This feeling… a mixture of celebration and sadness… I felt it in 2009…

when a certain failed vice presidential candidate decided that she craved money and fame more than she craved political office and you know… doing the job she was elected to do. When she quit, I felt happy enought to dance in the streets for she was not in government anymore and could no longer hurt her constituents and damage the country with her Christofascist theocratic politics. But I also felt sadness for two reasons: 1) she was no longer going to be in office which meant it was likely she was not going to be a presidential candidate and thus a very easy opponent to destroy in a 45 state landslide, and 2) it meant that she was going to be more present in our culture than less (i.e. Dancing with the Stars, reality shows, constant appearances, her role in the 2010 elections).

Former failed presidential candidate and radical right Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is retiring. She will not seek reelection.

“My decision was not influenced by any concerns about my being re-elected,” [cough Bullshit cough cough] Bachmann said. She narrowly won a fourth term in 2012 over Democrat Jim Graves, a hotel chain founder who is running again in 2014.

Bachmann also said, “This decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign.” [Uh huh, and my decision to diet is not in any way connected to the fact that I am fat] In January, a former Bachmann aide filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, claiming the candidate made improper payments to an Iowa state senator who was the state chairman of her 2012 presidential run. The aide, Peter Waldron, also accused Bachmann of other FEC violations.

Bachmann had given few clues she was considering leaving Congress. Her fundraising operation was churning out the regular pitches for the small-dollar donations that Bachmann corralled so well over the years, and she had an ad running on Twin Cities television talking about her role in opposing President Barack Obama’s health law.

So either this is a Palin move onto a bigger and more legal payday, or Bachmann is in real trouble legally. Or perhaps this was a backroom deal where prosecutors told her that if she resigned they would dig no further or not indict her personally. Who knows? But I am sure we have not seen the last of Mrs. Bachmann. These idiot conservatives always escape the hook and stay on stage.