In Seeking Pardon For Swindler, Bachmann Convicts Herself of Illiteracy

I wonder if that Tea Party Survey is in any way related to the National Tea party Alert that was doing the hit pieces on Palin...the group that had Romney’s fingerprints all over it and was run by the failed Congressional candidate from MA, the friend of Mitt.

I asked that question last night on another forum and as best as I can tell from the response, it is not.

The envelope had "National Tea Party Survey" on the front and the enclosed letter inside had Bachmann's fundraising pitch with an attached "Tea Party" survey.

Your post implies naivete - it is a common trick for a candidate's campaign to make a controversial move and, if it fails, to blame an employee rather than the candidate.

That's what Bachmann did.

And her continued support for this felon is not a lie, but a matter of public record. "Hate and lies" is a comforting refrain for the uncritical thinker, but it can't be applied to every situation just because it's comforting.

This is maybe the fifth thread about ‘the letter.’ Read it a couple of days ago.

THIS thread is about its grammar somehow proving that Bachmann lacks literacy skill and, ipso facto, is not qualified to garner the GOP presidential nomination, much less the presidency. If one takes it upon him/herself to charge another with a flaw, one had best not him/herself exhibit that flaw, that’s all. Plank in your eye, and all that.

If this is the type of internecine battles the GOP primary boils down to, you can look forward to the re-inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama II on January 20, 2013, regardless of who the GOP candidate ends up being.

Absolutely. She certainly should have been able to foresee that he'd get into trouble again years later. /sarcasm

Your sarcasm misses the point.

The pardon would have kept Vennes' crimial history from the banks. The banks rely on such information to determine if a person is reliable enough to receive one of their loans.

It is up to the bank's when making a loan with their money to look into the future and determine if an applicant is a risk. It's not up to Bachmann to do that.

The bottom line is that Bachmann was being charitable with somebody else's money, the bank's money.

the syntax is average to below average no doubt but we don’t know if MB actually wrote this. If she did, I hope it was very off the cuff because it is rather sloppy. Maybe a staffer did write it. No one is perfect; I can give her a pass here and there for stuff like this. What bothers me more is why is she running and if she withdraws, whom would she endorse. It really does smell like she is a stalking horse for Mitt Romney, possibly to become VP.

Even more than the syntax is the idea that she would ask for a pardon for this man after he donated many $10000s to her campaign. That also smells very bad so much like politics as usual, stuff like clinton and obozo would do.

Huckabachmannabee...

Very good! {^)

Even Palin supporters who think Brices' post is only about punctuation and spelling, need to read the letter again and look at it objectively, even WITHOUT considering its subject matter, which alone reveals pretty piss-poor judgment and gullibility.

It is the writing of a very poorly skilled communicator, and communication skills in someone who would hold the highest office of this land, I would say, are not exactly optional. The writing is not only repetitive, but convoluted and downright cringe-inducing. This sentence, for example:

So why does Mr. Vennes need a pardon if he is so successful?

Wha...? Huh?

This (again, I say aside from the subject matter in the letter, a whole 'nother talk show) is not about grammar, punctuation, and spelling. This is about someone who has the communication skills of a careless teenager.

"subtle grammar rules"????!!!????

*sigh*

That's kind of like saying with Clinton, it was only about sex. I make my living by writing and am one of the most forgiving folks you'll ever meet when it comes to people breaking "subtle grammar rules." I've been writing professionally for nearly 30 years and am still learning new things all the time about good writing.

When I write something for publication or something that is very important, I spend quite a lot of time making sure it says exactly what I want it to say, quickly and concisely. OBVIOUSLY, the writer of the letter either made no such effort, or was incapable of making such an effort. READ THE THING, for crying out loud!!!

STOP with the self-deception that Brices' critique is "only" about grammar. IT IS ABOUT THE FACT THAT BACHMANN HAS BELOW-AVERAGE COMMUNICATION SKILLS that would only be excusable in a very young professional. Bachmann is too old for this kind of crap. Brices is correct: sloppy, undisciplined writing in a document such as an official letter of this caliber, reveals more than sloppy thinking. It reveals LACK OF PERCEPTION.

If one takes it upon him/herself to charge another with a flaw, one had best not him/herself exhibit that flaw, that’s all. Plank in your eye, and all that.

That's bullsh*t. Writing internet posts as an activist hobby is one thing. As it happens, my hobby, writing, is also my profession. I make many errors in posting, but then again, no one is paying me to post and I am posting usually in haste. Therefore I'm very forgiving of others who do as well, particularly those who aren't writers by profession.

On the other hand, in a gig, where I'm writing as a professional, you bet your ass that there's no way I would let such sloppy writing go out as an end product. Any criticism I make of flaws in PROFESSIONAL writing, are based on the same standards I set for myself. In other words, I strive to remove that plank from my eye FIRST, when it comes to writing meant for job-related or professioanl consumption, as Bachmann's letter was.

A person who aspires to lead the most powerful nation on earth certainly needs to have better writing communciation skills than those of a blithe college freshman.

“communications skills of a careless teenager”

“...blithe college freshman.”

Double ouch, Finny. I admire a well turned phrase,and those were well aimed fair appraisals of the letter, reflecting your talent as a polemicist. My compliments.

BTW, Thanks for the defense. You actually defend the post better than I myself. You are quite correct in not allowing the critics to frame the issue as one of grammar, which it is not, but rather her overall deficit in communication skills and coherent logic. This writing is unbecoming to one who aspires to any high office. I would be embarrassed and angry if one of my teenage children sent such a letter to anyone, much less a high government official. I think it appropriate to hold a Presidential aspirant to a similar standard, at a minimum.

So far, after 125 replies, not a single critic has refuted, or even taken issue with, the substance of post

After what was done to James Traficant, Agnew and other, by our corrupt judges, I hesitate in being too judgmental as to the character of Vennes. Apparently you hate the guy, Sarah doesn't, why? A little background on him and his trial would be nice seeing you brought it up.

Everyone has been taken to task for their writings and speaking style, donors, whom they're seen with , etc. Can you post an example of a letter(s) from a Rep, of equal length, that you consider a fine piece of writing?

IMO Bachmann is equal to or better than most, and wish her well in her campaign.

With the exceptions of Palin ( who has been looked at,into, and turned into some sort of obession by the MSM, pundits, various politicians and many just average citizen,vis-a-vis every aspect of her entire life )and Romney, those now running for the GOP presidential nomination are almost completely unknown, as far as what might be hiding in their collective closets, to the general public. Few people, if anyone at all, have even breathed one word about something even remotely negative, that could and would be used against them, should they indeed become the GOP nominee.

That is why this this thread is valuable!

I have seen posters who favor Bachmann, Cain, or someone else get on threads about Palin, spewing every crazy lefty complaint against Palin; yet, when this thread went up, some of them and even some supposed Palin supporters attacked the author,you. This is a patently ridiculous thing for them to have done!

There is a Pawlenty pardon that, IMHO is even worse than this request for one, as it involves child molestation.

There is really NOTHING known about Cain.............thus far.

It may be early days, but we do need to know all about those who have already thrown their hats into the ring and those talked about, should they eventually do so. To be blindsided later, is objectionable, as far as I'm concerned!

The only one who has been vetted and has no skeletons is Sarah Palin. Every one of the rest has skeletons. Some we know (like Romney and Gingrich). The rest we have yet to discover. This Vennes affair is just the beginning of Bachmann’s examination. She will, I predict, receive far greater scrutiny than I gave her in this piece, which elicited so many yelps. Nothing is generally known about her tenure in the state Senate or her tenure with the IRS. Should be very interesting.

Let’s see if she acquits herself half as well as Palin.

Palin has been under a microscope for the past three years. If there's some "skeleton", hiding in her closet, just waiting to be found, I'd be flummoxed; to say the least. About the only things we don't know about her is what brand of toothpaste she uses and the like.

Yes, we do know Romney and Newt's baggage, but I bet not all of it.

We know virtually NOTHING whatsoever about Cain.

We know just a smidge about Bachmann, Pawlenty, and Perry; though a tad more about Perry than Bachmann and Pawlenty.

What we know about Paul and Huntsman are an anathema to most.

Playing all nicey-nicey isn't the way to win a primary nor the general election and that has been true from the very beginnings of this nation. Our FFs were not "nice" to each other; especially not when they were running against each other. Their vocabularies were both broad and deep, which impresses many; however, what they said or wrote or had written by others, against one another, without using bad language, really is enough to curl ones hair...if not fry it off ones head completely!

Some other thoughts on this to mull ...

I sympathize with Bachmann in falling for Vennes, I really do -- if she was really duped by him, I have to admit that I might have been as easily gulled; I like to think that it's because I want to see more good in people than there actually is (!), and for all I know, that's why Bachmann is defending Vennes.

Or maybe Vennes is innocent of intent to deceive. I don't know because I haven't gone to the trouble of researching it. Those things are where planks possibly remain in my own eye; it's why I haven't participated in discussions of how it certainly smells like political opportunism taking precedence over ethical principles.

At most I've written that it reveals pretty piss-poor judgement and gullibility, and I say that open-heartedly because I myself admit to being guilty of both often enough; one hopes to learn from one's mistakes.

But Bachmann is my age.

Now, will you please tell me, even within the context of the letter, what is meant by:

"So why does Mr. Vennes need a pardon if he is so successful?"

Or this perplexing riddle:

"... for whom mercy is due because the legal system cannot deliver a morally acceptable result."

What on earth is she trying to say? She's like Brad Pitt in SNATCH, for crying out loud.

Sorry, but if his worst examples of her writing were the worst, of it, this trivia isn’t worth my time to pursue.

I write (non-fiction, so to speak) for a living, and and am paid handsomely for it. I’m not bothered.

As far as this being like “only about sex”, your comparison is laughable. Adultery is a sin, and reflects poorly on one’s judgement. Not being persnickety about grammar means you’re normal.

Besides, even if weak writing were a possible predictor of being a poor leader, there are better predictors, at least for people who have already served in leadership roles.

Bachmann isn’t my first choice, but I will say that if she were elected, she’d surround herself with excellent writers.

Oh my goodness, BC posted documented information on a candidate and soon to be rival candidate and judging by some of the comments one might think that BC has committed the crime of murder! LOL.

This after the venom of three years worth og outright lies, smears and costly frivolous lawsuits brought upon Sarah Palin. Sheesh. Grow up and get real, people. Bachmann ain't all that she is cracked-up to be herself, her nasty, duplicitous campaign manager and the lamestream (currently), and she isn't the devil either. She is also not Sarah Palin. Not by a long shot.

Let Bachmann undergo the proper vetting. God knows Sarah has, both proper and improper.

Sarah Palin welcomes competition and her supporters do too!

This nonsense that Bachmann is the TEA Party's pick will be put to rest the very minute Governor Palin announces and maybe sooner.

Stand by for Tuesday's premiere of THE UNDEATED IN IOWA with SARAH in ATTENDANCE!

P.S. I AM STILL LOOKING FOR BRICES CROSSROAD'S *BLOG*

GAME ON!

POSITIVELY PALIN

2012

Playing all nicey-nicey isn't the way to win a primary nor the general election and that has been true from the very beginnings of this nation.

Spot on. Playing nicey-nicey is a losers' game.

Their vocabularies were both broad and deep, which impresses many; however, what they said or wrote or had written by others, against one another, without using bad language, really is enough to curl ones hair...if not fry it off ones head completely!

Well said! {^)

Profanity is the linguistic equivalent of brute force. It has its place, but sparingly. It's a much more demanding art to "curl hair" in Library Language -- but as you say, that curl can have a sizzle that makes mere swear words wither. Like Scipio in Wister's The Virginian, to a train he missed, as he's stranded in the middle of the prairie.

"Just because yu' ride through this country on a rail, do yu' claim yu' can find your way around?" he tells the departing train. "I could take yu' out ten yards in the brush and lose yu' in ten seconds, you spangle-roofed hobo! Leave me behind? You recent blanket-mortgage yearlin'! You plush-lined, nickel-plated, whistlin' washroom ...."

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