Friday, July 08, 2011

Obama was held accountable for what Rev. Wright said, then lets hold Bachmann accountable for pledges she signed

Via Jack & Jill Politics (J&JP) and the Huffington Post comes news that Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) has signed a pledge known as the "The Marriage Vow-A Declaration of Dependence upon Marriage and Family."

There are a number of offensive statements in this pledge which is filled with homophobic, anti-choice and anti-divorce rhetoric, but what stands out for me is a blatantly racist, and more importantly incorrect assertion that Black children were better off during slavery:
Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.
As J&JP points out, this statement is flawed because as anyone who knows anything about slavery knows, slave families were routinely broken up as a result of sales and many children born into slavery were conceived by rapes carried out by the masters.

By signing this pledge Bachmann, a sitting member of Congress and potential GOP candidate for President, has put herself on the record of embracing a historical fallacy and endorsing the belief that Blacks born into the slavery were better off than Blacks born during President Obama's first term.

Will the national media hold Bachmann accountable for this? Will they hold her accountable for a pledge that she signed, the same way they held Obama accountable for controversial statements his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, made?

I expect the media to be consistent and in this case, they need to challenge and press Bachmann, who wants to be president of this fine country on why she signed this pledge and if she truly believes that Black children were better off during slavery.

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