebody who has tepidly and tentatively supported Santorum or Perry not be tempted to give her a second look if she knocked out Romney when they couldn’t.

But to accuse her of outright lying is pretty outrageous. Did Gingrich take 1.2 million dollars from Freddy Mac or not? Did he sit on the couch with Pelosi or not? Did he at one time favor health care mandates or not? She has the perfect right to criticize him for his past record.
Adjoran
December 17th, 2011 @ 3:57 pm

Wes Donohue was one of those with Andre Bauer, Will Folks, and Larry Marchant attempting to stop Nikki Haley with false sex charges. If Bachmann hired him, she wasn’t looking to do good in South Carolina, she was looking for a smear artist.

But these “TPX” folks and Freedom Works and “TPP” all want to cash in on “Tea Party” support without ever having been elected to anything by any Tea Party meeting or rally. They appointed themselves, incorporated themselves, and granted themselves the exclusive right to say what “Tea Partiers” are for or against.

It’s a bunch of crap. No matter how many TV news shows invite them on, they speak ONLY for themselves. If you send them money, ONLY they decide what to do with it. Now, I don’t know if they are after money or power or both, but I know they don’t speak for me or any of the other people in attendance at Tea Party rallies.

But if Wes Donohue is the one making the accusation, there is roughly a 98% chance it is false.
EBL
December 17th, 2011 @ 4:13 pm

She reminded me of a Australian Cattle Dog. I find them annoying but they are good with controlling cows.
EBL
December 17th, 2011 @ 4:14 pm

Can I join the herd?
Michele Bachmann Hates Muslims? - ScrollPost.com
December 17th, 2011 @ 4:20 pm

[…] the Gingrich campaign for alleged vote-buying in South Carolina? At The Other McCain, “‘Shorter Ace: Bitches Lie’.” Related Posts17 December 2011 – Incitement &#187 US Middle East Blogs &#187 Jihad WatchRon […]
ThePaganTemple
December 17th, 2011 @ 4:45 pm

Wes Donohue was one of those with Andre Bauer, Will Folks, and Larry
Marchant attempting to stop Nikki Haley with false sex charges.

Now I have to admit that IS a point. Nikki Haley would surely never get in bed with some damn RINO. Oh, wait a minute-
Anonymous
December 17th, 2011 @ 4:51 pm

You want delusional? How about this gem.

H/T: Darleen at Protein Wisdom.
Ccoffer
December 17th, 2011 @ 7:31 pm

Michelle Bachmann is full of shit and that’s not okay. She’s a liar. She’s a destructive presence in this race.
Serr8d
December 17th, 2011 @ 8:00 pm

Yep, me too. I’m fervently anti-Baracky.

I may write in Sarah Palin in my State’s Super Tuesday primary.
CoolCzech
December 17th, 2011 @ 8:02 pm

Uh… Maybe Bachmann is Freaking Lying about having HEARD that the Tea Party is being paid money for its support?

She seems to be the Lone Person on the planet to make this claim.
Serr8d
December 17th, 2011 @ 8:09 pm

Heh. I see that little Leprous Green Foosballer in the mini-pics below. Charles Johnson, you little green shit, if you had brains you’d have made something of yourself; instead, you are a laughing stock of both Left and Right. It’s pretty bad when that LeftLibProgg chair-crusher Oliver Willis won’t touch you, even though you do resemble a plump, sugary doughnut.
MrPaulRevere
December 17th, 2011 @ 9:09 pm

“Reagan wasn’t even close to Gingrich. Just think about that one, that the Gipper himself would pale in comparison to the master that Gingrich demonstrates.” You forgot the sarc tag at the end of that post champ.
ThePaganTemple
December 17th, 2011 @ 9:48 pm

Bachmann must be steadily climbing up in the polls, a lot of Republicans seem to have their Whack-A-Mole mallets aimed at her now. That’s all right. I don’t know about the Tea Party being bribed, but I can think of a few Tea Party politicians that seem to be getting a good lube job. But hey that’s all right. If you want to be accepted by the establishment you have to learn to play by the establishments rules. I commend Nicky Haley and Christine O’Donnell, not to mention Anne Coulter for selling their souls to the highest bidding devil adopting a more practical, reasonable position.
jwallin
December 17th, 2011 @ 9:49 pm

I noted, but it wasn’t picked up on over at Ace’s, that Perry collects
his State Pension while getting paid as Governor. (This would SEEM to be
a no no to the anti labor, anti big government and anti politicians
sucking down big benefits at taxpayer expense crowd over at AoSHQ but
NOOOO apparently not.)

I thought someone would pick up on that
because everyone over there is down on anyone collecting exorbitant
pensions at taxpayers expense and double dipping politicians. The Doom
Chronicles by Monty seems to harp on those actions in OTHER countries
and how it’s causing their demise and is not frugal fiscal policy.

Somehow
Perry doesn’t qualify for any criticism for his double dipping. Don’t
ask me why (well yes I do know why). I love to watch folks who dis Obama
or Paul supporters for being mindless robots and idol worshipers but
who then fall down and mindlessly ignore any of they’re own mindless
worship when it turns out that Perry is no conservative nor is he much
of a candidate nor can he keep from grabbing money he doesn’t need.
IMHO.

Sadly the Santorum train consist is just a switcher and a
flat car, good luck with getting a soda or a cheese steak on that
vehicle. It’s not getting much further than the PA primaries in April
let alone Vanuatu.
Anonymous
December 17th, 2011 @ 10:06 pm

I’ve read a few conservative bloggers planning to write Sarah in. Not a bad idea, but I’d have to re-register as a Repub. After the 2008 FL primary fiasco (Thompson dropped shortly before), I re-registered as NPA. I’m one of those beloved “independents”, but I poll much more right of the average bear.
Is there Pay for Play in the Tea Party? by Macsmind
December 17th, 2011 @ 11:09 pm

[…] bloggers, Ace, The Professor and Stacy McCain are teeing off on Bachmann but she actually didn’t make the accusation but simply said that […]
CrustyB
December 17th, 2011 @ 11:32 pm

Didn’t Ace of Spades HQ go Little Green Footballs when they started justifying Perry’s liberalism back in September?
Dcmick
December 17th, 2011 @ 11:49 pm

At the time they were running for the Presidency, which was what I was implying; I didn’t think I had to be that explicit, thought that everybody would understand that.

Reagan had been Governor of California, and had signed into law a pro-abortion piece of legislation.

To compare the track records of Gingrich’s time in the House, particularly his time as Speaker, with that of Reagan, is to EASILY conclude that Gingrich had FAR THE MORE IMPRESSIVE RECORD, and had FAR THE MORE CONSERVATIVE demonstrations to his name.

You couldn’t pick up on that?

Get with the program.
Dcmick
December 17th, 2011 @ 11:50 pm

Yup.
Dcmick
December 17th, 2011 @ 11:51 pm

It’s all emerging from her campaign.

She’s a piece of work…………..
Doom
December 18th, 2011 @ 3:55 am

Proof be damned in this case. I think both Gingrich and Romney are throwing around buckets of cash at anyone they think has some influence. Why I haven’t received a check yet though is anyone’s guess. Oh, wait, I know that one. Never… mind.

Anyway, I think she is right. Proving it? Who is going to squeal. They all have a price, and most work under the table. Squealing while rejecting, more so if not rejecting, would make future cash bearing friends scarce. That’s NOT how it’s done.
Paul Zummo
December 18th, 2011 @ 8:39 am

Oh give me a break. Decrying Perry as a liberal just proves that you are a raging fool.
ThePaganTemple
December 18th, 2011 @ 9:19 am

Of course she is right, and everybody knows she is right. What really tells the tale is when Anne Coulter, for example, says shit like “Mitt Romney” is the most conservative of all the candidates running.” Who the fuck does she think she’s kidding? Who’s going to come out next with a “surprise endorsement” of Romney, Sharon Angle? It wouldn’t surprise me a damn bit, in fact I’m expecting it. And look, you can easily make a case for Romney in various regards, as to his electability, maybe, or his value as a major player of experience in economic matters, even his executive experience as a former governor. I wouldn’t even have a problem with somebody saying that Mitt Romney is mostly conservative on balance. But to go on national television and lie, and claim Romney is the most conservative candidate, is an obvious kick in the face, actually a piss in the face to conservative voters, a blatant insult, and its time somebody called the motherfuckers on it.
Ccoffer
December 18th, 2011 @ 9:26 am

“Proof be damned in this case.”

In other words, “Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a baseless allegation out of my ass!”
Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup » Pirate's Cove
December 18th, 2011 @ 10:09 am

[…] The Other McCain wonders if Bachmann is lying […]
Andrew Patrick
December 18th, 2011 @ 10:26 am

So… Michelle Bachmann is so desperate for attention that she’s willing to throw the Tea Parties under the bus to get it.

Sounds legit.

If you thought the Not-Mitts were tedious, the Not-Newts are getting downright creepy.
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December 18th, 2011 @ 10:41 am

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» “Savagely slashing news goalie” - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
December 18th, 2011 @ 11:46 am

[…] Robert Stacy McCain says I’ve “hopped aboard the Gingrich bandwagon and [am] savagely lashing Newt’s critics.” Actually, the bandwagon jumped on me, because my endorsement predated Newt’s surge, if only by a few days. […]
Tennwriter
December 18th, 2011 @ 12:21 pm

I won’t reply to the last bit, but yeah, the first bit of your comment makes sense. There was an awful lot of Absolutely Convinced & Condemnatory Statements about Rick Santorum a few days ago. And they kept on even when many of their attacks were rebutted.

What do Rick and Michelle have in common? Oh….they’re actually serious about being Conservative.

Looks like partisan shills for the Establishment, acts like partisan shills….

See, PT thats something you and I share. Both of us support our lady or gent, but we remain capable of acknowleding when they make a mistake, or some other candidate does a good job.
» Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup
December 18th, 2011 @ 12:24 pm

[…] The Other McCain wonders if Bachmann is lying […]
Tennwriter
December 18th, 2011 @ 12:26 pm

No…..I thought Mitt was a bit tedious. And Libertarians really should not go around calling others creepy or strange considering thats the center of the bell curve over in Libertarianland.
richard mcenroe
December 18th, 2011 @ 1:26 pm

He’s gone the full Joan Crawford three times, once against Palin, allegedly because her fans pissed him off, once in defense of Perry, and once against Cain. One of these things is not like the other.
JEBurke
December 18th, 2011 @ 2:38 pm

Glad to see you call out William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection for his obsessive defensiveness about Gingrich. Jacobson may appear superficially to be open to other GOP contenders but after I posted a dozen or so comments on his blog making entirely respectable points about Newt’s weaknesses — made strongly but without rancor or vulgarity — I found myself suddenly blocked from commenting. This after reading the guy’s blog and often agreeing with him in the comments since he started it.

Sheesh, talk about thin skins! If you peruse his comment boards, you will find an extraordinary level of agreement for any conservative board. You will see a lot more pro-Newt comments at National Review Online than you will see criticism of Newt at Legal Insurrection.
K-Bob
December 18th, 2011 @ 3:46 pm

Totally correct about those “Tea Party” spokesmen. Just like Herman Cain ‘s name became a money-raiser for a bunch of folks not connected to his campaign at all, and who sent him none of the proceeds.

That sort of fraud ought to be severely punishable, but apparently isn’t.
K-Bob
December 18th, 2011 @ 3:48 pm

They told you to write that.