[Vision2020] Michele Bachmann and the Great Depression (kinda)

Tom Hansen thansen at moscow.com
Thu Apr 30 08:54:47 PDT 2009


Michelle Bachman gets her history very, very wrong.  Again.

This is not a repeat from every day prior to now. No, this bit of stupidity is
completely new

Courtesy of "Talking Points Memo" at:

http://tinyurl.com/BachmannBlamesFDR

------------------------------------------

Historian Michele Bachmann Blames FDR's "Hoot-Smalley" Tariffs For Great
Depression

By Eric Kleefeld - April 29, 2009, 11:08AM

Make no mistake: When it comes to economics, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
knows her history -- even if that history is from another planet.

On Monday night, our friends at Dump Bachmann reported, Bachmann took to the
House floor and paid tribute to the economic policies of Calvin Coolidge and
the "Roaring 20s" (the era that ended with a massive monetary contraction and
the Great Depression). One particular line really does stand out, though --
saying Franklin Roosevelt turned a recession into a depression through the
"Hoot-Smalley" tariffs:

Here's what really happened: When Franklin Roosevelt took office, unemployment
was already about 25%. And the tariff referred to here was actually the
Smoot-Hawley bill, co-authored by Republicans Sen. Reed Smoot of Utah and Rep.
Willis Hawley of Oregon, and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover.

Interestingly, this speech also happened on the same day as when Bachmann
connected the 1970s swine flu outbreak to Democrat Jimmy Carter being
president, even though it was actually Gerald Ford in office at the time.

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The video of Michele Bachmann
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc1kvcf4w-M

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Seeya at the Renaissance Fair and/or the Farmers' Market, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change and
the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown




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