Left Goes Bonkers Over Bachmann's Slavery Comments

For the second night in a row, MSNBC “Hardball" host Chris Matthews lashed out at Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and those in the tea party who back her, for comments she recently made in Iowa about the history of slavery in America.

Wednesday’s “Hardball” guest, Phillip Dennis of the Texas Tea Party, told Matthews that repeatedly referring to Bachmann as a "balloon head" is "extremely harsh political rhetoric in this era of now getting along."

The attacks from Matthews and others center on Bachmann’s statement that the Founding Fathers “worked tirelessly” to eliminate slavery. The comments were made Friday in her speech at an Iowans for Tax Relief Event.

“I think it is high time that we recognize the contribution of our forbearers who worked tirelessly — men like John Quincy Adams, who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country,” Bachmann said.

While her critics have conceded that, though Adams was not technically one of the Founding Fathers, he did become a vocal opponent of slavery, they have lashed out at Bachmann, including CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who gave the Tea Party Caucus head an “F in history.”

Before President Obama’s Tuesday State of the Union speech, Matthews had Sal Russo of the Tea Party Express as his guest and battered him with so many questions that Russo was practically left speechless.

Matthews pressured Russo as to why the tea party wanted Bachmann to give a response to the State of the Union address.