Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
The Minnesota Independent has an article about Rep. Michelle Bachmann and a speech she gave at a prosperity gospel church (read: scam moneymaking operation) in that state. It turns out God has endorsed Bachmann as a legislator:
Twenty-two months ago, He called me to run for United States Congress. And my husband thought, you need to do this. This is a big deal to do something like this. So we set aside three days where we fasted and we prayed, and long about the afternoon of day two, we knew. We knew that we knew that we knew. This was it. And so we jumped in, and little did we know that out of 435 seats for Congress, this race would turn in to being one of the top three in the country. And that how this race turns will probably determine what majority is in Congress this fall.
I think God just violated IRS rules. The rest of the speech was standard issue religio-babble:
We are sitting right now at a time in our history when we're going to be dealing with some of the most important issues of our time. Number one being, which your pastor is going to be talking about in the next few weeks, radical Islam. How will our nation deal with this threat of radical Islam? There's so much at stake, but we listen to the Lord and we decide we're going to suit up, we're going to sign up, we're going to be hot for God, and we're going to do what He is calling us to do! And we're going to watch out and see what He is going to perform in our midst.And that's what it's all about when He makes our calling sure. It isn't about us. It's about Him. And it's about freeing each one of us up to do His will for His glory so that He will be magnified! And that's His calling. It's sure. I commend to you to listen carefully to the truth of His word that He will bless you with as your pastor comes and speaks to you this morning.
Pat Robertson said God told him to run for president in 1988 too. I guess God wanted to see Pat make a fool of himself. In fact, he seems to do that quite often.
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So we set aside three days where we fasted and we prayed, and long about the afternoon of day two, we knew.
Maybe they just got hungry?
Posted by: Eveningsun | October 26, 2008 9:58 AM
And what they "knew that they knew that they knew" is that somehow one of 435 seats would be the one that decided who was in the majority.
Right. Jed, call Granny and Ellie May. We're a goin' ta Warshin'ton ta straitin' out the Congress.
Posted by: BaldApe | October 26, 2008 10:09 AM
Nah, all that fasting was so they could get into thier leatherette gimp suits, and so the restraints and gags would fit.
What good little subs these two are! -DJPosted by: DingoJack | October 26, 2008 10:10 AM
I missed the S&M angle. Good eye, DingoJack. But "hot" is not a word Bachmann should be using to describe herself. She ain't no Sarah Palin.
Posted by: Eveningsun | October 26, 2008 10:28 AM
Ah yes the campaign poster for the GOP in 2012 -
Sarah Palin in a black leatherette gimp suit - with antlers! :D
I think this religious tool was thinking of "girding up your loins' - I'm sure the more biblically minded can get the chapter and verse -DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | October 26, 2008 10:34 AM
Why is it that conservatives like Bachmann are terrible speakers? Their language is simply ugly, and I do mean simple. Not in a minimalist way; they're just ineloquent. Am I the only one who's noticed this?
Posted by: Bachalon | October 26, 2008 10:40 AM
1) Fasting can often cause hallucinations. Just throwing that out there.
2) There is no way her race will determine what the majority is going to be in Congress. If anything the House of Representative will have more Democrats after this election.
Then again, the backlash against Bachmann might make a Democratic majority even more likely.
Posted by: IasonOuabache | October 26, 2008 10:48 AM
Susan Jacoby's excellent book on anti-intellectualism, "The Age of American Unreason", does a good job in the first chapter covering the conscious aspect of your observation, i.e., purposefully talking in a folksy manner.
I believe it's also clear evidence that these populist social conservatives don't read or attempt to master intellectually challenging material. In their forum they are able to succeed by outperforming others in redundantly affirming the group's dogma.
Enough of that tends to make one sound stupid when you get in a forum where you have to move beyond your group's dogma. Palin and Bachmann both serve as excellent examples, Palin is also an excellent example of what Jacoby discussed in her book; where she goes beyond even W. talking down to people.
The idiocracy is knocking on our door.
Posted by: Michael Heath | October 26, 2008 11:14 AM
"Enough of that tends to make one sound stupid when you get in a forum where you have to move beyond your group's dogma."
gee. can't imagine why there'd be an anti-intellectual movement. the elitist bit grows old after a while.
Posted by: folkme | October 26, 2008 11:51 AM
The great thing about Bachmanns latest meltdown is that her opponent is now equal with her in the polling and the DNC has been running commercial after commercial around here about her "anti-american" comments. Her opponent actually stands a chance at winning this rather red district.
Posted by: yoshi | October 26, 2008 11:52 AM
If I were God, I'd tell her to run too. Far and fast.
Posted by: JimV | October 26, 2008 12:01 PM
Yep, it's rough when you can't keep up. I recently tried to read Brian Green's The Elegant Universe. I struggled through the first few chapters and finally gave up, recognizing that my failure to grasp what he obviously considered the basics would keep me from making sense of anything that followed. It made me feel a bit insecure about my own intelligence, to be quite honest. Oh, well, too bad for me.
The problem with anti-elitism is that we materially depend on the intellectual products of our scientific and creative elites. If they make us feel dumb, that's just too bad. We need to suck it up and let them do their jobs. And if the Palins of the world try to make political hay by ridiculing elites, that makes them (Palin and her ilk) the enemies of us all, whether we admit it or not.
You betcha.
Posted by: xebecs | October 26, 2008 12:11 PM
Twenty-two months ago, He called me to run for United States Congress. And my husband thought, you need to do this. This is a big deal to do something like this. So we set aside three days where we fasted and we prayed, and long about the afternoon of day two, we knew.
Why did they have to pray and fast if God already called her?
Yeah I'm sure they set aside three days for praying and not eating. Yaeeaahhh...
Posted by: 386sx | October 26, 2008 12:15 PM
1) Fasting can often cause hallucinations. Just throwing that out there.
Who know if she even really "fasted"? She might call skipping breakfast "fasting". Who knows what she could delude herself into thinking!
Posted by: 386sx | October 26, 2008 12:22 PM
1) Fasting can often cause hallucinations. Just throwing that out there.
I'm certain that it takes more than 3 days for that to kick in. The voices in her head are all her own, IMO.
Posted by: Graculus | October 26, 2008 12:50 PM
long about the afternoon of day two, we knew. We knew that we knew that we knew. Maybe they knew that they knew that they knew. But did they KNOW that they knew that they knew that they knew? That's the question.
We're going to do what He is calling us to do! And we're going to watch out and see what He is going to perform in our midst. And that's what it's all about when He makes our calling sure. It isn't about us. It's about Him. And it's about freeing each one of us up to do His will for His glory so that He will be magnified!
I am still not clear why an infinite, perfect, all-powerful, omni-everything god would want, need or care what people think of him. Am I the only one with this question?
Posted by: Blue Nine | October 26, 2008 1:36 PM
Hopefully god will tell Bachman to get up and go outside and check her tire pressure at 3am.
Posted by: llewelly | October 26, 2008 2:20 PM
"I am still not clear why an infinite, perfect, all-powerful, omni-everything god would want, need or care what people think of him. Am I the only one with this question?"
Blue,
I am going to assume you were sincere about that question. The mainstream Christian answer to that is that our lives are transformed by the understanding of God's Grace, which is the unconditional love for us and his unconditional forgiveness for however we contribute to the increase of misery and suffering on Earth.
It is not obligation or fear of punishment that compels us to be of service to others who are suffering (because that never works), but instead, it is the acknowledgement of God's Grace that moves us to that.
The reason why you would give up your life for the sake of your own child is not your fear of punishment, but your love for your child.
So we worship God to remind ourselves that we are loved, forgiven and blessed by God so that we ourselves might be blessings to the world.
As for Michelle Bachman serving out God's Plan, this is how you can tell a fundamentalist from a mainstream Christian. It is that arrogant and deluded sense of certainty that they themselves have been specifically chosen by God to carry out a specific purpose that distinquises them. This is the kind of certainty that creates holy wars and jihads. As the modern Lutheran seminarian Mark David Powell says,
"If you are so convinced God is on YOUR particular side, you should probably seek a second opinion."
The only thing a mainstream Christian is certain about when it comes to himself and his purpose is God's Grace. It is the understanding of that Grace that gives him his purpose (which is to channel that grace to the suffering world.).
Posted by: Chiefley | October 26, 2008 2:22 PM
Or, in the immortal words of Captain Kirk, "Why does God need a starship?"
Posted by: BaldApe | October 26, 2008 3:08 PM
Chiefly said:
"The mainstream Christian answer to that is that our lives are transformed by the understanding of God's Grace, which is the unconditional love for us and his unconditional forgiveness for however we contribute to the increase of misery and suffering on Earth."
Unconditional forgiveness, unconditional love my ass.
He didn't forgive Adam of his Original Sin, and he holds every single human who ever lived as deserving a life of misery because of it.
For some inexplicable reason, Christian dogma has it that Christ died for our sins. Everybody except Adam and Eve, right, who were formed perfect, yet still "deliberately chose sin! Ridiculous!
The fact that a supposedly omnipotent omnipresent God allows suffering in this world, even in newborn babies, is stunningly powerful proof there is no God.
What a crappy God is the Christian/Jewish God. What foolishness is religion!
Posted by: Gingerbaker | October 26, 2008 4:38 PM
Re Gingerbaker
Hey, let's not forget the Muslim god Allah who is no better then Yahweh.
Posted by: SLC | October 26, 2008 5:03 PM
And so we jumped in, and little did we know that out of 435 seats for Congress, this race would turn in to being one of the top three in the country. And that how this race turns will probably determine what majority is in Congress this fall.
In 2006, when she originally ran for the House, the Democrats won a majority with 232 seats to the Republicans 202 (following a number of scandals and resignations that is now 235 to 199). It is projected that the Democrats will have a bare minimum 235 seats and are actually projected to gain up to 25 or even 30 seats. Not only is she a religious fear-mongering neo-McCarthyist nut, she can't do math. Her seat is utterly meaningless, it doesn't even give the Republicans a majority in the Minnesota delegation let alone determine who controls congress.
Posted by: dogmeatib | October 26, 2008 5:25 PM
"...number one issue....bla bla...radical Islam..blah bla....deal with this threat...."
Right now I'm more worried about Radical Christianity than I am about Muslims.
Posted by: watercat | October 26, 2008 6:26 PM
Why is it that the more fundamentalist the Christian, the more hateful and intolerant they become?
Posted by: trog69 | October 26, 2008 6:38 PM
Posted by: James Hanley | October 26, 2008 6:54 PM
Trog69:
Fundamentalist Christian harken to the Old Testament, the god of which is vengeful and unforgiving. Followers of Rev. Phelps scream at rallies: "God hates the world!"
That he hates us all at birth is indicated by our being doomed to hell unless saved through baptism.
My personal experience with fundamentalists is that the more you let them talk the more hate they reveal. Bachmann should be allowed to rant until she self-ignites.
Posted by: Rod | October 26, 2008 7:48 PM
"I am still not clear why an infinite, perfect, all-powerful, omni-everything god would want, need or care what people think of him. Am I the only one with this question?"
Well thats just easy to do!
"Blue, I am going to assume you were sincere about that question and give you a totaly off-topic answer about why I like tropical fish"
see? easy!
Posted by: Kevin | October 26, 2008 8:20 PM
When I was in seminary in Minnesota about 13 years ago I attended this "church" one time. It was for a class I was taking on "Comparative Confessions." We started out attending an orthodox church, a Roman church, a Calvinist church, etc. The final week was a Pentecostal/Independent church. This was the one I chose to attend for that week.
See Mac Hammond always had what was called the "Winner's Moment" on at 7:20 am during "Good Morning America," (I remember the time because my wife had to be out the door before his segment started or else she would be late for work)and I was curious what his "church" was like. Probably a good thing I went because he killed any chance I had of ever falling for the Prosperity Gospel. By the end of the day I no longer saw him as someone who wanted to give one-minute inspirational talks-but as a "six-foot walking phallic symbol" who preyed off the weakness of others.
Where to start....hmmmmm....the "church" was in a non-descript warehouse on the northwest side of Mpls. My wife and I sat down in the middle of the congregation and joined in the preschoolish singing ("God loves you, God loves you-repeat 59 times!) The Mac came out with Bible in hand and started into how the "church" needed to raise $29 million to be able to "effectively share the Gospel." Dang I think my church does a pretty good job of it on what seems like a welfare budget compared to that! After 25 minutes they started passing around-I kid you not-empty pickle buckets that they expected to fill up with money. Mine stayed in my pocket.
Then he launched into his sermon. I started off annoyed and ended up with my face beet red and a vein pulsing out in my forehead by the time he was done. I wish I could have had my blood pressure taken at that moment-as I think I was close to a stroke;-) The guy in front of me looked at me like I was possessed. My wife kept telling me to calm down; which only made me even more pissed! What really got to me was that Mac said he didn't need to go to college or "Cemetery...oops..ha, ha...seminary."
As soon as the service was over everyone left-kind of like the Rapture-the cars were all still in the parking lot-but not a person to be found. We left as quickly as possible!
At the end of each church visit we were supposed to write a one-page paper. I ended up missing all my Monday morning classes and writing a 26 page paper about this "church." I still have that paper and read it on occasion.
I hope the IRS closes down this clown and that the fair-minded people of Minnesota prove that God has other things in mind;-)
Posted by: Rev. AJB | October 26, 2008 10:09 PM
"we're going to be hot for God"
Wow, just wow. Rock me Sexy Jesus.
Posted by: woodstein312 | October 27, 2008 2:22 AM
@Chiefley
"The reason why you would give up your life for the sake of your own child is not your fear of punishment, but your love for your child."
Sure. And I hope I would (and hope I'll never need to find out.) I just don't see what exactly God has to do with it, considering that I'm agnostic. Furthermore, if HE puts me in a situation where I had to choose between my life and that of my child, it would not strengthen my belief that he loves me all that much.
Saying that, I appreciate that your belief at least does not put punishment first.
Posted by: MartinB | October 27, 2008 4:32 AM
Bachmann talks like the people who "testify" at AoG and other pentecostal churches, just reg'lar folks who want to praise the Lord with any confusing theological concepts. It's a simple religion for simple people.
Mainstream Christians assume miracles are once-in-a-blue-moon kind of thing. Pentecostals act like miracles happen on a daily basis, just by praying a lot. Mainstream Christians are careful about following "messages from God" willy-nilly, since such messages might not be divine at all. Even Quakers, who did away with pastors entirely, recognized the need for the group tempering individual interpretations of voices from above.
If God did indeed tell Bachmann to run, fine. If she reads the Bible carefully, however, she will find plenty of prophets who were pretty unwilling to serve their Divine Master. They didn't just acquiesce after a pitiful three days of fasting. There was some thought involved, too.
Posted by: wheatdogg | October 27, 2008 5:41 AM
I am quite sure that Mr. Bachmann was thinking more along the lines of:
"Cripes, anything to keep this dingbat out of my hair..."
Posted by: BobbyEarle | October 27, 2008 7:21 AM
Gingerbaker, you are indulging in exactly the kind of petty, vengeful, tribal hate-mongering that you accuse others of. Did you realize that? Go back and read what you wrote. It's raw hate-spew.
And there are plenty of atheists around who view Jesus as a radical philosopher who preached and practiced love & compassion in a culture that was seething with violence.
Tell me, would you have told Martin Luther King, to his face, that he too was full of s---, or would you have just done it from the safety of your internet connection?
Posted by: g347 | October 27, 2008 7:35 AM
I think that God is just flinching because the polls are not going well. He probably regretted "calling" Bachmann immediately after doing it. All her being "hot for God" probably got to him, and he ended up making a divine form of booty call.
In any case, he needs to go into a rebuilding phase. If he is going to go for Palin in 2012, then he's got his work cut out for him. He needs to rest up.
Posted by: Ex-drone | October 27, 2008 7:37 AM
dogmeatib:
During the run up to the 2006 election it was considered a toss up as to which way it would go. The Democrats need a gain of near record (read Watergate 1974) proportions to gain the majority in the house. They were expected to gain the Senate and trim the Republican majority in the House to something razor thin. Then various things changed that to a more substantial win for the Democrats. So at the time the vacant 6th district in MN (the only vacant seat in the state) was viewed as one of those that could hold the balance. It was a tight race with Patty Wetterling losing for the second time to a different Republican challenger.
What I want to know is if God wants her in Congress why didn't he stop her from answering Chris Mathews' question? It seems like maybe he (since her God is a he) doesn't want her in Congress anymore.
Reporting from St Paul...
Posted by: JackU | October 27, 2008 8:16 AM
Maybe God only called on her to run for Congress, not to actually win the seat. This race could all be one gigantic spiritual set-up in order to teach Bachmann (and her ilk) some humility.
Posted by: Harry | October 27, 2008 8:51 AM
Bachmann highlights one of the biggest reason to fear religion. She admits clearly, proudly, and loudly that she is not serving her constituents, she is serving her god. If you happen to be a like minded christian, you may get something out Bachmann's "work" in office, but I wouldn't count on it. How can people vote for a candidate who in no uncertain terms makes her position to serve invisible sky gods and not the living breathing human beings in her districts. More energy and resources wasted.
Posted by: Lorax | October 27, 2008 9:39 AM
It is so nice to see Michele Bachmann getting the international attention she deserves. Some of us have been living with her fascio-religeo-ickiness for years, even from the days before she was in congress. Keep an eye out for the most recent edition of the Replace Michele Bachmann web carnival which will be up later today on Stephanie Zvan's site "Almost Diamonds."
Posted by: Greg Laden | October 27, 2008 9:40 AM
Chiefley
Thanks for the response. But as others have pointed out, I don't think you really answered my question. (Perhaps my question is unanswerable.)
You explained what happens as a result of god's love. You talked about the results from it. I was asking about the reasons for it.
Maybe the god of Christianity is not at the top of the heap.
Posted by: Blue Nine | October 27, 2008 9:47 AM
g347 said:
"Gingerbaker, you are indulging in exactly the kind of petty, vengeful, tribal hate-mongering that you accuse others of. Did you realize that? Go back and read what you wrote. It's raw hate-spew."
Bull. It's perfectly-cooked hate spew.
"And there are plenty of atheists around who view Jesus as a radical philosopher who preached and practiced love & compassion in a culture that was seething with violence."
Good for them. If they want to believe that the fellow actually existed despite the evidence to the contrary, that is their cross to bear. He-he.
And your statement says absolutely nothing about the cruel idiotic apologetics of Christianity, a cult that arose based on a thousand revisions of texts originally written by hallucinogenic sheep herders.
And it says nothing about the fact that Jesus preached and practiced a lot of cruelty, violence, and hate, does it?
"Tell me, would you have told Martin Luther King, to his face, that he too was full of s---, or would you have just done it from the safety of your internet connection?"
Definitely from the safety of my internet connection.
Happy?
Posted by: Gingerbaker | October 27, 2008 10:03 AM
Unconditional Forgiveness*
* some conditions may apply
Posted by: pough | October 27, 2008 1:13 PM
That God is such a practical joker!
Posted by: Bruce | October 27, 2008 3:27 PM
As promised,
The Replace Michele Bachmann Web Carnival is out, over at Almost Diamonds. This is not just a web carnival, but a nice bit of political commentary. Strongly recommended!!!!
Posted by: Greg Laden | October 27, 2008 4:09 PM