Political Hotsheet
By

Sarah Huisenga /

CBS News/ September 22, 2011, 3:40 PM

PAC backing Bachmann continues HPV claims

A new ad created by a political action committee supporting Michele Bachmann reiterates the GOP presidential candidate's controversial assertion that the cancer-preventing HPV vaccine is dangerous, despite abundant scientific research showing the claim to be false.

The ad, created by the independent super PAC calling itself Keep Conservatives United, hits Texas Gov. Rick Perry for his 2007 executive order mandating that girls entering the sixth grade receive the HPV vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer later in life. "Rick Perry says his vaccine mandate on young girls was about cancer," the ad begins. It goes on to say, "Only doctors opposed Perry's order for safety reasons."

In a news release on the PAC's website, the group's founder, Bob Harris, writes that while the vaccine is acknowledged to be safe today, there were still concerns in the medical community that more information was needed about the vaccine's safety when Perry signed the executive order four and a half years ago.

CBSNews.com special report: Election 2012

The ad also knocks Perry for his ties to people affiliated with the drug's manufacturer, Merck, including Perry's wife, Anita. "The pro-family Texas Eagle Forum said it was 'all about the money' for his campaign and for his cronies. Even worse, Rick Perry's wife had worked for the company that makes the vaccine."

According to a 2000 article in the Austin Chronicle, Anita Perry worked with Merck to launch a public education campaign for osteoporosis screenings.

Bachmann attacked Perry for his HPV executive order in last week's GOP debate in Tampa, Fla. But instead of capitalizing on the negative reaction to what some conservatives viewed as Perry's government overreach, the Minnesota House member faltered by stating that the drug may be tied to severe side effects like mental retardation. Her statements have been roundly debunked by scientists and medical professionals.

© 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
27 Comments Add a Comment
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featherknife says:
Rick Perry......"I erred on the side of life!"

Michelle Bachmann...."I erred on the side of the warts!"
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maurine9 says:
Murdoch_
I am not supporting Michele Bahcmann--I am only supporting her correct comment on what damage the HPV vaccine can have. I am glad she brought it up, for what ever reason she may have including to win the race, because it has again opened up the conversation on the safety of this vaccines and all vaccines.
Maurine Meleck
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Maggy9 says:
In case you're interested, here's the numbers on the HPV vaccine right from the governments own Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Adverse events repoted: 23,619 (It's estimated less than 10% ever get reported)

Emergency Hospitalizations following vaccination: 9,426

Permanent injury: 5,616 (includes more than 100 cases of brain damage)

Deaths: 102 (Does not include automobile deaths or suicides following vaccination)

Michele Bachmann may not have used the right words, but she is right on.
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maurine9 says:
The event with Bachmann and Perry, for me, is not about the 2 candidates or the Tea Party or any of that. It is about someone telling the truth and nobody wanting to believe it. The HPV vaccine has harmed the lives of thousands of your girls. Michele bachmann is totally correct in what she said. Perhaps using the words "mentally retarded" was incorrect-but brain damaged would be more like it. Many girls have been grain damaged from that vaccine. The science on these vaccines is not in and never has been. I don't call it science when the same people that mandate vaccines here also are the ones who test them for safety. Hello hens and chickens in the house.(brain damaged)
Thank you Michele Bachmann for taking a stand and not changing mid-course. How anyone can still stand behind Rick Perry when you can see how he mandated the vaccine solely for money. Shame on the American public.
maurine meleck, SC
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MurdochSucks replies:
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Miss Meleck,

I agree Perry is a dirtbag beyond mud. But to pretend Bachmann is a crusader with anybody but her own interests in mind is simply delusional. She is in for one person, HERSELF. Don't be fooled. "Not changing mid-course?" That is the behavior of M Bachmann. It is also the behavior employed by dictators.
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pvgv says:
This is simply factual and documented information. According to the CDC website, multiple childhood vaccines, including the HPV vaccine, contain free glutamate which is neurotoxic. According to peer reviewed research, injecting baby mice with free glutamate leads to brain damage in these animals. Perhaps you do not find this troubling, or in any way alarming, but I imagine the countless parents whose normally developing children regressed into autism following vaccinations or those harmed by the HPV vaccine might feel differently.
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pvgv replies:
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This was supposed to be posted as a reply to someone who criticized the following comment as "misinformation".

"The HPV vaccine contains free glutamate, which is a neurotoxin shown to cause brain damage when injected into laboratory animals. Free glutamate is most concerning in vaccines for very young children, and it has been implicated in the autism epidemic. The following link explains this in detail (www.autismrecoveryprogram.com) However, I wouldn't exactly want my 12 year old injected with this either"
bpatient replies:
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There's nothing in pvgv's post that couldn't be remedied by introductory courses in biochemistry, neurobiology, or epidemiology.

Humans synthesize glutamate every day. Glutamate is provided by foods, including breast milk. Glutamate is present in a variety of foods, including infant formula.
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MurdochSucks says:
Oh, and one other point, since she has been campaigning for the last 3 years, how does she have any time to get her actual job done? If I was a Minnesota resident, I'd be pissed that she spends all of her time on the campaign trail instead of doing the job I hired her to do. What is up with Minnesota. Jesse Ventura was crazy enough, now Bachmann out Jesse's Jesse.
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MurdochSucks says:
Am I the only one who loves to watch the Republicans' infighting? It's a riot. The whole lot of them are crazy as loons and they are hypocrites on plethora levels. So Perry is seriously against ObamaCares but wants to force a needle into every girl's arm to make money for his wife and his friends at Merck? Wow. What an ass. Bachmann just makes stuff up and runs with it because she is worried about looking flaky, but it makes her look more-so. I forgot that she is a well-studied scholar of science and mathematics. Oh wait that's some other Bachmann. She is the bat-guano crazy one from Minnesota. She rails on government spending when she accepts subsidies for farmland and shake-the-gay-outta-ya therapy clinics. She's an ass, too. The only one who's honest among them is Ron Paul, and his dream is to go back to the stone age, but at least he's consistent. Crazy, but consistent.
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esq777 says:
This freak is totally out of control. She just makes stuff up to suit her radical extremist agenda. But it's not trivial stuff, it's dangerous stuff like demonstrably false claims regarding a safe and effective vaccine. The real tragedy will be if girls don't get the vaccine because of Bachmann's ridiculous lies, and then develop cervical cancer. It's clear that Bachmann has no problem putting the health of girls across the country at risk just to further her own political ambitions.
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mollydtt says:
How did Bachmann get elected EVER!
Not presidential material, but honestly, not even state material.
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bajajohn1 says:
One thing is clear: Republians and extreme Republicans calling themselves the Tea Party, have not yet evolved. This is one reason why they don't believe in evolution.
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AttyFAM replies:
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I like that.
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