Bachmann's 'crony capitalism' hypocrisy

Abe Sauer gives the details:

The brunt of Bachmann's crony capitalism charge is that Governor Perry mandated the use of a drug by a pharmaceutical company—Merck—that had also donated to his campaign to the tune of $28,500. Meanwhile, Bachman has taken somewhere north of $140,000 from pharmaceutical companies. Those donors include Abbott Labs, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Bayer. Yet, not a dollar of all that pharma money, from such a wide range of the world's largest drugmakers, came from Merck. Might Bachmann be going after Merck on behalf of that company's competitors who also happen to be Bachmann donors?

Let me get something out of the way: I actually agree with Bachmann on the issue of mandating certain drugs and medical procedures; that kind of important health decision is best left to the patients themselves, or, in the case of minors, their parents. However, I am profoundly offended by the fallacious remarks she made around the HPV vaccination being causal in the emergence of mental retardation. Aside from the fear that Bachmann has undoubtedly installed among certain members of the public, I find it deplorable that she should couple these comments on 'crony capitalism' (albeit behind closed doors) with certain corporate relationships of her own.

The reasons just keep coming as to why we should summarily dismiss this woman's every possible chance of becoming president. We should also remember her repugnant stance on gay rights (to give just one example here), her husband's 'gay cure' clinic, her loose grasp on history, and a multitude of other abhorrent views. If her recent vaccination episode doesn't disqualify her in your mind, don't worry: she's bound to have more installments yet.