Jason Lewis started off the show with this topic today. As he pointed out, what Congresswoman Bachmann said is nothing new. Heck even Sen. Joe Biden, a Democrat, eluded to Iran and partition in May of 2006.

Then there’s a Real Clear Politics post from Jed Babin which goes into the Iranian threat.

This is nothing more than Black taking the bait from Bachmann detractors. If this is”ridiculous”, then it should be for everyone.

Did Eric Black fall prey to the obsession of Congresswoman Bachmann’s detrators?

The second comment in the thread asks the pertinent question.

While I’m listening to this podcast, I have a question for the BigQ.
This was recorded on 10 Feb, not exactly timely… Why are we bringing up fortnight old news?

Could it be because the detractors wanted to get some attention after Bachmann’s successful Open House yesterday?

I’ve never seen eye to eye with Black, and seriously question his judgement, but I would think he knows better than to take a tip from Eva Young and her dumpster divers. At the very least, Black should have gotten the story straight before publishing this complete non-story.

More to come.

Here’s a statement from Congresswoman Bachmann regarding “Caliphate-gate”.

“I am sorry if my words have been misconstrued, but it is well known that
Iraq is a conglomeration of many groups of people that emerged out of
European colonialization.  The three primary sects in Iraq are Kurds, Sunnis
and Shi’a, and the idea that Iraq might be partitioned into three distinct
entities - Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni - has been intermittently considered
since the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003.  One of the reasons that this
never became policy is because the Shi’a and the Kurds had larger states
that many believed would have engulfed them, either peacefully or by force -
Turkey in the case of the Kurds, and Iran in the case of the Shi’a.

“In the case of Iran, there are multiple reasons to believe they would seek
to expand their territory to include Shi’a Iraq - namely, their natural
cultural ties, the long history of Iran and Iraq wars, and regional
security.  A fourth and powerful reason is that success in Iraq for the West
could threaten the future of the current Iranian leadership and its Islamic
Revolution.  There is already a strong antagonism against the ruling regime
in Iran and a successful, democratic Iraq could pose trouble for Iran.

“Although it is difficult to ascertain Iran’s intentions toward Iraq, they
are clearly not in the U.S. interest - for example, the Iranian weapons that
have fallen into the hands of insurgents.  If Iran is allowed to freely
operate in Iraq and continues to thwart the U.S. and the Iraqi government,
then we may very well see a de facto partition in which the western Anbar
province continues to house and develop terrorists.”

As I said more to come.

Another RF commenter just pointed out that the Strib’s Eric ran a Big Question blog post on it.

What’s incredibly odd is that this work of Black’s is actually not from his own interview with Bachmann. Someone, likely the anti-Bachmann stalkers, told him about an interview done by the St. Cloud Times.

More to come. This can be easily dealt with I think. I am really busy at work, and as usual it seems everyonbe, Black included, is jumping to conclusions that this is new.

In the mean time, my initial reaction is she was referring to the Caliphate many have talked of before, and after 60 seconds of googling, I came across this.

Stay tuned, I’ll have some more on this later.

An RF commenter just left a link to a Strib article that merits some attention.

Bachmann on Iraq: [Iran is] going to get half of Iraq 

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann claims to know of a plan, already worked out with a line drawn on the map, for the partition of Iraq in which Iran will control half of the country and set it up as a “a terrorist safe haven zone” and a staging area for attacks around the Middle East and on the United States. She has not yet said how she knows this.
Last update: February 23, 2007 – 11:39 AM

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann claims to know of a plan, already worked out with a line drawn on the map, for the partition of Iraq in which Iran will control half of the country and set it up as a “a terrorist safe haven zone” and a staging area for attacks around the Middle East and on the United States. She has not yet said how she knows this.

Where’s the chance for Bachmann to explain? What the heck kind of editor let this one through. This smells of Black, Eric Black.

I’ll have more on this in a bit.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN5) is a bit too busy to pay much attention to informing his constituents about who he is and what he was doing. He still has yet to have his name appear on the browser bar of his Official webpage. You may remember when Brodkorb made hay out of another freshman’s tardiness in the matter when Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN1) took his sweet old time to fill in the blanks. That was over a month ago.

Minnesota’s 3 rookie Congressmen have been under the microscope of opponents. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN6) has been accused of not doing press releases by two people who have been literally stalking her for 3+ years now. The funny thing is, that while they continue to hyperventilate over Bachmann, their own Representative (Ellison) is actually not doing what they are complaining that Bachmann isn’t, despite the fact that she is.

Ridiculous!

Rep. Ellison has yet to provide one single press release since his swearing in ceremony on January 4, 2007. Shouldn’t these obsessive detractors worry a bit more about their own Representation in Congress? You know, for instance, two of the people who participate in that blog aimed at defeating Bachmann in elections, and distorting the truth about her, don’t even live in Bachmann’s district. They live in Minneapolis.

Ridiculous!

In fact they live in deadbeat Representative Keith Ellison’s District. The Ellison who does agree with them on the issues (social) these people focus attention against Bachmann for.

Hypocrisy? From these people? Of course.

Ridiculous!

(Link to these nutters is embargoed, since they like to perform crude photoshops of me with my photos used with out permission.)

Vice President Cheney was on the USS Kitty Hawk recently, and gave a pretty darn good speech. There is a section in it that you have to read.

The terrorists have made Iraq the central front in this war. And right now our new force commander in Iraq, General Dave Petraeus, is carrying out a new strategy for victory on that front. We’re moving in to help Iraqis clear and secure Baghdad, to help them protect the local population, and to ensure that the Iraqi forces will be capable of providing the security necessary in their capital city. As General Petraeus said, “the way ahead will be neither quick nor easy, and there will undoubtedly be tough days. We face a determined, adaptable, barbaric enemy. He will try to wait us out. In fact, any such endeavor is a test of wills, and there are no guarantees.”

The General has it exactly right. The terrorists know they cannot beat us in a stand-up fight. They never have. The only way they can win is if we lose our nerve and abandon our mission. So they continue committing acts of random horror, believing they can intimidate the civilized world and break the will of the American people. Bin Laden continues to predict that the people of the United States simply do not have the stomach to stay in the fight against terror. He refers to Iraq as the “third world war,” and he knows the stakes as well as we do. If the terrorists were to succeed, they would return Iraq to the rule of tyrants, make it a source of instability in the Middle East, and use it as a staging area for even more attacks. The terrorists also know that as freedom takes hold, the ideologies of hatred and resentment will lose their appeal, and the advance of liberty and self government in the broader Middle East will lead to a much safer world for our children and our grandchildren.

This nation has learned the lessons of history. We know that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. We know that if we leave Iraq before the mission is completed, the enemy is going to come after us. Having seen our interests attacked repeatedly over the years, and knowing the ambitions of the terrorists, this nation has made a decision: We will engage these enemies. We will face them far from home, so we do not have to face them on the streets of our own cities.

Every member of our military can be certain that America will stay on the offensive in the war on terror. The President of the United States and his national security team understand the threat — the enemy’s changing tactics and its unchanging nature. We are not dealing with adversaries that will ever surrender or come to their senses. We will be flexible. We’ll do all we can to adapt to conditions on the ground. We’ll make every change necessary to do the job. And I want you to know that the American people will not support a policy of retreat. (Applause.) We want to complete the mission, we want to get it done right, and then we want to return with honor.

If you aren’t aware, that Surge the Democrats and white flag Republicans are trying to stop is underway. Pelosi and Murtha’s Slow Bleed will simply defund, or cut funding for the troops.

Is America so hell bent for Pelosi’s change that they will accept defeat? Me thinks not. Neither does the Military.

I made it to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s open house and ribbon cutting today at her new Congressional Office here in Woodbury Minnesota. It is a quite beautiful office if I do say so myself, as an interior designed challenged male of course. It was a very healthy crowd for a Thursday afternoon, and I got a chance to chat with a lot of people I’d gotten to know over the last 2 years.

Bachmann’s staff is full of top notch people, and she will be well served by every one of them.

Stay tuned to KSTP Channel 5 as they were doing an interview with Rep. Bachmann to get her reaction to the British troop drawdown when I got there, plus they took some video of the crowd. I didn’t dig for information on what she said, as I just wanted to relax and enjoy things.

Once again thanks to the Congresswoman for giving constituents a chance to say thanks for all her good work.

So Minnesota has gone environutter, and Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty can and will be blamed.

Pawlenty signs renewable energy law

Rant is pending…… must brew up angst first …… not to mention cool down and not blow a gasket and get dainbramage.

Via Hugh

Republican presidential candidate John McCain was anything but subtle Wednesday as he took swipes at the Bush administration during a meticulously staged appearance with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on the bustling docks of Los Angeles Harbor.

President Bush’s record on global warming? “Terrible,” McCain declared. His pursuit of the Iraq war? “A train wreck.”

Memo to McCain, not everyone hates Bush, especially in the GOP. (ahem) the party you are seeking the endorsement of. Oh and, we’re not too fond of Aaaaaahhhhhnuld, either. Just saying.