Three cheers for John McCain; and he wasn't alone:Michele Bachmann Says Obama Administration Infiltrated by Muslim Brotherhood
In a move that has struck many observers as being straight out of the “red-baiting” playbook of the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is accusing the Obama administration of being infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood, which she said was busy working toward “America’s demise.”
Bachmann specifically singled out Huma Abedin, deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying Abedin had “routine access to the secretary and to policymaking” and was therefore dangerous to the nation. Abedin, a Muslim of Indian and Pakistani heritage, is married to former New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is Jewish.
Bachmann’s bizarre claims have brought condemnation from the right and from the left, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee for president, who denounced Bachmann from the Senate floor yesterday.
He defended Abedin and called Bachmann’s comments “specious and degrading.”
He said Abedin was a “hardworking and loyal servant of our country and our government.”
“These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis and no merit,” McCain said. “They need to stop now.”
The State Department said Bachmann’s remarks were “vicious and disgusting lies.”
Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress, said on CNN, “This is McCarthyism at its worst,” referring to the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, whose name became synonymous in the 1950s with his accusations of Communist infiltration in all walks of American life. “This is one of those moments when you can’t stay silent,” Ellison said.
Bachmann initially sent letters to oversight agencies in five federal departments, warning of the Muslim influence and requesting formal investigations into what she says are “influence operations” by the Brotherhood, an Islamic political organization.
The letters were co-signed by Republican Reps. Louie Gohmert of Texas, Trent Franks of Arizona, Thomas Rooney of Florida and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia. They cite research by a group called the Center for Security Policy, which was founded by Frank Gaffney, a controversial figure who writes frequently about the threat of Shariah, or Islamic law, in the United States, and who has said he was an informal foreign-policy consultant in Bachmann’s recent presidential bid.
http://atlantablackstar.com/2012/07/19/ ... otherhood/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18918597Republicans attack Bachmann Muslim conspiracy letter
Senior US Republicans have strongly condemned former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann for attacks on a long-time aide to Hillary Clinton.
She said Huma Abedin had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and implied she was part of a wider conspiracy.
Mrs Bachmann was first criticised by Senator John McCain, then by House Speaker John Boehner and others.
Minnesota congresswoman Mrs Bachmann rose to prominence criticising President Barack Obama in 2008.
She branded the president "un-American" in a TV interview, later becoming a darling of the Tea Party, and founding the Tea Party caucus in the House before launching a presidential bid in 2011.
But her latest statements appear to have angered her party colleagues.
"These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis and no merit, and they need to stop now," veteran Senator John McCain said on Wednesday.'
Mrs Bachmann, along with four other Republican legislators, wrote a letter to the State Department, along with other government agencies, calling for a probe of Muslim Brotherhood influence in the US government, singling out Ms Abedin.
The letter alleged that she had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood through her family.
"From everything I do know of [Huma Abedin], she has a sterling character, and I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous," House Speaker John Boehner said.
Senator Lindsay Graham told Politico the charges were "ridiculous" and that Ms Abedin "is about as far away from the Muslim Brotherhood view of women and ideology as you possibly could get".
Mrs Bachmann also received calls to apologise from Representative Keith Ellison, a Democrat who is a Muslim. On cable network MSNBC, he rejected her accusations that the letters had been distorted.
In addition, Mrs Bachmann's former campaign manager Ed Rollins wrote a scathing attack on Fox News' website, saying the Minnesota congresswoman "sometimes has difficulty with her facts, but this is downright vicious and reaches the late Senator Joe McCarthy level".
Sen McCarthy became infamous for his false charges in the 1950s that Communist spies had infiltrated the state department.
As of Wednesday, Mrs Bachmann refused to apologise, saying she would "not be silent as this administration appeases our enemies instead of telling the truth about the threats our country faces".
Ms Abedin, who was also Mrs Clinton's aide during her Senate term, is a Muslim of Pakistani descent who was born in Michigan.
She is married to former Representative Anthony Weiner, who resigned in disgrace last year after sending lewd online photos to other women.
"My family and I are grateful to Senator McCain," Mr Weiner said to the Washington Post on Wednesday. "I think he spoke for many Americans in expressing his disgust for the charge against my wife."
So naturally, Michele doubles down:
http://www.sctimes.com/article/20120719 ... y=nav|headBachmann claims Ellison has ties to Muslim Brotherhood
Rep. Michele Bachmann had made fresh allegations of ties between an Islamist movement and Rep. Keith Ellison, even as Bachmann’s fellow Republicans increasingly condemn her calls to investigate the movement’s influence within the U.S. government.
In an interview with radio host Glenn Beck today, Bachmann said Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, “has a long record of being associated with ... the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Ellison, DFL-Minneapolis, refuted those allegations in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, saying he has no ties to the movement. The Muslim Brotherhood is an international Islamist movement that recently came to power in Egypt, which some say maintains ties to terror groups such as Hamas.
Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner joined the ranks of congressional Republicans denouncing questions raised by Bachmann and four other lawmakers about Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The GOP backlash against Bachmann started Wednesday, when Sen. John McCain condemned what he called “sinister accusations” against Abedin, a practicing Muslim.
Boehner, R-Ohio, today became the highest-ranking Republican yet to pan those charges. Boehner said that while he doesn’t know Abedin personally, “from everything I do know of her, she has a sterling character, and I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous.”
Maybe next she'll claim that McCain, Boehner, Graham and Rollins are all "Muslim Brotherhood dupes"....
