Minnesota Congresswoman and presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann seems to be opting for some sort of "balance" with her pledges. Having possibly alienated more than a few of the national electorate with her signing of a controversial conservative/religious document in Iowa, Bachmann went to the capital of South Carolina to sign on to the "cut, cap, balance" pledge developed by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., to hold elected officials to a commitment of spending frugality and balanced budgets.
Rep. Bachmann was in Columbia, S.C., today and signed another in what appears to be a series of pledges being agreed to by various conservatives throughout the country. Besides the "Marriage Vow" pledge and the "cut, cap, balance" pledge, there is also the 25-year-old document designed by conservative strategist Grover Norquist whereby the signer pledges to never vote to raise taxes. Bachmann, who apparently believes in committing, has signed all three.
But signing pledges on legislation concerning taxes and spending are one thing. Signing pledges that appear to intrude on religious and personal privacy issues are another. Bachmann, being a political realist as well as an opportunist, undoubtedly understood (after the signing became controversial) that her signing of the Iowa organization The Family Leader's "The Marriage Vow -- A Declaration Of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family" pledge may have gone a little too far in the assertion of her beliefs.
The "Marriage Vow" pledgers, according to the document, committed themselves to advocating for stronger marriages and protecting the Defense of Marriage Act and will work toward a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as a heterosexual union. Support for defending marriage would include a ban on all pornography, which was considered as detrimental to the institution of marriage and akin to adultery.
Within the preamble of the "Marriage Vow" was an allusion that African-American children were worse off today under the Obama administration than those children born to slaves prior to the Civil War.
Only Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum signed the pledge. Bachmann later said that the document she signed had nothing about slavery in it. But she never denied signing the anti-gay, pornography and polygamy equals adultery pledge.
Still, she realized that there was general outrage and recognized a need for amelioration or a re-attainment of balance in her campaign. Perhaps the public relations fiasco of the "Marriage Vow" could be forgiven by the short attention-spanned public with a countering pledge, especially a safer, fiscally conservative pledge like that developed by Sen. Jim DeMint, a pledge that had been signed by eight other Republican presidential candidates and dozens of Congressmen. Perhaps her signature on spending cuts pledge could offset the damage done.
Although a Tea Party conservative like Sen. DeMint, Bachmann had been reluctant to sign the pledge, stating that, according to DeMint when asked about it on CNN's "American Morning" in June, the pledge didn't go "far enough." He said he was "disappointed" that Rep. Bachmann had not signed it.
As of Monday, though, Bachmann finally signed the unaltered "cut, cap, balance" pledge. Hoping to find some sort of public relations counterweight to "The Marriage Vow," it apparently goes "far enough" now.
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