Michelle Cottle expects the prodding of Marcus Bachmann's sexuality to backfire:
Among devout evangelicals, ferocious attacks—including people bearing false witness against you—are brandished as a badge of honor. It shows that you are willing to be despised and persecuted for your faithfulness, as were Jesus and his early followers. “They’ve heard the sermon over and over again, ‘You will be persecuted for righteousness' sake,' ” observes Michael Cromartie, head of the Evangelical Studies Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. “So the idea of being misrepresented or persecuted is not new.”
Russell Saunders makes the same point:
[I]t profits us nothing to sneer at our opposition. Whose approval will this win? For those inclined to agree with Bachmann’s viewpoint, the mockery from Dan Savage or (heaven help us) Cher will only feed the ressentiment from the social conservative faction that considers itself the victim of contempt from the liberal elite. That ressentiment is what’s driving his wife’s campaign in the first place. If anything, this episode will redound to her political favor.
My thoughts here.
The Dish 