John Huppenthal and Michele Bachmann: birds of a history-distorting feather

by David Safier

I posted awhile back about not-yet-Ed-Supe Huppenthal getting it wrong three times in 20 seconds when he talked about Ben Franklin's relationship to slavery. In each case, Huppenthal glossed over the complexities and contradictions in Franklin's stands and actions which were typical of many of our Founding Fathers when it came to the issue of slavery. That wouldn't matter so much if Hupp weren't using those misstatements as examples of "facts" Ethnic Studies students should learn, but don't.

It looks like Michele Bachmann tells whoppers about the Founding Fathers and slavery which top Hupp's, but not by much. Anderson Cooper, who has become the media's fact checker, did a segment calling her on her errors. Boy, do we need more segments like this!

In The World According to Bachmann, when people came to America, they weren't judged by their color or ethnicity or income. Oh, and the Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to end slavery and didn't rest until the practice was ended. Yep, that's what she says. I would say it's beyond belief, except that nothing is beyond belief from the Right these days.