Political Irony

I’ve been trying to avoid writing about Michele Bachmann under the theory that doing so just feeds her sick need for attention, but this is just too funny.

Bachmann has been getting headlines recently because of her crazy charges that the federal government has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is bad enough that her main evidence is Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the wife of former Congressman Anthony Weiner. Sounding particularly McCarthy-like, Bachmann writes:

I am particularly interested in exactly how, given what we know from the international media about Ms. Abedin’s documented family connections with the extremist Muslim Brotherhood, she was able to avoid being disqualified for a security clearance.

Of course, Bachmann ignores the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is not a terrorist organization. Here’s Andersen Cooper debunking Bachmann’s accusations:

But what makes this both hilarious and hypocritical is that Juan Cole presents strong evidence that it is Bachmann herself who has stronger ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and real Islamic terrorists than Abedin:

1. Bachmann is a major supporter of the MEK, a terrorist Islamic group that participated in the infamous Iranian Hostage crisis (taking US diplomats hostage) in 1979. But Bachmann wants them removed from the US terrorist list, calling them “one of the bravest Iranian dissident groups” and “freedom seeking”.
2. Bachmann has repeatedly called for Obama to intervene in Syria to overthrow the current secular government. The main opposition, which Bachmann supports, is the Muslim Brotherhood, which would likely come to power (just like they are doing in Egypt).
3. Bachmann supports the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, and even tried to meet with them. One of the major groups making up the Alliance is the Afghanistan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

I am particularly interested in exactly how, given what we know about her many ties with the extremist Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist groups, Michele Bachmann was able to infiltrate the US government at the highest levels.

UPDATE: Good for John McCain. Watch him defend Huma Abedin and destroy the attacks against her:

UPDATE 2: Jon Stewart puts an even finer point on the issue, hilariously:

Special Bonus UPDATE: Ed Rollins, who was Michele Bachmann’s campaign manager in her recent bid for the presidency, had this to say about Bachmann’s attack on Huma Abedin:

Having worked for Congressman Bachman’s campaign for president, I am fully aware that she sometimes has difficulty with her facts, but this is downright vicious and reaches the late Sen. Joe McCarthy level. … As a member of Congress, with a seat on the House Intelligence Committee, Mrs. Bachmann you know better. Shame on you, Michele! You should stand on the floor of the House and apologize to Huma Abedin and to Secretary Clinton and to the millions of hard-working, loyal Muslim Americans for your wild and unsubstantiated charges. As a devoted Christian, you need to ask forgiveness for this grievous lack of judgment and reckless behavior.