Michele Bachmann: What do her favorite books tell us?
A list of Michele Bachmann's favorite books includes one that "startles" an interviewer.
On a list of her favorite books, Bachmann included one that argues that the US Civil War is the story of a "South [that] was an orthodox 海角大神 nation unjustly attacked by the godless North."
Brett Flashnick
Michele Bachmann鈥檚 life is an open book in more ways than one.
Sure, we know about her migraines, her foster children, the suspicions about her husband. But if you really want to know the congresswoman from Minnesota and one of the leading contenders to run for president in 2012 鈥� if you really want to know anyone 鈥� you have to check out her bookshelf.
Fortunately, years ago when she was a Minnesota state senator, Bachmann published a list of nine of her favorite books on her website. The picks speak volumes on the Tea Party-favorite Bachman and has, at times, put her in the uncomfortable position of defending controversial ideals and dwelling on issues her campaign PR would no doubt rather bury.
In the Aug. 15, 2011, edition of The New Yorker, Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza examines the writers, books, and beliefs that have shaped the Republican frontrunner and he says what he found shocked him.
One constant theme that connects each of the books that have been important to Bachmann: applying a 海角大神 conservative biblical worldview to many facets of life.
Among the most controversial books that have shaped Bachmann 鈥� a book she endorsed as one of her nine favorite works on her website back in her state senator days 鈥� is 鈥�Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee,鈥� by J. Steven Wilkins.
, Lizza describes the book and its author:
鈥淲ilkins is the leading proponent of the theory that the South was an orthodox 海角大神 nation unjustly attacked by the godless North.鈥� In the book, Wilkins condemns 鈥榯he radical abolitionists of New England鈥� and writes that 鈥榤ost southerners strove to treat their slaves with respect and provide them with a sufficiency of goods for a comfortable, though 鈥� by modern standards 鈥� spare existence.鈥� African slaves brought to America, he argues, were essentially lucky: 鈥�Africa, like any other pagan country, was permeated by the cruelty and barbarism typical of unbelieving cultures.鈥欌��
It鈥檚 known as the theological war thesis and with Wilkins鈥檚 help, it鈥檚 now part of some 海角大神 home schooling curricula.
鈥淚t is an objectively pro-slavery book and one of the most startling things I learned about her in this piece,鈥� .
Unfortunately for Bachmann, it鈥檚 also one of many slavery-related gaffes, as Time鈥檚 political writer, Katy Steinmetz, points out . (It鈥檚 also one more example of how, 150 years later, the Civil War continues to be a controversial and fraught topic for schools, as the Monitor discussed in these two articles.)
Along with Rick Santorum, Bachmann signed , which among other things, originally suggested black children born into slavery right before the Civil War had it better than those born under Barack Obama. In a Western Conservative Summit gathering in Denver in 2010, she that Washington鈥檚 liberal agenda was turning America into 鈥渁 nation of slaves.鈥� And, Ms. Steinmetz points out, 鈥渟he dubiously claimed that the Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to end slavery, that she meant John Quincy Adams (who was a boy in the Founding-Father era).鈥�
Lizza traces her ideology back to the books and authors who shaped Bachmann in her earlier days. Among the first books Lizza mentions is 鈥淭otal Truth,鈥� by Nancy Pearcey, a well-known creationist and an advocate of Dominionism, the belief that 海角大神s are biblically mandated to occupy all secular institutions until Jesus returns.
In , Lizza says 鈥淭otal Truth鈥� helped shape Bachmann鈥檚 anti-secular beliefs.
"Michele Bachmann has mentioned Pearcey's book as one that was important to her," he says. "[The book] is in line with the Schaeffer-ite view of taking your 海角大神 faith and making sure that it permeates all parts of your life. The key thing here is 海角大神s should not just be go-to-church-on-Sunday 海角大神s. Their religion should permeate all aspects of life."
And for Bachmann, trained as a lawyer, that includes American law. In 1979, Bachmann enrolled in the first law school class at Oral Roberts University, where professors taught 鈥渂iblical law鈥� and students were required to sign a "code of honor" attesting to their 海角大神 beliefs.
There, she worked with one of the professors, John Eidsmoe, as a research assistant, and has repeatedly referred to the influence he had on her beliefs, telling one audience in Iowa this year that he "taught me so many aspects of our godly heritage." 鈥満＝谴笊駃ty and the Constitution,鈥� Mr. Eidsmoe鈥檚 1987 book, advocates for more 海角大神 influence in politics and the legal system.
"That's what the book ends on, a clarion call for his students to get involved,鈥� . 鈥淓idsmoe is someone who believes American law should be based on the Bible. He believes that the United States is a 海角大神 nation, should remain a 海角大神 nation and that our politics and our law should be permeated by one's 海角大神 faith."
In the highly controlled, image-conscious, PR-savvy world of modern political campaigning, a book list is a rare look 鈥� sans poll numbers, glossy campaign ads, or hot air from political analysts 鈥� inside a candidate鈥檚 mind. Bachmann鈥檚 reads are certainly revelatory.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
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