MSNBC's Bachmann Vendetta Prolongs: Olbermann Demands Apology, Schultz Rants

It probably wasn't totally unexpected, since the tally of time the on-air talent at MSNBC spends on Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., increases with every broadcast hour.

Bachmann, not one to hold back on expressing her opinions, has criticized MSNBC on not one, but two occasions recently. And one of those appearances, on Fox News' Oct. 7 "The O'Reilly Factor," she called her critics on the left-leaning network "personal stalkers, only they have TV shows." And that earned her the top spot on Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" segment.

"But our winner, Michele Bachmann," Olbermann said, referring to the first place contestant, the "worst" person. "[Fox News host Bill O'Reilly], dimly aware of the world around him, asks her, ‘Now you are a pretty interesting politician, Congresswoman. You are second to Sarah Palin in far-left angst. You know, Sarah Palin leads the league, no doubt. But they're after you now. We hear it all the time, Michele Bachmann, she's this, she's that. How did you get into that wheelhouse?'"

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O'Reilly raised a good question. Bachmann isn't exactly one of the most powerful members of the U.S. House of Representatives, having ranked 363rd out of 435 members in the most recent "power rankings" put out by a group called Knowlegis. Still Olbermann and others at MSNBC make her almost a daily part of their programming.

Nonetheless, Olbermann gave his best shot at trying to explain why MSNBC makes it their mission to report on her every word.

"Oh, I don't know maybe the ‘slash our wrists' quote or the ‘Pelosi will bludgeon them to death' quote, or the ‘carbon dioxide' quote, or the ‘armed and dangerous' quote, or the ‘gangster government' quote, or the ‘rise up' quote, or the ‘Obama may have anti-American views'quote or her warning that if you filled out the census, you might wind up in an internment camp quote," he ranted.

But that wasn't the reasoning Bachmann gave, as Olbermann astutely observed.

"Nah, she says that's not it," Olbermann said, and then read Bachmann's answer to O'Reilly. "‘You know, it's an interesting phenomenon. I think it happened with a competing cable network that took an interest in me and it's only grown. Now it's almost like I have personal stalkers, only they have TV shows.'"

Despite Bachmann probably being right about there being at least a degree of a stalker mentality by MSNBC personalities (with the Minnesota congresswoman's name being mentioned once on 47 different shows on MSNBC over the past three months), Olbermann acted offended. He demanded an apology from Bachmann.

"Seriously?" Olbermann said. "I had a stalker. I had to go to court. She was small fries on the all time list of stalkers. I think it would be a real good idea if the Congresswoman apologized to women and even those men whose lives have been blighted and ruined and, in some cases, ended by the terror and the threat that stalkers create. Not in even the mildest of senses of journalists whose aggressiveness might verge colloquially into stalking is she anywhere close to being such a victim."

And for that, Olbermann deemed her "today's worst person in the world."

"Michele ‘Stalkers, there's something else I don't know squat about' Bachmann, today's worst person in the world," he proclaimed.

But it wouldn't be MSNBC if they didn't try to make it some sort of theme of the day. Earlier, one of the newer left-wing voices to the channel, Ed Schultz, had to make sure his thoughts on Bachmann were broadcast.

"Frequent visitor and star, Michele Bachmann, congresswoman from Minnesota - the paranoia, folks, is really setting in," Schultz said. "Yesterday she went on Fox and they asked her why the liberal media was so obsessed with her."

Schultz then played the clip from the Oct. 7 "The O'Reilly Factor."

"Congresswoman, as a representative of that competing cable network, I have to tell you, and being a Minnesota resident, sometimes, this isn't stalking," Schultz said. "You're an elected official and the American people have a right to know when you say stuff that simply isn't true. It's practically a full-time job to stay on top of all the lies you tell."

The liberal radio host-turned-MSNBC liberal on-air personality extraordinaire went on to list what he thought were the most egregious of Bachmann's remarks. However, he also explained probably why they give so much attention to Bachmann in his follow-up comments.

"That's only a fraction of the library, I might add. Michele, the reason that we talk about you is because you're saying all this crazy stuff," Schultz continued. "And we're going to keep on covering you until you stop saying all this crazy stuff. But, don't get me wrong, because I don't want you to stop. This segment is a heck of a lot more fun for me to do and I think entertaining when you are in ‘Psycho Talk.'"

Note he said his "Psycho Talk" segment was "a heck of a lot more fun." That fits the clear pattern of behavior of  MSNBC personalities and their odious opinions of conservative women - including Bachmann, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and even recently, former Miss California Carrie Prejean.