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by Jen Green

Note: This is not an endorsement of Michele Bachmann for president. I remain undecided. It is, though, a defense of her stand (to date) on the institution of marriage, given to us by God.

Michele Bachmann made headlines yesterday for getting migraines. Thing is, the only reason the insipid story got any press is because she’s giving migraines . . . to all the right people.

I wrote the following paragraph for a speech I gave in 2008. The speech is titled, “I Need A Hero.” In it, I said I no longer would settle for simply following the letter after someone’s name, but that I was looking for someone who could stand up to the political machine and advance righteousness. In my speech I wrote:

“I know I keep using the male pronouns here, but I’m not excluding women. If you’re a woman who can go to the Capitol and show these men what it means to be a statesmen, a leader, a fighter, a warrior, you go for it, girl, and I’m right there with you. I’ll use whatever voice I have to send you there, if you’re willing to fight. You’ll have to fight against the other side. You’ll even have to fight (unfortunately) those who say they are on your team but base their moral compass on their feelings, their agenda, or their lack of courage. Truth is, often you’ll have to vote against your own feelings. It may be lonely and tough sometimes, but if you represent me the way you promise, I’ll always be behind you.”

There is a woman candidate right now who is taking immense heat from the liberal media, Hollywood, and even some of the Republican establishment for taking a stand on an important part of the worldview she and I share. Michele Bachmann and her husband have, to date, not just talked the talk on traditional marriage, they have walked the walk. Has she been perfect in her stance? No (referring to her confusing answer at the N.H. GOP debate). Apart from that, her life, her record, and her current stand on marriage are strong. She’s being attacked for that stand, and I think she deserves to be defended.

There is nothing out-of-bounds for the left and their agenda. They’ve accused the congresswoman’s husband Dr. Marcus Bachmann of being gay, made fun of him for using a Christian (gasp!) worldview to counsel homosexuals, they accuse both he and the congresswoman of being racist, haters, ignorant, and cruel to single moms. Their emotional arguments are damaging because they are easy to believe but difficult to defend against.

Unfortunately, not much seems out of bounds for some of “the good guys,” either. Last month, Fox News’ Chris Wallace asks her if “she’s a flake.” Charles Krauthammer says she’s not a serious candidate with little chance to win the nomination. Yesterday, Tucker Carlson’s Daily Caller reported that “anonymous” (of course!) former aides and staffers are concerned about the “debilitating” migraines from which she suffers and how she could possibly be the President of the United States if her head hurts sometimes.

Let’s face it, the problem for all of them is not the migraines Bachmann gets, it’s the migraines she gives.

The left hates Bachmann because she represents the scary truth that there is a God to whom we are all responsible. They will fight and attack that unpleasant reality any way they can. It’s a given and to be expected.

The establishment is going to use whatever means necessary to make sure one of “theirs” gets the nomination. She’s not one of them. Palin was just a veep candidate and they did it to her. But, look what happened—they created a cult hero. This time, they’ll need to be more careful, use more subterfuge and stealth to paint Bachmann as a fringe candidate, a loon, an intolerant, uneducated bigot, a weak, flaky woman with archaic beliefs who can’t handle the big time. “Marriage equality” is the perfect topic to exploit for that reason. The talking heads on TV may try to walk a more “united” line, but worker bees on social media, blogs, comment sections, and Internet news sources are doing anything but uniting.

Allow me a quick aside on that note. As someone who spends (way too) much of her time on the Internet, Twitter, and Facebook as part of my job, I have noticed that Bachmann’s campaign trails others here in Iowa in how aggressively they utilize those formats. For example (and to their credit), I get dozens of tweets a day from Ron Paul’s and Tim Pawlenty’s campaigns. They push and manage the flow of stories and articles to their followers. I haven’t seen that from the Bachmann campaign. I get plenty of stories pushed to me—but they are also from other sources and many are not favorable to the candidate. Given how much heat she’s taking, and will continue to take since she is now the front runner, they will need to get ahead of that—especially if the field gets a bit more competitive with the addition of a governor (or two).

But back to the issue at hand. The establishment must undermine Michele Bachmann’s credibility in any way because her stand on marriage is anathema to them, too. A candidate like her is an ‘over-correction’ of the slow skid the Republicans have been making toward the mushy middle and toward the money and approval of a very small, but very vocal segment of the population. She doesn’t represent the more “tolerant” views of the other big-name R’s such as Bush, Cheney, Guiliani, Romney, Christie, Mehlman, McCain, Theodore Olsen, even “Republican media” like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Ann Coulter.

None of the attacks are a surprise, of course. In fact, if the nebulous “they” that rules the media aren’t going after someone who calls themselves a Christian, that’s a good indication the person may not be actually living up to the label. But, if that person is giving people headaches, perhaps they are actually bearing out fruit—and for that, they deserve encouragement and a swift defense. I applaud Michele Bachmann for taking this difficult stand. I only pray she continues to do so in the inevitable maelstrom to come.