A Message from God to Washington

Hurricane Irene and the earthquake that struck the eastern United States last week are warnings from God to change Washington’s politics, according to Michele Bachmann, a candidate for the Republican Party in the 2012 presidential election.

Hurricane Irene began to move up the east coast this past weekend, where it caused flooding and power outages and 21 deaths. Meanwhile, in Florida on Saturday, Bachmann said that the storm was an “act of God” to which the federal government should pay close attention. The candidate from Minnesota, known for her virulent attacks against Democratic President Barack Obama, noted that a magnitude 5.8 quake had rocked Washington and the coast on Tuesday.

“Washington, D.C., you’d think by now they’d get the message: An earthquake, a hurricane. Are you listening? The American people have done everything they possible can, now it’s time for an act of God and we’re getting it,” she said and raised a few laughs from the audience.

“Obviously she was saying it in jest,” said Alice Stewart, a spokesperson for Bachmann’s campaign. Bachmann is the favorite candidate of the tea party and other conservative groups, but recent Republican polls show that Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the moderate Mitt Romney, supported by a wing of the Republican Party closer to the business community, are both far ahead of Bachmann.