GOP Presidential Hopeful Michele Bachmann Signs Pledge that Says "Black Children Were Better Off Being Born into Slavery"

GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann is a hypocrite and an ignorant person on so many levels. She continues on her quest of rewriting history and outlandish explanations for what ails the U.S. What I have a huge issue is the nerve she has to say President Obama has failed the African American community, but doesn't have any ideas on how she would help the community. I seriously doubt she gives a sh*t about the black and Latino communities. It is insulting, to say the least, that she signed a pledge that said "black children were better off being born into slavery." The pledge, "The Marriage Vow - A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family," written by THE FAMiLY LEADER, an Iowa-based social conservative Christian group headed by Bob Vander Plaats. The notion that somehow black children were better off during slavery than today is preposterous on so many levels.

Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an AfricanAmerican baby born after the election of the USA‟s first African-American President. Source: The Marriage Vow

Let's take the deliberate destruction of families by slave owners who bought and sold men, women and children as they saw fit. The children born into slavery had no clue who they really were because they took the last name of their owners. Many black men couldn't defend their wives and their families against a slave owner who took a "fancy" to his wife and raped her. Slaves didn't have the "luxury" of attending school and learning to read and write. So, excuse me while I throw up at Michele Bachmann's roundabout endorsement of this dangerous mindset. This is another reason why this self-righteous evangelical wingnut has no place in the White House. Add fellow presidential hopeful and gaffe-machine Rick Santorum, who also signed the pledge, to the mix. Here's an excerpt from the Political Connection (H/T to Jack and Jill Politics):

Behold the constituencies Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is willing to sell out to court the far-right Christian vote in Iowa: Muslims, feminists, the LGBT community, anyone irked by the idea that homosexuality is "a public health risk," and the porn industry. These attributes of the far-right social policy pledge Bachmann signed yesterday have been widely reported, but Jack & Jill Politics points out that the document may alienate the black community as well:

It's got some pretty rigid-sounding stuff, but there's also this extra-special piece:

Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President.

Given that families were broken up regularly for sales during slavery and that rape by masters was pretty common, this could not be more offensive. I mean, putting aside the statistics on this, which are likely off-base, I could not be more angry. When will Republicans inquire with actual Black people whether or not we're ok with invoking slavery to score cheap political points?

Vander Plaats also served as the state chair for Mike Huckabee's Republican presidential campaign in 2008. That's another reason why he would have been a dangerous person to be elected as president as well. I am a Christian, but I don't roll with these far-right religious fanatics who believe their views and positions are right for the country, no matter what. Vander Plaats said he group would not support any candidate who doesn't sign their pledge. Well, does a strong candidate need them to prove he or she is a viable alternative for voters? Who's really running for the presidency? Bob Vander Plaats or Michele Bachmann? Black voters need to wake up and let their voices be heard. Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, wannabe president Sarah Palin, and any other candidate who wants to rewrite the black experience in this country, should be ridiculed.

UPDATE#1: Here's an excerpt from former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson's rebuke of Mr. Vander Plaats discriminatory pledge:

Presidential candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson charged today in a formal statement through his campaign that the Family Leader “pledge” Republican candidates for President are being asked to sign is “offensive to the principles of liberty and freedom on which this country was founded”. Governor Johnson also plans to further state his position against the Family Leader pledge this afternoon in Las Vegas, NV at a speech he will deliver at the Conservative Leadership Conference.


Johnson went on to state that “the so-called ‘Marriage Vow” pledge that FAMiLY LEADER is asking Republican candidates for President to sign attacks minority segments of our population and attempts to prevent and eliminate personal freedom. This type of rhetoric is what gives Republicans a bad name.


“This ‘pledge’ is nothing short of a promise to discriminate against everyone who makes a personal choice that doesn’t fit into a particular definition of ‘virtue’.

UPDATE#2: The slavery language has been removed from the "pledge," but things live on the Internet forever. Here's the actual document in its entirety:
Family Leader Pledge