Michele Bachmann Signs Her Soul Away, and America's Children, to The Family Leader

Michele Bachmann recently signed a pledge written by The Family Leader that says she promises, as a politician, to fight abortion, homosexuality, pornography, Islam, small families, divorce and adultery. Please read the original PDF document for yourself (thanks to MinnesotaIndependent for the link!) 

The Irony in this document is so out of control you'd almost think Michele Bachmann was the founding member of Minnesota Hipsterdom.  She's following in the footsteps of fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty... signing her soul away to pledges that have harmed our state and will harm the nation if either gain any more power.

Let's look at the discrepancies in the document. On the 3rd page under The Candidate Vow, among all sorts of promises to not have sex outside of marriage, to support only certain kind of judges, there is language that I as a woman NEED to address... and as a girl who grew up in an environment that would have supported much of what this document calls for.

•  (8 bullet points proceed the following and two follow)
• Humane protection of women and the innocent fruit of conjugal intimacy... from human trafficking, sexual slavery, seduction into promiscuity and all forms of pornography and prostitution, infanticide, abortion and other types of coercion or stolen innocence.
• (skipping the one on the military)
• Rejection of Sharia Islam and all other anti-woman, anti-human rights forms of totalitarian control.
• Recognition that robust childbearing and reproduction is beneficial to U.S. demographic, economic, strategic and actuarial health and security.

Readers: I know you are smart enough to see the hypocrisy and inconsistencies for yourself.  While we wait for Bachmann to implode (I've been waiting since 2006) I encourage you to take this pledge seriously. Yet Michele Bachmann is probably the least of our worries here.  The fact that this document exists is evidence of a much bigger problem.  

I've upped the font to draw attention to the parts that especially concern me.  "Robust childbearing and reproduction" is code for the likes of the Quiverfull Movement.  I was part of a Quiver... a ridiculously large family... before Quivers were cool.  Having many, many children is all fine and dandy if the woman wants this.  But in this context it is a form of COERCION as a result of legalistic, Biblical brainwashing.  Many women's bodies and minds suffer physical, emotional and spiritual abuse as a result of "robust childbearing."  Within the context of this document, "The Family Leaders" appear to be blind to the irony that they are more concerned about the economic health of the U.S. by way of "robust childbearing" than the health of the woman... and that this is a form of ANTI-WOMAN TOTALITARIAN CONTROL.

The "stolen innocence" reference is a reminder of how much importance the Religious Right places on virginity... especially the virginity of girls.  Check out the recent Bristol Palin interview on The View... if you have the stomach.

Virginity is overrated.

It is important that children and young adults learn healthy, happy, safe boundaries about sex ... boundaries that don't inflate the value of their virginity, but instead their ability to expect respect when they say yes or no to sex. If a person chooses to save sex for their wedding night... more power to them.  However, the idea that virginity is so valuable and can affect one's worth is an unhealthy patriarchal double standard, an archaic concept that needs to be replaced with actual PRO-WOMAN alternatives.

Be careful what you wish for Michele.  It would not take much for them to amend this document to Rightfully include language that forbids women from being in political office. If Bachmann's conservative theocracy wet-dream were to come true, she'd be sent back to the kitchen to make jam and help rear the many grandchildren her children will spawn. 

Some of the buzz suggests that this will be Michele's undoing.  If it is... I'll owe you a beer.  Heck, let's make it a kegger... but until she drops out of the race, as her Hot4Jesus arch-nemesis, I'm afraid I'm contractually required to take her, and the people who support her, deadly serious.  There are too many women and girls under the thumb of Evangelical Fundamentalism who are dying to support a strong female leader, ala OT Deborah, that Bachmann will keep going until some significant breakthroughs are made to encourage women and girls to own their own bodies and minds.

And that also is a call to continue the dialogue about sexism within the atheist and skeptics movements.

Need to read more about Bachmann and Women in Politics?  There will be more to come, but until then:

Family Values, My Ass: The Inevitable EVOLUTION of the Role of Evangelical Women in Politics (8/31/08)

Michele Bachmann & I : "Changing the World Through Hot People" (11/7/10)

Sex & the Single, Never-Married Evangelical Woman (04/18/11)