She talks to angels?

The scene: A meeting room on the fourth floor of the federal court house where Congressman Jim Oberstar was talking yesterday with health care reform with a group of senior citizens, 98 percent of whom were for universal health care and the public option (and yes, yes we'll be doing a story).

One of the women in the room brought up Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. After a bit of laughing, Oberstar said, "She's a very sweet woman, but" but he was cut off by laughing/talking in the room.

Shortly after, the same woman again brought up Bachmann, asking if it would be worthwhile to bring supporters to her office to lobby for health care reform.

"Do you think that would be a good idea?"

"Yes," Oberstar responded. "Tell her that there are voices other than God that are informing her."

The next day's scene: A table at Randy's Cafe in West Duluth, where Oberstar was having breakfast while talking health care reform with five local union leaders (and yes, yes, we'll be doing a story)(and yes, Oberstar paid for the meals). One of the leaders, George Sundstrom, a retired sheet metal worker and former head of the Central Labor Body and Building Trades (and who would later say he protested at the Republican National Convention and told Brit Hume that "Fox News is an oxymoron"), asked Oberstar if he heard about a recent statement made by Bachmann.

"What has god now inspired her to say?" he said.

Sundstrom relayed, accurately (though at the time I thought it couldn't be real), Bachmann's statement that her supporters should make a covenant, slit their wrists and become blood brothers to fight down health care reform.

Oberstar said he hadn't heard about that statement, then added, "I don't think God's talking to her anymore. I think she's hearing other voices."

Posted by: Stahl on 9/02/2009 at 8:08 AM | Comments (13) | Permalink

Tags: jim oberstar