JANE ROH
6:48 AM, May. 23, 2011|
A Cherry Hill High School East sophomore
who challenged Tea Party champion
Michele Bachmann to a constitutional
debate says she is concerned for her
personal safety.
“A lot of them are calling me a whore,” 16- year-old Amy Myers said, referring to anonymous comments reacting to online news reports about her challenge to the
55-year-old Minnesota congresswoman.
In a letter addressed to Bachmann and dated April 29, Myers leveled pointed criticisms at the Tea Party Caucus founder.
“I have found quite a few of your statements regarding the Constitution of the United States, the quality of public school education and general U.S. civics
matters to be factually incorrect, inaccurately applied or grossly distorted,” Myers wrote.
“As one of a handful of women in Congress, you hold a distinct privilege and responsibility to better represent your gender nationally. The statements you
make help to serve an injustice to not only the position of Congresswoman, but women everywhere.”
Myers and her father, Wayne, posted her letter to Bachmann on CNN’s iReport website on May 6. News outlets including Yahoo and The Atlantic picked up the story
over the weekend.
Amy and Wayne Myers said the comments on conservative websites alarmed them most. Several commenters threatened to publish the Myers’ home address.
Others threatened violence, including rape, they said. “They’re targeting me just because I’m challenging Bachmann,” Amy said.
Amy’s challenge is arguably unrealistic: Few if any sitting members of Congress would
actually agree to debate a teenager. Bachmann, talked up by the Republican right wing as a 2012 presidential contender, is often the subject of
unflattering press. An aide said Tuesday the office would have no response to Myers’ challenge.
The Courier-Post had scheduled a video interview with Amy Thursday. On Wednesday, a somewhat panicked-sounding Wayne Myers phoned to cancel,
citing the alleged threats. “I got a call from the principal that the main office received threatening mail,” said thecomputer programmer and single father.
Myers also said he did not want Amy on video because he believes it would benefit Bachmann.
“We just don’t want her going over any of the positions she’s going to have,” he said. “We’re going to keep things under wraps until the debate occurs.
“If she does the video interview, they might find certain weaknesses. We don’t want to ring up what her debate strategy is going to be.”
Asked how it was possible he did not anticipate a public backlash from Bachmann’s many fans, Wayne Myers said,”I personally did not think there would be a
reaction like actual stalking and the vitriol that’s coming out.” Myers said he asked a neighbor who works for the New Jersey State Police as well as
his mail carrier to be alert for anyone suspicious. The family also suspects a neighbor may be posting negative comments about Amy.
“The school hasn’t received any phone calls of a threatening nature, but has received calls inquiring whether Amy is actually an East student, whether she wrote the letter,
and inquiries of that nature,” said Susan Bastnagel, spokeswoman for Cherry Hill public schools, in response to an emailed query.
Bastnagel said the district’s security director told Wayne Myers none of the calls contained threats. He also assured Myers the district would investigate any threats.
Lt. William Kushina of the Cherry Hill Police Department said most anonymous online threats are harmless.
“They’re usually empty threats. Most of the time they’re just words.” Kushina said anonymous posters often feel they have free range to make the most
incendiary claims out of a false belief they can’t be found out. “A lot of times people think they have anonymity on the Internet and that we can’t
trace it back to them, which is wrong,” he said. “We can always trace it back to them.” The great majority of comments, particularly on Yahoo’s website, have
complimented Amy and ridiculed Bachmann. The Minnesota Republican has more than once stumbled over constitutional questions in public.
In 2009, Bachmann said she would refuse to participate fully in the 2010 Census because the U.S. Constitution requires she only provide the number of people who live
in her household. That is wrong. And in several speeches, including one in response to President Barack Obama’s Jan. 25 State of the Union Address, Bachmann
repeated the patently false claim that the Founding Fathers “worked tirelessly” to abolish slavery. Politicians get facts wrong all the time, of course. William Haney,
founder of the West Jersey Tea Party, said it was premature to associate those making anonymous threats against Myers with the Tea Party or Bachmann.
“I certainly would be interested in seeing those threats rather than taking the word of a parent,” he said. “I find it exceedingly difficult to believe that
anybody who is associated with Michele Bachmann would be threatening Amy.” Amy, who is running for sophomore class president, denied she called out Bachmann
just for publicity. “I wanted her to accept the challenge,” the aspiring veterinarian said. “I just wanted her to see what she’s doing is wrong and it hurts the way women look.”
After some prodding, Amy conceded she did not actually believe Bachmann would agree to a debate. “I was just trying to prove that when a 16- year-old notices somebody
in Congress is doing something wrong, she should reflect on what she is doing and try to fix those errors.”
Reach Jane Roh at (856) 486-2919 or
jroh@gannett.com
