Bachmann Takes Aim at 'Perrycare'

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The suffix "-gate" is used to signify scandal (see Travelgate, Climategate, Weinergate). In similar fashion, "-care" is becoming the suffix of choice for criticizing healthcare policy decisions. First there was Obamacare, then Romneycare (also known as Obamneycare). Now, Michele Bachmann is criticizing "Perrycare."

[See how Bachmann and Mitt Romney are losing the media battle to Rick Perry.]

In a no-frills video with strangely poor audio quality, the Republican presidential candidate and Minnesota representative and takes aim at Texas Gov. Rick Perry's 2007 executive order mandating that sixth-grade girls receive the vaccine against HPV (the legislature later blocked the vaccination program from taking place). "Whether it's Obamacare or whether it's Perrycare, I oppose any governor or president who mandates a family's healthcare choices and in turn violates the rights of parents on these issues, especially if the decision-making process occurs behind closed doors, bypassing legislative action, and instead favors campaign contributors over the rights of families," she tells the camera.

Bachmann attacked Perry for that executive order in this week's Tea Party debate, and also linked the order to the governor's ties to and contributions from Merck, which manufactures the vaccine. "The question is, is it about life, or was it about millions of dollars and potentially billions for a drug company?" she asked Perry.

[Read about the latest shakeups on the Bachmann campaign staff.]

The video escalates the battle between the two candidates over the vaccine. Interestingly, however, the most damaging blow Bachmann has sustained in the fight was self-inflicted, when she made comments linking the vaccine to mental retardation. The medical community has responded with strong criticism. O. Marion Burton, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, released a statement countering Bachmann's claims: "The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to correct false statements made in the Republican presidential campaign that HPV vaccine is dangerous and can cause mental retardation. There is absolutely no scientific validity to this statement."

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Peliculas Online

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Bush Takes the High Road on Cheney's Book

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Former President George W. Bush is taking a tolerant view of a new book by his vice president, Dick Cheney. Bush told Fox and Friends this morning that he encourages members of his administration to give their version of events during his eight-year presidency, even if they disagree.

In his book, In My Time, Cheney has some negative things to say about former Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, which they dispute. But Bush said, "I'm glad members of my 'family' are giving their version of what it was like to serve the country...I did the same thing. I put my version out there" in a memoir published last year. [Vote: Is Cheney Taking Cheap Shots in His New Memoir?]

Bush repeated his long-time assessment that it will take many years to put his administration into proper perspective. "Eventually objective historians will analyze our administration and draw objective conclusions," he said.

He declined to give his preference on who should be the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, saying that he will "remain an observer, an interested observer." And he didn't criticize his Democratic successor, Barack Obama.

Cheney hasn't been so restrained. In an interview with CNBC's Larry Kudlow broadcast last night, Cheney blamed Obama for the current weak economy. He said the Obama administration "has added as much to the debt in two and a half years as we did in eight years. The fact of the matter is if we talk about unrestrained spending and a lack of discipline with respect to spending, I think the Obama administration's record is the worst we've seen." [See a collection of political cartoons on the budget and deficit.]

The former vice president added: "Sooner or later it becomes your economy, and I think we're to that point now. [Obama is] going to be measured very much next year against his perfomance."

There is of course, another interpretation to all of this. It could be that Bush and Cheney are simply following the pattern they established when they were in office: Bush tries to remain above they fray while Cheney is the attack dog.

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Peliculas Online

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Perry takes fire on immigration at debate

ORLANDO, Florida | Fri Sep 23, 2011 12:50am EDT
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Republican Rick Perry took heavy fire from his rivals over a Texas policy that aids illegal immigrants at a presidential debate on Thursday where he struggled to protect his front-running position.
Texas Governor Perry attempted to change the narrative from two previous debates, where he came under fierce attack from former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and other candidates.
But his competitors accused Perry of coddling illegal immigrants with a Texas policy to allow their children to gain education tuition assistance.
"I would not allow taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens or for their children," said Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. "That's a magnet. End the magnets for illegal aliens to come into the United States of America."
Other candidates took shots at Tea Party movement favorite Perry over illegal immigration, one of the few issues where he belies his reputation as a staunch conservative.
Perry is ahead in polls of Republicans but his lead is fragile over Romney, who is the choice of many mainstream Republicans. A USA Today/Gallup poll on Wednesday found Perry leading Romney 31 percent to 24 percent among likely Republican voters.
No knockout blows were struck at the debate, and Perry again appeared to flag as the two-hour gathering wore on. A focus group of voters assembled by a debate host, Fox News Channel, declared Romney the winner.
Perry revived old charges that Romney has flip-flopped on key issues from healthcare to education.
"I think Americans just don't know sometimes which Mitt Romney they're dealing with." Perry said. "We'll wait until tomorrow and see which Mitt Romney we're really talking to tonight."
Illegal immigration is a politically charged issue for Republicans, with conservatives wanting stern measures to deal with America's estimated 11 million illegals. Senator John McCain's support for a reform plan in 2007 nearly ended his 2008 presidential bid.
DEFENDS TEXAS PROGRAM
Perry said that as governor of a state with a long border with Mexico, no one had worked harder than he has on border security. He fiercely defended the program as correct for his state, saying to do nothing would leave the immigrant children as a burden.
To those who oppose it, he said, "I don't think you have a heart. We need to be educating these children because they will be a drag on our society."
Republicans increasingly see a good chance to oust Obama from the White House with the U.S. economy struggling to rebound from 9.1 percent unemployment and chronic debt and deficits.
On a day the stock market plunged on fears of renewed recession, the U.S. economy was the top topic and all the candidates promised conservative prescriptions of low taxation and limited regulation to fix it.
The Republicans declared Obama's economic leadership a failure, a point that lesser-known candidate Gary Johnson underscored with a jab that drew guffaws from the audience.
"My next-door neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this administration," the former New Mexico governor said during his first debate appearance.
Perry again was forced to defend a Texas policy he ordered to vaccinate adolescent girls against sexually transmitted diseases, but this time he had an answer that attempted to tug at voter heartstrings.
"I got lobbied on this issue. I got lobbied by a 31-year-old young lady who had stage 4 cervical cancer ... And the fact is I erred on the side of life and I will always err on the side of life as a governor and as the president of the United States," he said.
Perry got in plenty of shots at Romney, accusing the former Massachusetts governor of backing an Obama administration education reform known as Race to the Top, and favoring the White House's healthcare reforms.
But Romney managed deft counterpunches and took a high-minded position by declaring Republican candidates may bicker over issues but are united in their goal. He would not repeat a comment he had made in an earlier interview that Perry was not electable.
"Governor Perry and I disagree on some issues," he said. "But one thing's for sure, we all agree that President Obama needs to be former President Obama and we're going to make that happen."
(Additional reporting by Kim Dixon in Orlando and JoAnne Allen in Washington; editing by Alistair Bell and Vicki Allen)

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