Michele Bachmann: Hurricane, Earthquake Comments 'A Metaphor'

Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on Sunday changed her explanation for her controversial statement about Hurricane Irene and the earthquake that rocked the East Coast.

Last week, Bachmann seemed to suggest to a crowd in Florida that the natural disasters were messages from God warning politicians to take heed of small-government conservatives.

"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?'" Bachmann told the crowd.

"Listen to the American people, because the American people are roaring right now," Bachmann continued. "They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending."

Bachmann dismissed the controversy over the remark the next day, calling her line a joke. "Of course, I was being humorous when I said that. It would be absurd to think it was anything else," she said.

When asked about the statement in an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, however, Bachmann shifted her tone somewhat, calling the statement a "metaphor."

"Obviously, I was speaking metaphorically," she told host Bob Schieffer. "That was clear to the audience. It was clear to me."

"The American people have been desperately trying to get the president's attention, and he's not paying attention," Bachmann said. "They're trying to get the president's attention, and that was the metaphor I was making."

Schieffer asked Bachmann whether she believes "God uses weather to send people messages."

"I believe in God. I'm not ashamed to say that I believe in God. I'm a woman of faith and a woman of prayer, but the comment that I made right then was a metaphor. That was very simply what I was doing," Bachmann replied.

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Comments

[GingerPhoenix27]

05:37 PM on 09/09/2011

Oh Michele.. you can't possibly feed us a piece of your nutty cake and then take it away from us just as we're about to enjoy it!

[Phluphe]

07:10 PM on 09/08/2011

Dear Ms. Bachmann . . . So what kind of message is God sending to the politicians in Texas . . . From the looks of it by your standards it seems that God is VERY displeased with them, apparently God is saying he wants them all to go to Hell . . . Texas being the state that has brought us the likes of G.W. Bush and Rick Perry . . . God's message is coming through loud and clear, he DOES NOT APPROVE OF THEM and will burn the whole damn state down to get the message out there . . . this is all based on your metaphor, thanks for getting that ball rolling.

[KenClay]

05:54 PM on 09/07/2011

hehehahaheheha Cough!

[Coyote50]

01:19 AM on 09/07/2011

Yup, $2 a gallon for gas. That's the ticket. We'll just pray for it.

[libertymen]

10:13 PM on 09/06/2011

Her campaign is tanking.
The rats are deserting the sinking ship.
She is no 3 in a two person race.
Sunk by a cowboy figure from the Village People.

[lonerangers]

05:26 PM on 09/06/2011

What a freaking "airhead"!

[dfranz]

05:20 PM on 09/06/2011

I mean what's a meta for anyway, right Bachmann? This woman believes what she said, she thinks that little voice she hears in her head is god.

[Just Breathe]

04:56 PM on 09/06/2011

The problem here is that we don't know if she believes her own rhetoric or not.

Based on other things this woman has said, it is reasonable to think that Bachmann actually believes God will change weather patterns to endorse the Tea Party. Disturbing.

[Burden of Truth]

03:48 PM on 09/06/2011

If you are going to back track at least stay consistent with what you are saying. WOW just when I thought that she could get no Dumber.

[reeltime07]

03:07 PM on 09/06/2011

Ever notice, when you put a small fish on your line on the deck of your boat, it flips around in different directions, rolling over and over, all the while opening and closing it's mouth,but saying nothing, in a mad scramble to get back to the safety of the water that is it's enviorment? M. Bachmann, I'm afraid your not only out of your enviorment, you are a small fish compared to the likes of the 'SLICKSTER" R. Perry( anybody that can pull off being a Demo then Repub, being an enviormentalist then an oilman, plus being a lib. then a Christian con. and sell it to people is a most adept kinda slick.) or "Perfect Image" M. Romney( I would be surprised if a hair would be ruffled out of place during a windstrom and he facing into it). The money backing these two( A conglomerate behind one, the Morman Church behind the other) would just about pay for half the national debt if it were put to a better purpose than trying to BUY a coutries leadership. M. Bachmann, had you voiced the need to put people back to work vs. ending welfare and reducing S.S.I. you would have had a high ground to fight from. Alas, missed chances are the failures of all.

[theiFyoU]

03:02 PM on 09/06/2011

Oh great, she doesn't know what a metaphor is either.

[CommodoreP]

02:49 PM on 09/06/2011

Sooo...the American people are God? Annnnddd our roaring is the weather? And the politicians is like...the President? Well only democrats right?

That is a sucky metaphor. It was also a sucky joke. It is a sucky thing to believe if you actually do believe it.

I don't think God would like you comparing anyone to Him by the way. You must not be a very good Christian!

[wvchip]

02:07 PM on 09/06/2011

Maybe God is trying to show her that global warming is real with the hurricanes and storms and that a really big one is coming if she doesn't change.

[lisaman]

02:03 PM on 09/06/2011

A metaphor for what?

[capt ayhab]

12:58 PM on 09/06/2011

Flip............ Flop................Flip...............Flop

Hey Michele G.od may not like your metaphor, just saying.