Michele Bachmann, citing Glenn Beck, might end Social Security

Riffing off factually-challenged statistics provided by Fox News performance artist Glenn Beck, Rep. Michele Bachmann sounded like she was calling for an end to Social Security over the weekend at the annual conference of the Constitutional Coalition in St. Louis. Lefty opinion journal Think Progress was in the room. Here's part of their transcript:

"What we have to do is a reorganization of all of that, Social Security and all. We have to do it simply because we can't let the contract remain as they are because the older people are going to lose. So, what you have to do, is keep faith with the people that are already in the system, that don't have any other options, we have to keep faith with them. But basically what we have to do is wean everybody else off. And wean everybody off because we have to take those unfunded net liabilities off our bank sheet, we can't do it. So we just have to be straight with people. So basically, whoever our nominee is, is going to have to have a Glenn Beck chalkboard and explain to everybody this is the way it is."

This was not a challenging crowd, by the way. Beck was a featured speaker, as were anti-feminist Phyllis Schflafly, anti-abortion hardliner and former senator Rick Santorum and right-wing radio talk show host Michael Medved.

More from Think Progress:

Bachmann, who has gained influence within Republican leadership circles, was a star at the event. At his speech on Friday, Glenn Beck proclaimed that Bachmann was the only person he trusted in Congress. Other accolades for Bachmann were heard throughout the conference. At one point, Heritage Foundation scholar Matt Spalding, who had been whispering in Bachmann's ear while other panelists spoke, exclaimed, "if there's one person who everyone at Heritage has a crush on, it's Michele Bachmann."