Michele Bachmann is standing by...

...her recent charge that the U. S. is being led by a "gangster government." At a Tea Party rally last week, for example, Bachmann said:

...the "gangster government" has instituted a "takeover of one private industry after another," again making her questionable claim that "the federal government owns or controls 51 percent of the private economy."

And in an interview with The Hill,

Bachmann cited the Obama administration’s actions on rescuing automakers as a type of gangster government.

“When government comes in and decides who the winners are, who the losers are and there’s no recourse, that’s what happened to 3,400 dealerships across the country. That’s one example of gangster government,” Bachmann said.

It's this kind of talk that has driven independents (like me) into the waiting arms of the Democratic Party. What was once the party of "amnesty, abortion and acid" has now become the party of grown-ups. The Hill piece goes on:

[Bachmann] calls herself Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) No. 1 target this November. While that claim is open to debate, she is clearly reviled by many on the left.

In the last cycle, liberals in Hollywood and New York made political donations to Bachmann's opponent, including actress Jessica Lange, film producer Jeffrey Soros and writer/director Nora Ephron.

Bachmann won her 2008 reelection race by three percentage points, attracting only 46 percent of the vote. Her district is a swing district; Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won it by 8 points in 2008.

But the fact Bachmann was elected, and then reelected, in two cycles that were dominated by Democrats could mean she will be in the House for years to come.

Discouraged? Don't be.

It reminds me of a conversation I once had with a friend of mine from the UK. He was well-versed in the sectarian animosity that was then gripping Northern Ireland. I asked him why someone in the IRA didn't take a pot shot at Ian Paisley (the fiery Protestant leader).

"Are you kidding? He's the best recruitment tool the IRA has!"

So don't lose heart, Democrats. This is actually a good thing. Having the Republican Party dominated by wing-nuts like Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint and others will only cause them to lose credibility.

America is increasingly looking like a country with a centrist party (the Democrats) and a far-right crazy party (the Republicans).

In which one would you rather be?