Where Michele Bachmann gets her ideas

Former presidential candidate (and Libertarian hero) Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) holds regular luncheons where a growing number of like-minded members, including Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann, hear from leading conservative voices, the Washington Independent’s David Weigel reports.

The whole piece is definitely worth a read. In particular, Weigel traces some of Bachmann’s ideas to the luncheons.

…The off-the-record talks have brought in speakers such as ex-CIA counterterrorism expert Michael Scheuer, libertarian investigative reporter James Bovard, iconoclastic terrorism scholar Robert Pape, and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley. Perhaps the most influential guest has been Thomas Woods, a conservative scholar whose previous books include “The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History” and “Who Killed the Constitution?: The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W. Bush,” and whose current book “Meltdown” has inspired Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) to question Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about economic fundamentals.