Michele Bachmann: Protecting BP while families suffer. Oh, and calling the President a criminal, too.

Readers of this blog -- or anyone who's watched television over the last few years -- have come to expect outrageous statements and terrible ideas from Michele Bachmann. But yesterday, I have to admit, she surprised even me.

Michele Bachman went to bat for BP -- becoming the company's most vocal advocate and displaying a truly shocking -- even for her -- disregard for American families and their tax dollars.

Bachmann -- almost alone among our elected leaders -- seems literally unable to see the human side, the real side, of the catastrophe in the Gulf -- and she has shocked us with her backwards priorities, faulty logic and downright irresponsible claims.

Just take a look at what she's saying – and who she's sticking up for:

• Corporations are more important than families -- that seems to be her overarching message. The families whose livelihoods are literally eroding in the Gulf come second the corporations that are wreaking havoc in their backyards. Sticking up for BP, Bachmann has totally opposed holding the company accountable for the destruction they caused.

And here's the kicker:

• The President of the United States of is guilty of extortion, a federal felony. There you have it. The president's 'buck stops here' approach to aiding families affected by the Gulf Coast crisis is right up there with a federal offense to Bachmann.

Bachmann's done a lot of talking lately, something she is good at, but she's shown no leadership, no compassion, and no qualities that we respect in -- and have a right to expect from -- a member of Congress.

And while her outrageous claims and off-the-wall tactics put Bachmann in a class all her own, I can't say she's alone in using right-wing propaganda to boost her name and fill her campaign coffers. Bachmann's got a whole line-up of likeminded GOP women who seem eager to use divisive political games and incendiary language to get what they want.

It's Carly Fiorina saying Sen. Barbara Boxer is more focused on "the weather" than fighting terrorism. And Sharron Angle in Nevada advocating that citizens arm themselves and rise up if "this Congress keeps going the way it is." And Sarah Palin pushing her "drill, baby, drill" rhetoric in the wake of the Gulf Coast's current crisis – and placing targets on a map of Democrats she wants to unseat in Congress, telling supporters to take aim.

Bachmann's antics -- along with those of her fellow GOPers -- fire up the fringe and lead to ugly, hateful debate that does anything but help America.

But, I have to admit, they fire me up, too. They make me more determined than ever to elect the women candidates who do share our values -- pro-choice Democratic women who are fighting every day for American women and families, who are willing to take tough votes to do what's right, and who understand that when it comes to priorities, big business and special interests should never come first.