There are a lot of reasons I would never vote for Michele Bachmann. But the fact that she gets migraines is not one of them.
Ever since the news broke that the presidential hopeful suffers from the severe headaches, a debate about whether that is a presidential disqualifier has taken over.
Really? We’re talking about migraines as a campaign killer? The argument against Barack Obama’s former cigarette habit is more plausible than this. (And I’m an Obama believer.)
But the truth is, many of us fall victim to the harsh head pain. Migraines aren’t a choice or a bad habit.
According to the Migraine Research Foundation, almost 25 percent of U.S. households include a person who suffers from migraines. Every 10 seconds, a headache or a migraine sends someone in the United States to the emergency room.
And for some people, migraines are incapacitating. It’s a collection of neurological symptoms that can last for days. Some people might come out of a migraine in an hour. For others, it can go on and on … ruthless. It’s different for everyone.
But Bachmann’s doctor has said her attacks aren’t an everyday thing. She knows the triggers to avoid and has medicine to treat the migraines when they strike.
People are acting like she is on 24/7 bed rest and quarantined, as if a migraine here and there is going to keep her from doing a great job. There’s not a single person in this country who isn’t sick at some point, including former presidents.
John F. Kennedy had Addison’s disease. Bill Clinton had hearing problems and other distractions, including an affair. I can’t help but wonder if this is an issue because Bachmann is a woman.
There are a lot of justifications for not supporting a candidate, but the occasional severe headache? Come on.
As I said, I’m anti-Bachmann. Why? Our beliefs don’t align.
She treats homosexuality like a plague, regards it as a choice and believes tolerance teaches kids to be gay. She linked swine flu to Democrats. She dismissed the Pigford case, a multibillion-dollar settlement paid to black farmers who were discriminated against, as a waste of government money.
And she signed a marriage pledge by the Family Leader, an Iowa-based conservative group that is homophobic and insinuated black children were better off during slavery than they are now, with President Obama leading the country.
The group has since apologized for the slavery portion of the pledge. Bachmann claimed it was never in the pledge she signed.
Riiiight.
But these are my reasons for viewing her as anything but the ideal candidate. I understand people respect her conservative views, her dedication to women and children and family. I get it. She just doesn’t do it for me. I won’t support her. You can. That’s all right.
Just have good reasons. Whenever these presidential campaigns take off, there is always unfortunate mudslinging and crazy antics designed to derail the potential candidates.
It’s disheartening. I’m no political pundit. I often clear out of the room when these kinds of debates stir. But every now and then, a button is pushed that I can’t turn off. And this migraine madness is one of them.
The right to vote is precious. We should use it wisely. Make your decision count. Don’t weigh it on the woman’s likeliness to get a migraine. If something this slight could derail a campaign instead of the major issues, well, that’s a headache.
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