An Open Letter to Rep. Michele Bachmann

Dear Rep. Bachmann: If I thought you were going to slip quietly into history, and move to someplace like Switzerland or Oregon, I could be gracious about your announcement to not seek a fifth term in Congress. I admire people in public service and respect politicians who are willing to enter the arena and fight for their worldview – even when our view of the world differs. And our positions on the issues of the day, Rep. Bachmann, could not differ more. The news of your departure from Congress has me worried, however, of what you will do next. Will you become the spokesperson of a conservative think tank? (And in this instance I'm being generous in the use of the word "think.") Is there a permanent chair waiting for you at Fox News? Or will there be another run for office in your future? The words of Richard Nixon, following his defeat in the 1962 race for Governor of California, ring in my ears: "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore…" We all know how that turned out. Sadly, there will probably always be a place for your kind of politics, Rep. Bachmann. I just hope that your departure from Congress will find you with a smaller soapbox, not a bigger one.