Her experience as a tax lawyer helps her understand how to turn the U.S. economy around.This is two days after she made the claim during the FoxNews Iowa debate that we should have not raised the debt ceiling and instead let the government go into default on its debts. I don't think that speaks very well for any wisdom gained as a tax lawyer.
The two have almost nothing to do with each other. To be a tax lawyer, you need to know a lot about the tax code, who gets to deduct what, where the loopholes are, etc. But it has nothing to do with economics and financial systems.
Beyond that, what experience did Michele actually have as a tax lawyer? First, she has a law degree from the Oral Roberts University's School of Law. According to an article in The New Yorker (8/15/11) by Ryan Lizza, "The Bible, not the Constitution or conventional jurisprudence, guides the curriculum."
And, by the way, Michele's husband Marcus, earned his masters in counseling at Pat Robertson's school that later became known as Regent University.
Michele did go on to get a masters degree in tax law from the College of William & Mary. Then she worked for the IRS for four years in St. Paul, representing the commissioner of the IRS before the U.S. Tax Court. Unless I'm misunderstanding, what this means is:
She worked for the government as a tax lawyer -- presumably suing people for not paying their taxes.However, former colleagues who were interviewed by Ryan Lizza for this article, said that she was not there long enough to gain much experience; she just did "lightweight stuff." In fact, all six of those interviewed told Lizza that the primary thing they remember about Michele was that she spent a good portion of her time on maternity leave. One of them said, "She was an attorney here, but she was never here." Most of the cases she worked on were settled, and only one of her cases ended up in the courtroom.
It's a ridiculous statement, a joke. But then that's what we expect of Ms. Bachmann. Her base loves it. And she will do well in the Iowa Straw Poll. But she will not get the nomination.
Ralph
Iowa Straw Poll results -- for whatever it's worth:
ReplyDeleteBachmann 4823
Paul 4671
Pawlenty 2293
Santorum 1657
Cain 1456
Romney 567
Gingrich 385
Write-in votes (Perry, Palin, and others) haven't been counted yet. Supposedly about 17,000 voted; so there are still a little over 1000 outstanding.
News analyst Howard Fineman's take on the Straw Poll:
ReplyDeleteBye-bye T-Paw
Perry as a last-minute write in bests a weak Mitt
Combination of Bachmann and Paul strength will generate more questions about the wisdom of doing a straw poll at all
Newt, with 385 votes, needs to drop out
Santorum is in danger with a fourth place finish in a state where evangelicals matter so much
Romney supporters argue that this will help Mitt by pitting Perry against Bachmann for the evangelical/Tea Party vote
Ron Paul is about to become a MAJOR headache for the GOP
Rick Perry got 718 write-in votes, more than either Romney or Gingrich, neither of whom had invested in the event, although they did both participate in the polls.
ReplyDeleteJon Huntsman got 69; Thad McCotter 35. No write-ins for Palin? Haven't seen it mentioned.
So what? We're acting as though this matters. It's what passes for news in mid-August with Congress not meeting.