Liars and lowlifes: Minnesota's own Michele Bachmann and Mary Franson

All over the web today: Michele Bachmann's utterly unsubstantiated and malicious charges that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the Obama administration. Former Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, denounced her allegations on the Senate floor as "ugly and unfortunate" and praised the patriotism and work of the woman Bachmann targeted — Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

According to The Guardian:

Bachmann, a member of the House intelligence committee, made the allegations in a June letter to the state department as well as in a letter Wednesday to fellow Minnesota lawmaker, representative Keith Ellison, a Democrat.

Ellison told Anderson Cooper that Bachmann's claims were untrue: "it’s 16 pages worth of nothing. It’s 16 pages worth of repeated false allegations. Just regurgitated nonsense."

This, of course, is not the first time that Bachmann has lied. PolitiFact, the non-partisan fact-checking organization, was frequently called on during her presidential campaign to check on various statements she made. In 18 out of 104 cases, PolitiFact found that her misstatements were so egregious that she merited its "pants on fire" rating. ("PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.") Bachmann got a "pants on fire," "false," or "mostly false" rating on 87 out of 104 statements evaluated.

And then there's State Representative Mary Franson. According to the Huffington Post, she re-told her "joke" about welfare recipients at a Tea Party gathering over the weekend. Franson thanked Tea Party members for supporting her as she endured the criticism that came her way the first time she compared food stamp users to animals. She repeated the joke to the Tea Party gathering, and got laughs and, presumably, continuing support:

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture is pleased to be handing out the most amount of food stamps ever," Franson said. "Meanwhile, when you go to the parks and rec, or the parks department, they say don't feed the animals because they may become dependent and not be able to take care of themselves."

Of course, for sheer lowlife conduct and brazen lies, it's hard to beat Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio. He and his buddies this week renewed their (completely debunked and discredited) attacks on President Obama's birth certificate and citizenship. Minnesota's Bachmann and Franson may not be quite as low as Arpaio yet — but they're trying.

In an election year, arguments get heated, but disagreements over policy are different from lies and smear tactics. Truth matters — and so does respectful, fact-based debate on the issues. PolitiFact leads the way, and the rest of the news media should follow, in exposing lies and liars through careful, fact-based reporting.

• A political side show of the silliest order. Did Minnesotans really vote for this person or was she dropped from an alien vessel? - by Michael Rostance on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 11:14am
• No...you are taking it out of context... she is saying the government is not even treating people as well as they do animals in the Zoo...which is true.... to make people dependent on the government instead of giving them work to do is a crime to human nature...food stamps for doing something even if it is just picking up litter or doing volunteer work of some sort would make more sense and for people who really want to be responsible it would be a boost to their self-esteem to be doing something positive for someone else while they look for employment. Remember the old adage..give someone a fish they eat once...teach them to fish they have food to eat as long as they put the effort forth. (not an exact rendition but you get the meaning). - by Becky Pierce on Wed, 08/01/2012 - 9:47am
  • Teach a man to pick up garbage and he'll eat garbage the rest of his life? Note this is not a slam on those who do this for a living, but they get paid a fair wage for a days work (we hope). Making people unpaid ragpickers in order to get a meal is...well...a little mean spirited wouldn't you say. Old adages do not solove problems, and the vast majority of people on food stamps are children and the elderly. You know...those lazy mooching little kids and their slacker grandparents who are just trying to live with a little dignity in the face of huge losses to thier retirement funds and the threats to health care by "small government" wonks and crooked bankers. - by Michael Rostance on Wed, 10/10/2012 - 10:22am
  • Mary Franson was obviously NOT talking about the elderly, children or the disabled...but then you knew that and just put your own spin on it...The people I know on food stamps do not fit the poor and beleaguered profile you attempt to paint...however they are wiley enough to get the liberals in their corner so they can continue to use the system. - by Becky Pierce on Wed, 10/10/2012 - 2:02pm
  • I know many homeless fellow Viet Nam veterans who are among the freeloaders...also know that use of food shelves and the level of homelessness and poverty have been rising steadily during the bad old years of trickle down economics. Of course there are freeloaders, including corporate agricultural businesses, who accept all sorts of wellfare from the government in the name of capitalism. One does not have to be a liberal to see the poverty and hopelessnes of the many who for numerous reasons are temporarily down on their luck. Remember, one catostrophic illness, injury or simple twist of fate could put any of us out on the street. Don't be so quick to judge the poor. No one really chooses poverty (ok maybe monks and mystics), and there are crooks of high and low income, but dignity and self respect are sometimes hard earned and won and maybe its better to offer a hand up than foot in the rear. - by Michael Rostance on Wed, 10/10/2012 - 3:26pm