Bachmann: Health Care Reform Amounts To 'Gangster Government'

Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) joined fellow controversy-prone Republican Congressional candidate, Allen Quist, at a health care forum on Monday, and suggested that health care reform would lead to a "gangster government" that would prevent those who criticized reform from receiving care.

To reach her conclusion, the Minnesota representative explained her understanding of the Japanese health care system (as told to her by someone who had lived in Japan):

In Japan...to wait in and get health care is almost impossible. You get on a list and you wait and you wait and you wait. But he said this is something people don't know: in Japan, people have stopped voicing their opinion on health care. There are things that are wrong with Japanese health care, but people [aren't] voicing. 'Well why is that,' I asked. He said it's 'Because they know that would get on a list and they wouldn't get health care. They wouldn't get in. They wouldn't get seen. And so people are afraid. They're afraid to speak back to government. They're afraid to say anything.' Is that what we want for our future? That takes us to gangster government at that point! And absolute abject corruption.

(The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune subsequently fact-checked Bachmann's statements and was unable to find any evidence of such practices).

Nevertheless, Bachmann finished her speech by vowing not to give up her fight against the current health care reform bill, calling "government takeover of health care...the crown jewel of socialism."

Watch Bachmann's address, captured by the Rochester Post-Bulletin:

Comments

[blumuze]

04:45 PM on 02/16/2010

Who's Smarter: Michele Bachmann, or this turnip?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whos-Smarter-Michele-Bachmann-or-this-turnip/342469181188?v=wall

[1Troubles]

05:26 PM on 02/07/2010

she should know about gansters, she belongs to a group-they're called repugs

[busterbrownthefirst]

12:52 PM on 02/05/2010

Isn't it awesome that she's is never afraid to spew?

[dermguru]

07:53 PM on 02/04/2010

TWO WORDS RE BACHMANN: BEYOND IGNORANT!

[Bil-Zai]

04:46 AM on 02/04/2010

its just so funny how republican keep on repeating the same words in their public communications. you dont need any content analysis softwares to realize who much they bank on the fear factor to motivate their audience by distorting facts, shifting angles, and reframing causes.

just to quote this lady: "They're afraid to speak back to government. They're afraid to say anything.' Is that what we want for our future?"

now come one, we know you can type and spell the word "afraid" correctly , you don't need to keep proving it. !!!!

[ConcernedJoe]

06:42 AM on 02/04/2010

You took the words right out of me mouth.

If any intellectually honest person - any such person that is educated, knowledgeable, interested - any such person left leaning OR right leaning that wants a productive discourse to get the best job done - has to be ashamed at what passes for the argument from the Right.

Look at the "Right" that comment e.g., herein. They spout logical fallacies and known falsehoods or half truths and are impervious to facts or logic calls. They will not engage on any level higher than their talking points.

A few people seeming right leaning do present honestly and logically and I respect them and will listen, research, and rethink with their input. But they are very much few and far between.

But the majority as witnessed here and anywhere I've seen - I think - have the agenda of feeding the base and that is it. Good strategy to win at 50% TO elections - but not good for the Country.

[Bil-Zai]

05:47 PM on 02/06/2010

Exactly.
Not good for the country nor the world...

[BettyTC]

01:25 AM on 02/04/2010

Everyone should realize that she is speaking across the street from the Mayo Clinic. A place that has been and continues to be at the forefront of preventive and curative medicine. They got there by not being wasteful, but by being innovative and to a large extent relying on the benevolence of wealthy donors and clients/patients. Their staff is not independent operators but part of the clinic. It is very cooperative, socialistic. There is a delicate balance between the pratctice of medicine and making money. The Mayo does a good job doing just that. My point is that it relies more on the state and the cooperation of its employees more than on the free market. So everything that Mrs. Bachmann talks about would put the Mayo out of business and pretty much sink Rocherster, MN. So much for Allen Quist. Like he even had a chance. She was there to spout her lies and to fear monger. All according to some Republican pointing talk memo.

Guess what. The guy who wrote that memo.... if he came down with some awful disease or terminal cancer and was referred to the Mayo ... ........ ....... I'll let you all finish that scenario.

[keepemhonest]

11:42 PM on 02/03/2010

Some guy told me that in Japan women with dark hair and googly eyes are really aliens from a planet far far away and have sent those women with dark hair and googly eyes on Earth to eventually take us away and eat our insides out with small, tiny forks - then place our bodies in trophy showcases .... people who know this are afraid to speak out .. very afraid ... very, very, very afraid.

[dfranz]

06:18 PM on 02/03/2010

Bachmann gives new meaning to the term Conspiracy Theory. I'd love to see the mind map of her thought process.

It must be something like the road to Hana only not as pretty.

[geaaronson]

04:06 PM on 02/03/2010

so what did she exactly do? Did she wait at the Los Angeles airport and the first Japanese citizen she saw, she went over and interviewed? sounds about right. And who was the interviewee? A receptionist for a private doctor? One person´s sayso doesn´t make it true. Sounds like the anti regulatory people back in the 80´s when James Watt was head of Interior and the story made the rounds that a EPA inspector came to a factory and told the management that their garbage pails were the wrong size.

[vet-of4renwarz]

02:41 PM on 02/03/2010

Oh snap ! MB knows about 'gangsta' governemnt... what would she call the last admin ? the 'mafia' government? ...

[ArkayMI]

02:17 PM on 02/03/2010

Has she canceled he 'Govt Run' health care plan to stop the 'Gangster Government' yet? Or does she want the government out of only other people's health care?

[Phxflyer]

02:08 PM on 02/03/2010

The gift that keeps on giving.

[Machiventa68]

01:32 PM on 02/03/2010

Michelle Bachmann is insane. This is not hyperbole. She is mentally ill. Her claims have no basis in reality. They are not factual. Ms. Bachmann cannot distinguish between her fantasy world and the real world. It would be good if she failed to get re-elected next November.

[bluguy8]

01:20 PM on 02/03/2010

shes in the GOP, guess she would know about that

[Josh Seipp]

01:08 PM on 02/03/2010

How does lying about Japan help her case against health care reform? This woman is a flippin LOON.