The Internal Republican Divide

Michele Bachmann invited Ron Paul to co-host a town hall at the University of Minnesota on Friday night. The two joined forces over fiscal concerns – Bachmann drew praise from Paulites with talk of 100% taxation by 2050 and a “one-world currency” – but things got awkward when the topic turned to empire:

As Paul spoke passionately about ending all military operations and keeping government out of people’s “lifestyles,” a lone heckler began to shout, “Tell her!” Bachmann remained serene, hands folded in her lap, facing Paul. Bringing up Obama’s announcement that Iran had secret underground nuclear facilities, Paul announced that he had had enough of “fear-mongering” for the sake of the “military-industrial complex.” Bachmann, who once advocated nuking Iran, kept her eyes trained on Paul as her heckler repeated, “Tell her! Tell Michele! Tell her!”

And just a reminder of Bachmann’s “small government” stance when it comes to “lifestyles”:

Supports both a federal and state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and legal equivalent, and is a critic of any type of civil union for gay couples. In support of a constitutional amendment she proposed to ban same-sex marriage, Bachmann said that the gay community was specifically targeting children and that “our children…are the prize for this community.”