Liberal in the Land of Conservative

An Associated Press Q-and-A about the Chinese proposal published a day before Bachmann's press release explained the difference: "Q: Does China want to get rid of the dollar and other currencies?" it says. "A: No, Americans wouldn't be expected to give up the dollar, nor would China give up its yuan, for that matter. The idea is to create an international currency that China and other countries could use to hold trillions of dollars in reserves."

Chinese officials have argued that creating a new global currency for international reserves would protect them from the danger of inflation of the dollar, which would lower the value of their reserves.

In any event, for Geithner to entertain the Chinese idea, (which he later firmly rejected) was decidedly not to consider pulling the greenback off the street in favor of some one-world currency.

Yet that is clearly how Bachmann portrayed Geithner's remarks.[emphasis mine]

Bachmann's spokesperson, Debee Keller, said, "We all recognize the difference between the global reserve currency and the actual currency we use here in the U.S." She said Bachmann was trying to defend the dollar's status in both regards.

But in her press release, as well as in public comments over several days, Bachmann continually distorted the issue, suggesting that Geithner expressed openness to replacing the dollar as the U.S. currency. For example, her press release was titled: "Bachmann Demands Truth: Will Obama Administration Abandon Dollar for a Multi-National Currency?" It said her resolution would "bar the dollar from being replaced by any foreign currency."

And her proposed constitutional amendment makes no mention of an international reserve currency -- rather it would forbid the president from "entering into a treaty or other international agreement that would provide for the United States to adopt as legal tender in the United States a currency issued by an entity other than the United States."