You remember Michele Bachmann, right? She founded the congressional Tea Party caucus and is married to a bizarre closet case who used to advertise in gay magazines and in 2012 became-- along with Michele-- citizens of Switzerland. She was a crackpot Minnesota congresswoman from 2007 until she was forced to retire in 2014 rather than face trials for numerous campaign finance violations, for bribing Iowa State Senator Kent Sorenson to support her in the presidential caucuses and for stealing a homeschool e-mail list. When she was finally driven from office, she was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, the FEC, the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee, the Urbandale Police Department and the FBI. She was told if she didn’t retire from Congress, she could be spending years behind bars.Last week during an interview with disgraced televangelist far right and really, really crazier than ever Jim Bakker, she announced that she is considering running for the U.S. Senate seat Gillibrand forced Franken to resign from... but offered one caveat-- she’s waiting for God to tell her what to do before making a final decision. Currently she serves on the Trumpanzee evangelical advisory board and has publicly avowed that Señor T is now a “committed believer” of Jesus Christ and a “man of faith” who has “asked God for help and wisdom.” Just watch that video up top. And thank Kirsten Gillibrand that this monstrosity is back in the public sphere.The Republican favored to run at this point isn't Bachmann but former senator and current lobbyist Norm Coleman, who Al Franken narrowly defeated in 2008. Coleman was a conservative Democrat (anti-Choice, anti-union... the same kind of turgid garbage the DCCC always loves) but joined the GOP in 1996. I wonder which one Gillibrand would prefer, a former Brooklynite (Coleman-- he went to the same elementary and high school as Bernie, Schumer and I did) or the woman in the race, Bachmann. Here's one of my favorite of many Bachmann memes. It's real... and, needless to say, Fox News was proud to run it:UPDATE: Many Folks Are Pissed Off At Gillibrand And Her OpportunismIf Gillibrand thinks she can ride her maneuvers against Al Franken to the Democratic nomination, she and her consultants better think again. No one likes her hypocritical move and today Democratic super-donor Susie Tompkins Buell, a huge donor to Democratic women candidates, is reconsidering future contributions to politicians like Gillibrand.
Buell said she is weighing whether to continue her financial support after the calls for Franken's exit last month. The charge for his resignation— led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and followed almost immediately by a string of statements from other prominent female Democratic senators— came on Dec. 6, before the conclusion of an official Senate Ethics Committee inquiry.…In two interviews this week, Buell described the push for Franken’s departure as "unfair," "cavalier," and somewhat politically motivated — "a stampede," "like a rampage," she said, speaking in stark terms about senators she has backed for years, naming Gillibrand in particular."They need to know that some of their biggest supporters are questioning why they did that," Buell said. "We have to do things conscientiously and fairly. He didn't have the chance to defend himself."The critique marks a somewhat significant departure for Buell, who is a mainstay in Democratic donor circles and has cultivated a reputation over the years as a fierce and vocal supporter of Democratic women.…Since 1991, Buell has contributed to nearly every one of the 17 Democratic women currently serving in the Capitol's upper chamber, according to campaign filings. She has given the most to Gillibrand and her PAC, Off the Sidelines, a group dedicated to supporting other female candidates.…"These are senators that almost unanimously said he should have his opportunity to explain himself with the Ethics Committee," she said. "Then, within hours of each other, they said he should resign. It was clearly, clearly highly organized.”