Fun With News!

Spencer Bachus Makes List of 17 Socialists in Congress

Not too long ago, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was on Hardball [see below for clip], calling for the media to investigate her Congressional colleagues to "find out if they are pro-America or anti-America." Well, it turns out that someone has taken up Bachmann's call on a proactive basis! His name is Spencer Bachus and he has made a list -- a secret list! -- of the socialists in the House of Representatives. Or so he told the Birmingham News. Who are the seventeen socialists? That's the secret part, apparently.

From The Hill's Briefing Room:

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) puts the number of socialists in the House at 17.

"Some of the men and women I work with in Congress are socialists," Bachus told local government leaders on Thursday, according to the Birmingham News.

Bachus gave the specific number of House socialists when pressed later by a reporter.


By the way, I can't wait until someone tells Bachus about how "only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism." He is not going to take that news well, I imagine.



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Just 53% Say Capitalism Better Than Socialism
Thursday, April 09, 2009

Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better...

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From Mary Ann Akers Washington Post Blog, The Sleuth:

Spencer Bachus's Past With Socialists (4.10.2009)
You may have heard, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) is keeping tabs on socialists in Congress. There are 17 in the House alone by his count.

But get this -- it turns out Bachus was for socialists before he was against them. At least he cosponsored legislation with one of them, the only known socialist in Congress: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

That's right. In 2003, Bachus co-sponsored a measure with then congressman Sanders and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), which Sanders called a "tripartisan amendment." It sought to prevent credit card companies from jacking up interest rates on cardholders who have bad credit reports because of late payments and loans and such.

But that was then, this is now.

This week Bachus is making headlines all over the Internet for his comment during a speech to locally elected officials in his district that "some of these guys I work with, the men and women in Congress, are socialists."

Later, Bachus clarified to The Birmingham News that he counts 17 members of the House as socialists. But he could only name one: Bernie Sanders.

Sanders, who considers himself a Democratic Socialist (not affiliated with the Socialist Party) declined through his spokesman to comment on Bachus's once warm embrace.

"What with the recession and all the unpleasantness on Wall Street, I don't want to gang up on the capitalists," Sanders' communications director, Michael Briggs, said wryly....

[Yep, the bolding and italics are mine!]