While her record of championing baseless conspiracy theories and using vitriolic rhetoric has left a lasting legacy in the GOP, Rep. Michele Bachmann’s decision to retire from Congress doesn’t mean she’ll be going away any time soon. As Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Allen West and Newt Gingrich can attest, leaving elected office only creates more opportunities to become a leader of the far-right.
We decided to look back on just a few of the soon-to-be-former congresswoman’s greatest hits, from back when she accused President Obama of harboring “anti-American” sympathies and having too much “choot-spa,” to warning that hate crime laws take away the right to free speech and vaccines cause mental retardation.
