Twice in the last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann has made the claim that she has no health insurance thanks to the health care reform package that President Obama signed into law last week. But when questioned by the Star Tribune, Bachmann’s representatives say she misspoke. And it’s not the first time in recent weeks that the Strib has caused Bachmann to backtrack.
Last week, the Pioneer Press’ Jason Hoppin caught a conference call with Bachmann and constituents during which the congresswoman said she had lost her health insurance because of the health care reform bill.
Hoppin noted: “[S]he’s not losing coverage, but the federal government is providing Congress with coverage purchased through the exchange.”
The next day, Bachmann told a rally in Duluth:
“We found out that the day after the bill was signed that all members of Congress and our staffs, we lost our health insurance in this bill. So we have to go into the government exchange to get our insurance. The only problem is the exchange won’t be created for another three years. So this is how messed up this is. We don’t even know if our own staff and our own offices today even have health insurance. We can’t even get an answer.”
But the Strib’s Hayley Tsukayama didn’t buy it. She asked Bachmann’s office for a clarification on Monday, and Rachel Horn, Bachmann’s deputy press secretary, said, “I think that was maybe just a misspeak. Her point was that, as of today, we’re not sure that these plans are valid with this bill being signed. We don’t know what’s going to change and it’s just a really uncertain future for us as staff members. If we have insurance that we like, we might not be able to keep it.”
Last week, Strib reported prompted Bachmann’s office talk back another statement. Of the “deem and pass” rule, Bachmann said, “This has never been used before. There isn’t one instance in the history of Congress where the Slaughter – the House rule has been used.”
But Eric Roper questioned her office about that statement, because “deem and pass” has been used many times in Congress. Bachmann admitted she was wrong.
“The information I got initially was bad. Or, I should say, not accurate,” Bachmann said.
Bachmann said it originated from a “constitutional law guy that I know who also does research” and had searched congressional records for references to the tactic.
“It was within about 24 hours or so [of learning about the Slaughter Solution] that I heard that statement that it had never been used before,” Bachmann said. “Now in the last few days I’d heard no, that’s not true, that it has been used before.”
And on Sunday, CBS News deconstructed much of Bachmann’s statements on Face the Nation and found several assertions light on facts.













6 Comments »
Comment posted March 31, 2010 @ 9:35 am
Does anyone see a pattern here? Bachmann or her mouthpieces only correct her lies and “misspeaks” when someone challenges them. Otherwise, they’re perfectly happy to let them stand on the record and reverberate throughout the GOP echo chamber and eventually, the unsuspecting mainstream media.
Comment posted March 31, 2010 @ 10:51 am
Bachmann’s follow-up comments would lead some to question whether she is actually a member of the House of Representatives. A congressman/woman who does not know what is going on even when he/she attends House debates on bills, and votes on bills indicates that the district/state that he/she was elected to represent is not being represented by a knowledgeable and capable politician. This should be an embarrassment not only to Minnesotans but to the entire country.
Comment posted March 31, 2010 @ 1:02 pm
wouldn’t it be better for public discussion of important issues that political leaders like Michele Bachmann fact-check BEFORE they trash laws they apparently didn’t actually read?
A lot of misinformation would be avoided, something that people across the political spectrum should value
Comment posted March 31, 2010 @ 2:19 pm
Had she checked any other news outlet outside of FOX, she would have known the tactic had been used before. Every source I heard leading up to its use described it as a “rarely used maneuver”.
This woman is shamefully ill-informed and should be an embarrassment to all of those in her district.
Comment posted March 31, 2010 @ 9:41 pm
If that is the standard for her “constitutional guy” source, then allow me to reflect on an old computer expression:
Garbage in, Garbage out.
Comment posted April 1, 2010 @ 8:13 am
Michele Bachmann (R LUNATIC MINN.)wants to take America back.WAY WAY WAY BACK!!
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