Oh, politics truly is weird and creepy.
It's that time in the election cycle when prominent politicians rally around the presumptive presidential candidate -- and practice collective amnesia about their previous criticisms, no matter how damning.
With failed political candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) endorsing Mitt Romney on Thursday, it's worth taking a look back at her harshest attacks against the former Massachusetts governor.
Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?
He can't win.
In response to a question in December by ABC's Jonathan Karl, Bachmann said unequivocally that Romney could not win in a general election against President Obama. "No, he cannot beat Obama because his policy is the basis for Obamacare," she said. "The signature issue of Obama is Obamacare. You can't have a candidate who has given the blueprint for Obamacare. It's too identical. It's not going to happen."
He's not sufficiently anti-abortion.
During a December appearance on CBS's Early Show, Bachmann hit Romney for "significant flaws" in his pro-life record. "Romney and Gingrich, both of them have significant flaws that don’t represent what the people of Iowa are looking for, particularly on the life issue," she said. "Mitt Romney has been on the side of abortion [and] same-sex marriage."
He's a socialist.
While addressing the Family Research Council in November, Bachmann claimed Romney has socialist leanings. "Unfortunately for too many Republicans, they also aspire to be frugal socialists," she said. "The reason President Obama and some Republicans can get behind socialized medicine is because they share the same core political philosophy about the purpose of government."
"We cannot preserve liberty if the choice is between a frugal socialist and an out-of-control socialist."
He's a 'chameleon.'
In December, Bachmann hit Romney as being "very inconsistent" at a campaign stop in Florida. "My position here is to bring clarity. It's not to be negative but to bring clarity. That's what the voters are looking for. They're not interested in a chameleon."
He's a crony capitalist.
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe" in December, Bachmann described Romney as a "consummate insider." She called former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich "the poster child for crony capitalism," and said that Romney was "cut out of the same cloth."
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So if Bachmann actually believed the criticism she lobbed at Romney during her race for the nomination, why is she endorsing now, 119 days after dropping out of the race?
According to Bachmann’s former campaign manager, Keith Nahigian, it's because of the personal friendship between the two. "She really liked Romney during all the debates," Nahigian said. "He was so polite to her every time they saw each other."
With friends like these, who needs enemies!
