Leading Republican presidential candidate and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has hired as a senior staffer an Evangelical extremist who sees her rise to the presidency as fulfilling a Biblical prophesy, a man who spent time in jail on charges of gun smuggling and terrorism, a man who has direct ties to political and religious leaders who want to put to death all gay men and lesbians and all bisexual and transgender people in Uganda.Â
Peter Waldron, the key Bachmann campaign staffer responsible for securing Michele Bachmann’s Iowa Straw Poll win last weekend, has been linked to Uganda’s Pastor Martin Ssempa, the religious arm of Ugandan politician and the chief sponsor of the “Kill The Gays” bill, David Bahati. News reports are flooding in about Waldron, an Evangelical minister hired by Bachmann’s presidential campaign, who was imprisoned on terrorism charges in Uganda for 37 days in 2006, and who has joked about being a CIA spy, but apparently was merely, according to one reporter who met him in Uganda in 2004, “a particularly flamboyant example of an archetypal character: the American who goes to Africa, a continent where a little money and a lot of talk can buy substantial power, in search of a position of influence.”
As The New Civil Rights Movement reported yesterday, Garance Franke-​Ruta, a senior editor at The Atlantic, broke an earth-shattering story about Waldron and his ties to Bachmann, his Evangelical roots, and his terrorism arrest.
But now the story deepens.
Warren Throckmorton, one of the top sources tNCRM uses on all things Uganda, has found the key link to Waldron and Uganda’s Pastor Martin Ssempa, whose work against the gay community in Uganda has brought the Kill The Gays bill close to a vote, and, possibly, passage.
Throckmorton writes, “Peter Waldron who helped Michele Bachmann win the Iowa straw poll on Saturday was arrested in Uganda in 2006 for illegal possession of rifles. And he boasted a familiar Ugandan pastor as a friend:
Mugenyi could not say what Waldron’s Contact America Group is involved in or whether it is registered in Uganda. “We suspect that it could be either an NGO or a lobby group,†he said. Despite Mugenyi’s attempt to link Waldron to Besigye, Waldron says he has close relations with State House.
In an article titled Evangelicals v. Muslims in Africa: Enemy’s Enemy and published in the US news magazine The New Republic in August 2004, Waldron says he had met President Yoweri Museveni. The American doctor also says he is a friend of the first family and a friend of Pastor Martin Sempa, according to the article, written by one Stuart Price.
Throckmorton also finds Waldron’s Facebook page with this entry, which states in part,
“I am simply amazed that some folks are waiting for Saul-like characters who look everything like a king while Michele fights with the anointing of God upon her. She is fearless, fierce in battle, and focused on winning the nomination and securing the White House. Thinking about running, waiting to throw their hat in the ring – foolishness. The battle rages now and Michele needs an army.”
READ:Â Michele Bachmann (Allegedly) Is Palling Around With Terrorists
Throckmorton, in another post, writes,
Apparently the next state is South Carolina. In a comment on hisFacebook page, Waldron said he would soon be in Columbia and cover the state. We get a hint in one comment about what he might tell evangelicals he hopes to win over to Bachmann. In one comment, Waldron compared Rick Perry to King Saul and Bachmann to King David. If you have been to Sunday School, you know that Saul was a tall, good looking guy who eventually had a bad end because he fell out of God’s favor. God placed His blessing on King David instead.  Here is the comment:
Â
A 2006 post at Daily Kos states, “The WaPo says he is an “evangelist” and has “close ties” to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s family, which they deny.  There are also reports that he was trying to start a political party (currently illegal) based on Christianity.”
As tNCRM wrote yesterday as well, “what does this say about Michele Bachmann’s decision-​making abilities, vetting processes, and even personal judgment?”
Leading Republican presidential candidate and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has hired as a senior staffer an Evangelical extremist who sees her rise to the presidency as some Biblical prophesy, a man who spent time in jail on charges of gun smuggling and terrorism, a man who has direct ties to political and religious leaders who want to put to death all gay men and lesbians and all bisexual and transgender people in Uganda. Given Michele Bachmann’s known positions on homosexuality, including calling it, “part of Satan,” can there be any doubt how dangerous Michele Bachmann — clearly a dominionist — is?