Michele Bachmann's Census Theories Too Much For Glenn Beck

As we related yesterday, Michele Bachmann has drawn a line in the sand, and will not fill out the Census, and no one really cares because who in America really wants to see government resources allocated to the Bachmann demographic, anyway? Nevertheless, Bachmann is the Neda Agha Soltan of fighting ACORN and the Census. "Why does the government need our phone numbers?" complains Bachmann, making me wonder if she plans on robo-calling her constituents come re-election time. You know I'll be watching for that!

Anyway, yesterday, Michele Bachmann went on the Glenn Beck Common Sense Comedy Hour to talk about all of this. Understandably, Bachmann is concerned with whether the government should know about its citizens' "mental stability." And here is one of Bachmann's amazing insights:

BACHMANN: You know the question that's not on this survey, Glenn? "Are you a U.S. citizen?" This would be your perfect opportunity to find out how many illegal aliens are in the United States.

Of course! That is precisely the way this mystery should be penetrated! I can see it now!

CENSUS TAKER: Okay, next question...are you a U.S. Citizen?

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: RATS! You caught me!

CENSUS TAKER: I shall now deport you, with my ACORN magicks!

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: And to think I almost got away with it!

And that's the incredibly true story of how Mitt Romney had to start paying his gardeners actual money!

But here's the revelatory part of Bachmann's conversation: It appears that there actually is a point at which you can even out-bonkers Glenn Beck! Watch as the video gets to about the two-minute mark. That's when Bachmann starts up her "OMGZ! THE INTERNMENT CAMPZ" spiel. Beck starts shaking his head in disbelief, and then just shuts her down, mid-thought! Is that a bridge too far for Glenn Beck, who runs the most realistic Doom Room in Cable news? Maybe! Of course, I can't help but notice that Beck set Bachmann up perfectly to proffer that answer.

[WATCH]

UPDATES, 1:40pm: Lots of emailers think I'm giving "too much credit" to Beck. That's okay with me, people. You can call it like you see it. I sort of detected a change of tone and enthusiasm when she launched into her "internment camps" speech. Remember, Beck himself softly advanced the idea of "FEMA camps" not too long ago. I seem to recall him saying it was something that, at first, he could not disprove. He kept that up, briefly, before finally doing a show, "debunking" it. With that in mind, I figured, well, maybe it hits a sensitive topic. But, lots of people write off his reaction to time issues -- he was hitting the end of his segment.

Naturally, I don't feel I was issuing a definitive opinion on the matter anyway. As I said in the post: "Of course, I can't help but notice that Beck set Bachmann up perfectly to proffer that answer."

As for Michele Bachmann robo-calling her constituents, an emailer tells me that these are, in fact, ongoing. If you have a recording of a Michele Bachmann robo-call, I would love to hear it!

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Comments

[LonghornDem]

02:46 AM on 07/22/2009

Yeah, you're definitely giving him way too much credit. He agreed with her every step of the way. He was merely shaking his head because he was running out of time, asked for a quick answer and she kept babbling. He was trying to go to commercial and she was hijacking his show. It was about control, not about agreement versus disagreement. I was very disappointed. I actually expected to see Glenn Beck disagree, not get tiffy and roll his eyes because she was chewing up his precious time.

What a diva.

[kenechee]

10:23 PM on 07/21/2009

The census is given out every 10 years. So as a good citizen, why can't I give my country 1/2 hour to fill out a census form?. It helps our country to get accurate information about the citizens living in it. the What Bachmann is doing is unpatriotic. She will cost the taxpayer millions because the census bureau will have to deal with incomplete forms. She will cost reasearch institutions and government agencies millions for the next 10 years because after this census they will have to deal with incomplete data. The more complete and accurate the census is the better it is for every American. If Bachmann doesn't like the questions asked on this census she should shut up, wait until the census is over, then she has the next 10 years to change the questions asked on the next census.

[Shwazy]

12:19 PM on 07/02/2009

Imagine this:

Bachmann convinces enough people to not cooperate with the census that it reduces her state's representation in the house by one seat: hers.

That would be such delicious irony.

[Reconsoldier19D]

08:10 PM on 07/01/2009

When Glenn Beck thinks your nuts, thats BAAAAD

[jfoxx]

04:27 PM on 07/01/2009

Reminds me of one of my favorite SNL sketches of all time, with Tim Meadows as the census taker, and he knocks on the door of Christopher Walken..
http://www.hulu.com/watch/4165/saturday-night-live-census-taker

[jamesp newark]

03:49 PM on 07/01/2009

i think beck was cutting her off because he was running out of time, not because he disagreed with what she was saying. i think the both beck and bachmann are totally nuts, but this article poorly interprets what was going on in that interview.

[publicenemy2009]

09:17 PM on 06/30/2009

Please minnesotans listen to your congress woman, don't fill out your census. I hear just a few thousand people would cost this cuckoo her job. So if you care about your country don't fill your census.

[Badgirl]

11:21 AM on 06/30/2009

Is Gitmo an internment camp?

[GTFOOH]

10:28 AM on 06/30/2009

Man, she give a bad name to Lithium takers all across America!

[mokachyna]

09:56 AM on 06/30/2009

How did she get elected to public office? She's insane.

[Driver125]

11:31 PM on 07/21/2009

Yes, she is. But insanity is no discouragement to holding public office in this country. In fact, I would imagine it is one of the few things that still make us interesting to the rest of the world.

[wilblau]

09:28 AM on 06/30/2009

I'm a little surprised that many commenters don't take the issues seriously and use their heads less when writing....especially about one's individual privacy being exposed by non-government investigations.
Polls and surveys are one thing...personal information is just that...personal. ACORN, or any group with its notoriety, should abstain from such practices. They imply possible threats to ones life and family. I would certainly oppose any such survey regardless of the fine.
As a registered citizen and taxpayer, the government knows where to find me and my family if it wants.

I also believe that the writer of the article is obsessed with his/her biases and has issues other than readers' concerns in mind and should look into improving his/her life for your company's benefit.

[deepsigh]

09:35 AM on 06/30/2009

if your looking for intelligent discourse , you wont find it here. this place is more therapy than debate so

[Badgirl]

11:02 AM on 06/30/2009

There are lots of non consensual ways that Big Gov could have compiled this data. The fact that they haven't; and are resorting to a random survey (and not lie detector tests) and that "no one" has ever been fined for non-compliance - makes this whole issue a non-issue - all emotional sizzle, and no steak - much ado about nothing. But aren't you glad we can still "just say no" if asked and exercise Free Will !!!

[NotGuilty]

08:27 AM on 06/30/2009

Does she swallow?

[BryantG]

09:07 PM on 07/01/2009

I doubt it. Conservative men seek such things outside of the home.

[trueblue752]

01:37 AM on 06/30/2009

I wish she would move.

[lemonyashes]

11:42 PM on 07/13/2009

not in our back yards. Minnesotans voted her in twice! There she stays, and thar she blows.

[FreelanceMinion]

01:00 AM on 06/30/2009

Under democratic presidents, rightwingers talk about FEMA internment camps and under repblicans the leftwingers talk about FEMA camps, but they never turn up.

However, if the New World Order does try to take control you would want FEMA running those camps because then they'd be so darn easy to escape from.

[CityGardner]

06:44 AM on 06/30/2009

"Under democratic presidents, rightwingers talk about FEMA internment camps"
-- Yes they do, and they're eager to tell us about it. This is one reason why normal people worry about the far right.

" and under repblicans the leftwingers talk about FEMA camps,"
-- No, we don't. A false comparison may sound like it's making sense. But that doesn't make it true. This is another reason normal people worry about the far right - the belief that if it sounds good to them, then by golly, it must be true.

"but they never turn up."
That's right. FEMA camps never do turn up.
Rethuglican internment camps off our shores?
They DID turn up.

"Internment camp. The term is used for facilities where inmates are selected according to some specific criteria, rather than individuals who are incarcerated after due process of law fairly applied by a judiciary."

[flossophy]

07:56 PM on 06/29/2009

Jason, the headline is erroneous... How do you come up with these gems?

Beck was short on time, but was in complete agreement with Bachmann. Sometimes I wonder, how on earth did you get to be in this position?

[LonghornDem]

02:50 AM on 07/22/2009

Totally in agreement. He got it absolutely wrong. Beck was clearly just being impatient. Sadly, I have yet to find a single thing on which I can give him a shred of credit. Believe me, I've looked. Including here. The search continues.