Rumors, untruths find a friend in Michele Bachmann

St. Petersburg Times-Tampa Tribune ^ | September 18, 2011

[Cincinatus' Wife]

It's one thing to have a philosophical disagreement with the Texas governor on whether he should have mandated a vaccine for girls against a sexually transmitted virus. But it's an entirely different matter to spread false rumors about the vaccine, hoping to leverage parental fears for political gain. That's the depths to which Minnesota's Michele Bachmann has sunk in her bid to counter Rick Perry's surge in polls. It's conduct unbecoming a member of Congress, much less a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

Bachmann used the issue last week at the CNN/Tea Party Express debate in Tampa to land her most memorable jab at Perry. "I'm offended for all the little girls and the parents who didn't have a choice," she said, referencing Perry's 2007 executive order requiring sixth-grade girls to receive the three-shot vaccine against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, that can lead to cervical cancer.

Whether Texas and other states should require the vaccine has been the subject of much note in political and medical circles. That's in part because the push for the mandates was partially funded by Merck, maker of one version of the vaccine, Gardasil. An effort to require the vaccine in Florida died in the 2007 legislative session. And Bachmann could suggest Perry ignored the conservative mantra of less government or sought to please a campaign contributor. The Texas legislature, citing similar criticisms, ultimately repealed Perry's order.

But where Bachmann crossed the line came Tuesday on NBC's Today show when she claimed the vaccine "can have very dangerous side effects." She said a woman approached her after Monday's debate and claimed her daughter had suffered "mental retardation" after receiving the vaccine. Bachmann echoed other irresponsible claims — repeatedly debunked by scientists — that other childhood vaccines can cause autism.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

GOP opponents are hitting Perry where it helps as well as driving Democrats into Perry's camp.

****************************************

…….”The Gardasil vaccine was recommended the FDA’s vaccine approval committee, more than 6 months before Governor Perry’s Executive Order. All girls who qualified for the Federal Vaccines for Children program were eligible to receive the vaccine free of charge: Medicaid, CHIPs, and uninsured or those with insurance that won’t pay for vaccines. The Texas Legislature had previously delegated unconditional authority to mandate new vaccines to the Department of State Health Services, which is under Governor Perry and the Executive Branch.” Source

The Governor’s Executive Order (RP 65) that caused all the controversy also ordered the director of DSHS to make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccines. The Legislature had changed the law from “opt in” to a requirement to “opt out” once for all the school years. Next, they changed to a two year limit on the opt out, and then in 2005, the Legislature restricted the period to one year and required a new State form bearing a “seal.” Parents had to go to Austin or start early in the summer. There were bureaucrats who maintained that the only way to get the form with the seal was to go to Austin, find the right office and make the request in person. Perry used his EO to tell the Director of DSHS to make the request (and the seal) available on-line, making it easier to “opt out.” Source

********************************************************

Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann – Minneapolis Convention Center – April 7, 2010

Palin on HPV vaccine and crony capitalism -- Video -- "On the Record" FOX News September 12, 2011

(just prior to Greta's interview with Michele Bachmann on HPV vaccine and crony capitalism).

I dare you to watch/listen to those two interviews (and I you can bear it the "Today Show" and the "Tonight Show") and not be ready for a padded cell from the shrill non-stop talking.

[CynicalBear]

Wasn’t there a report out yesterday or the day before that there was new information that there were more affects and even more deaths from the vaccine? Seems Judicial Watch reported that. Seems we don’t know the full truth yet.

[gusopol3]

It's conduct unbecoming a member of Congress

Gosh, I didn't think it was possible to sink to a standard that low.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Good one.

[83Vet4Life]

All the lib papers are pushing Perry now.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

This article hardly is pushing Perry. But like me and a lot of other VOTERS, they find Michele Bachmann's behavior calculating, self-serving, dishonest and repulsive.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

And dangerous.

[sockmonkey]

There have been postings from a group called nvic.org put up on FR, and quoted other places. From reading their FAQ page, they even urge caution with getting pet vaccinations.

I think they are the vaccine version of Center for Science in the Public Interest..aka, the anything that tastes good at McDonald’s will kill you crowd.

[shield]

Perry Ping....

IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.

IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.

[John D]

Wasn’t there a report out yesterday or the day before that there was new information that there were more affects and even more deaths from the vaccine?

Even if there was, it is the credibility that some lady (unknown) ran up to Bachmann and said the vaccine caused her daughter to become retarded. The retarded thing was that (if this actually happened) Bachmann did not verify that the story was true.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Yes - and in the U.S. alone, over 400 people a year die from an allergic reaction to penicillin.

Will Rep. Bachmann tell people not to take penicillin now?

I wonder how many people die in automobile accidents.

[newzjunkey]

They think she didn't cross the line until she said it was dangerous?

I say she crossed the line back here: "I'm offended for all the little girls and the parents who didn't have a choice… since the order protected parent's right to say, "no."

I say she crossed the line by using the word "choice" with "little girls" like some abortion rights demagogue. It's shameless.

That's in part because the push for the mandates was partially funded by Merck, maker of one version of the vaccine, Gardasil.

Technically accurate but misleading since it suggests there may have been more than one vaccine source when Perry signed the order.

At the time, 2007, there was only one such vaccine, Gardasil. Merck is not a Bachmann donor. GlaxoSmithKline, a Bachmann campaign donor, have their own version which was approved in 2009.

[jakerobins]

Well they have done a good hatchet job using her misstatements to slap her down......... To bad she isn’t a black democrat she could say the craziest things and the media would cover it endlessly(Ala...Obama/Jackson-Lee)

[algernonpj]

You can find links to Judicial Watch’s reports on Gardasil at:

http://www.judicialwatch.org/gardasil

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Well they have done a good hatchet job using her misstatements to slap her down.....

One time a "misstatement" (?)....but she repeated it in the debate, then she went on to repeat it several times for CNN in a post-debate interview, then on to "On the Record" with Greta to repeat it again and again, and then she went on the "Today Show" to say it again, and then to the "Tonight Show" and say it again.......

[Marty62]

“Bachmann: It’s ok to spread lies about vaccines because I never said I’m a doctor”

http://www.salon.com/news/michele_bachmann/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/09/16/bachmann_not_doctor

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Gardisal Vaccine safety from CDC

......As of June 22, 2011, approximately 35 million doses of Gardasil® were distributed in the U.S. and VAERS received a total of 18,727 reports of adverse events following Gardasil® vaccination: 17,958 reports among females and 346 reports for males, of which 285 reports were received after the vaccine was licensed for males in October 2009. VAERS received 423 reports of unknown gender. Of the total number of VAERS reports following Gardasil®, 92% were considered to be non-serious, and 8% were considered serious....... [more information at link]

[CynicalBear]

You said no but I’m not so sure. It seems to me there is more to be checked out before we side with one or the other. I for one will withhold jugement.

http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/February-2009/Monday,-February-09,-2009-Gardasil-Death-—Brain-D.aspx

[Cincinatus' Wife]

My linked information is not from 2007 or 2008 or 2009, or from a law group. It’s current and from the CDC.

[DRey]

To answer your question, no. "The case was closed in April 2010." http://www.judicialwatch.org/gardasil

Gardasil is one of the safer vaccines out there, with much less side effects than other mandated vaccines.

[Christie at the beach]

I think she needs to stay in congress-I hope she does not damage herself so bad that we lose her seat to a moderate republican. She could have focused on how Perry went around the legislature/ and or how his friend, the lobbyist, gained access/that appearance vs. making claims which others can attack her.

[ari-freedom]

the bottom line though is that Perry did this to save the lives of women. This is not the issue to get him on. There are so many other issues to get him on such as immigration and education.

[Christie at the beach]

She has a point about the government knowing better and enforcing (Perry going around the legislature) it’s the best to give the girls the shot. That was a overdo of his power-red flags there-Bachmann should had focus on that. She got emotional about giving 12 year old these shots, now, the media is blasting her. She made a mistake but it’s not worth destroying one of our own. IMO. We’ll see what happens..

[Zeppo]

She seems to lack a certain discipline in her public statements and her preparation of supporting background evidence, which ends up working against her.

That is something that could have been cured with practice and attention (along with adequately doing her homework), but the time to have done that would have been before things started spiraling out of control.

[Reagan Man]

Michelle Bachmann is in full meltdown.

Watch, learn, enjoy. ;^)

[Celtman]

For a Presidential candidate, the important question is NOT whether a vaccine is medically good or bad.

The important question is whether the decision to vaccinate or not should be made by the nanny state, or whether the decision should be left in the hands of the people - adults and parents.

Governor Perry was arguably will intentioned.  But I'm not convinced that he really believes in individual liberty.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

I wonder if she will have a complete hysterical collapse during one of the public debates. Shrieking all while scratching and clawing at her own face, followed by a profound swoon. That type of behavior may renew interest in this poor flake.

Being serious for a minute she should drop out and cut her losses. She has, unfortunately for her, developed a solid reputation for shooting her mouth off! She has become like one of Pavlov's dogs, give her some applause and she salivates- metaphorically speaking! I'll bet at the next debate she will try and pursue Perry and the vaccine.

Lord help us! Where do we get these flakes! How do we raise them up! Have the American people lost it?

[beandog]

I find her refreshing and honest.

[CynicalBear]

I think all you people who like government mandates should all move to one state or another country and work with each other as a commune. The countries where that has been tried have worked out so well you should be excited.

[DRey]

A mandate isn’t a mandate if there is an opt-out provision. The “mandate” was that insurers had to cover it. That part really messes with your claim, doesn’t it?

[Cboldt]

-- I wonder how many people die in automobile accidents. --

It'd be ten thousand or so fewer, if helmets were mandatory.

[dforest]

Michele Bachmann is getting trashed because she is a conservative. You folks can jump on the RINO, illegal alien appeaser and promoter, Wick Perry.

Maybe he will really please y’all and do an EO on amnesty.

[dforest]

Michele Bachmann is getting trashed because she is a conservative. You folks can jump on the RINO, illegal alien appeaser and promoter, Wick Perry.

Maybe he will really please y’all and do an EO on amnesty.

[Cboldt]

-- She has a point about the government knowing better and enforcing (Perry going around the legislature) it's the best to give the girls the shot. That was a overdo of his power-red flags there-Bachmann should had focus on that. --

And in agreement with drawing the line in a sensible place, notice absence of news about Santorum's pile-on? He not only said implementation via EO was wrong, he also said the mandate was bad public policy.

SANTORUM: I think we need to hear what Governor Perry's saying. He's saying that his policy was right. He believes that what he did was right. He thinks he went about it the wrong way.

I believe your policy is wrong. Why -- ladies and gentlemen, why do we inoculate people with vaccines in public schools? Because we're afraid of those diseases being communicable between people at school. And therefore, to protect the rest of the people at school, we have vaccinations to protect those children.

Unless Texas has a very progressive way of communicating diseases in their school by way of their curriculum, then there is no government purpose served for having little girls inoculated at the force and compulsion of the government. This is big government run amok. It is bad policy, and it should not have been done.

[potlatch]

[“Well, that whole ‘pray the gay away’ thing,” said Leno. “I don’t get that.”] -in regard to Michelle’s husband’s “reparative therapy” aimed at gay clients.

[“Well, see, I think when I heard that,” said Bachmann, “I really thought it was, like, kind of a midlife crisis line –“‘Pray away the gray.’ That’s what I thought it was.”]

Say WHAT??!
That kinda fits in with the following comment;

Former Bachmann chief of staff Ron Carey said during an appearance on CNN, “She reads an awful lot of information, but sometimes I’m afraid that she reads maybe 80 or 90 percent and leaves out or forgets the ten or 20 percent that can change the outcome.”

He added, “So her impulsive nature coupled with the fact that she sometimes doesn’t digest information as carefully as she should leads to these kinds of impulsive statements that sometimes are just off the mark enough that it makes her into more of a provocative, controversial figure.”

[CynicalBear]

>> That part really messes with your claim, doesn’t it?<<

No, it doesn’t. What part of personal responsibility do you not understand?

When I contracted polio there was no widely available vaccine. When my brother was born there was. My parents found out all they could about it and decided to vaccinate. They also paid for the vaccine with their own money. We also went without a television in our home until I was 15 if that gives you a hint about priorities. That was a personally responsible choice that protected not only their children but those they came in contact with. Polio was a communicable disease in that it could be contracted simply through contact with those who carried the virus. HPV is not communicable in the same way. It is contracted by an activity that is a personal choice.

Please don’t come back to me about the costs bla, bla, bla. The same people who go to the government (read other people to pay for their responsibilities) also have luxuries in their home that many of us who took responsibilities for ourselves went without.

[cubreporter]

She ‘s not getting trashed. She is getting comments because of her behavior at the last debate. She did herself no favors and Perry acted like a gentleman.

[potlatch]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Nice!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Lord help us! Where do we get these flakes! How do we raise them up! Have the American people lost it?

She's a TAX LAWYER!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

....She did herself no favors and Perry acted like a gentleman.

Yes he did. And she certainly didn't make it easy.

[Christie at the beach]

I agree with Rick Santorum comments because he is absolutely right. He hit a home run. I don’t trust Perry. This about helping women is an emotional thing, that he put out in the public; knowing people would connect emotionally/like a good liberal/it’s the thought that counts/not so much as the result or the fact about our own right to make our own decision. Big daddy Rick. You’re right, too, Bachmann should had come prepared.

[Sun]

“All the lib papers are pushing Perry now.”

And lib tv is making it between Romney and Perry this EARLY. I hope LMSM does not pick our candidate for us again, like they picked McCain.

[potlatch]

Thanks........I had to choose between that or the Palin endorsement or the Michael Reagan endorsement.......LOL

[Diogenesis]

She defended patients whom RINO Rick wanted
assaulted by PerryCARE I so he could make $$$$$ from Merck.

Shame on the RINO behavior.

[Sun]

‘“Well, that whole ‘pray the gay away’ thing,” said Leno.’

Is Leno mocking people who pray?

One of my friends told me Leno made a disrespectful joke about Catholics.