Did Bachmann (Thankfully) Seriously Wounded Herself with HPV Vaccine Claim?

Most of us tethered to objective reality have long know that Michelle Bachmann is a nutcase extremist who will readily make any untrue and unfounded claim that comports with her bizarre world view and that she thinks will play well with her Kool-Aid drinking followers. A case in point? Her claim in the most recent GOP presidential candidate debate that she had met with a mother who told her “that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter.” Yes, the statement may have caused issues for the equally deranged Rick Perry, but frankly, if anyone has problems with mental retardation, it's Bachmann and her closeted husband, "Marcia" Bachmann. Now her stupid statement is biting Bachmann in the ass big time and rewards totally $11,000 have been offered to anyone how can produce the mother Bachmann claims to have spoken with about the "mental retardation" resulting from the HPV vaccine. Think Progress looks at Bachmann's idiocy and here are some highlights:

On her quest for relevance, GOP former presidential front runner Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN) is sprinting forward with her attack on fellow candidate Gov. Rick Perry (TX) for mandating girls in Texas receive the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Finding success in the ferocity of her first attack, Bachmann took it one step further by championing the idea that the vaccine can cause “mental retardation.”

With that, Bachmann, once again, oversteps the line. The medical community quickly shot down the idea that the HPV vaccine is dangerous. In fact, University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan is offering $10,000 to Bachmann’s charity of choice if she can provide one case that proves her claim.

It is important to note that the woman who Bachmann reported made this claim has yet to be found or come forward. Meanwhile, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement specifically to “correct” Bachmann’s “false statements”: “The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to correct false statements made in the Republican presidential campaign that HPV vaccine is dangerous and can cause mental retardation,” the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “There is absolutely no scientific validity to this statement. Since the vaccine has been introduced, more than 35 million doses have been administered, and it has an excellent safety record.”

New York University infectious disease expert Dr. Marc Siegel viewed Bachmann’s attack as simply “a political backlash against the whole idea of vaccines.” Indeed, other doctors suggested that parents and politicians are just “uncomfortable with the though of vaccinating children against HPV than other diseases because of the virus’ status as a sexually transmitted disease.”

Crumbling under the weight of scientific evidence, Bachmann offered a curious defense: “I am not a doctor, I’m not a scientist, I’m not a physician.”

Even those closest to Bachmann panned her HPV error. Her former campaign manager Ed Rollins called it a misstep. “‘You check that out. You don’t make a broad statement like that when science supports the opposite conclusion,” he said. Her former chief of staff Ron Carey said the error reflects her “impulsive” nature: “Sometimes I’m afraid that she reads maybe 80 or 90 percent and leaves out or forgets the ten or 20 percent that can change the outcome.”

God help us if someone as stupid and reckless as Bachmann is elected to the White House. She's an idiot who refuses to recognize her own huge limitations and because of that is terribly dangerous if in a position of power.