Kathy Griffin has made a living ripping on female Republican Presidential candidates. Okay, really just Sarah Palin, but she can now add Iowa Ames Straw Poll winner Michele Bachmann to her resume.

Griffin told an amazing story on 'Conan' about running into Bachmann at an event in Washington, D.C., when the comedienne was organizing a rally in support of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' repeal for 'My Life on the D-List.' When she found herself riding an escalator with Bachmann, Griffin asked the Tea Partier if she'd support the rally for gay rights. Bachmann said, "I don't think so."

Weirdly, Bachmann's aide then pulled out a flip-cam to record the conversation for her website. Griffin couldn't resist, and followed up with a zinger: "Congresswoman Bachmann: Were you born a bigot or did you grow into it?"

During an appearance on 'Morning Joe,' (weekdays, 6AM ET on MSNBC), Politico editor-in-chief John Harris reported that although many members of the Republican party are frustrated with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's tendency to grandstand and make controversial statements, they are afraid to take her on publicly because they fear a backlash from her supporters.

Joe Scarborough doubted this was the case, but Harris was able to provide an example of a Republican congressman who was forced to back away from critical statements he made about Bachmann.

"If you're a Republican congressman and you're scared of Michele Bachmann, you don't deserve to be in congress," was Scarborough's take on the situation. "Go home."

"Can you imagine, seriously, someone being afraid of Michele Bachmann?" he continued.

It is a little hard to imagine anyone being afraid of Bachmann. Why, she won't even look straight at you.

On 'Hardball With Chris Matthews' (weekdays, 5PM ET on MSNBC), Chris Matthews played a tape of a speech Michelle Bachmann had made, in which the Minnesota congresswoman greatly exaggerated the role the founding fathers had in ending slavery.

Then he confronted Tea Party strategist Sal Russo, who's movement chose Bachmann to give their response to the State of the Union address, with the contents of the tape.

"Why do you put someone like this forward, who is a balloon head," Matthews asked. "Who knows no American history. It's a ridiculous decision you guys have made. Do you know how little this women knows about American history?"

When Russo didn't address what Bachmann had said in the tape, Matthews became enraged.

"Did you just hear that stuff," he yelled at Russo. "Did you just hear her? Do you want me to play it again? We could rub it in, Sal. It's horrendous!"

A recent statistical analysis by the Hollywood Reporter has found that MSNBC has made more mentions of Sarah Palin than the other cable news networks. As Palin's relevance fades, it appears the station (and Matthews in particular ) has found a new conservative bogeywoman to passionately cover .

In an online interview with The Right Network, GOP Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said she wouldn't mind spending time alone on a deserted Island with Keith Olbermann -- if her other two options were his fellow MSNBC talkers Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow.

On 'Countdown' (weekdays, 8 PM ET on MSNBC) Olbermann commented on the conservative firebrand signaling him out for deserted island companionship by first spitting out his water, and then offering up this exclamation as to why Bachmann chose him over his colleagues:

"I think I know what this is all about. Ms. Bachmann said her favorite song was 'Taking Care of Business' by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, her favorite composer was Johann Sebastian Bach, her favorite snack was celery -- Mich-celery -- and her island choice? That's Olbermann with two n's, as in Bachmann with two n's."

If Bachmann and Olbermann do find themselves stuck on deserted island together, we can only hope they refrain from procreation, as the offspring of these two strident camera-muggers would bring a new brand, unsettling brand of insufferableness to the world.

Chris Matthews began pushing the theory that outspoken Republican Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann could be under some sort of hypnosis after the two of them sparred on election night.

On 'Hardball' (Weekdays, 5 PM ET on MSNBC) Tuesday, Matthews picked up on this again, after playing a clip of Bachmann defending her comments that Barack Obama is anti-American.

"Look at her eye contact," Matthews said, after the clip was over. "I asked, when we had her on election night, if she's under hypnosis. She doesn't answer the questions, she looks straight ahead in a Zombie-like manner, like she's waiting for somebody to flash a card, like in 'The Manchurian Candidate.'

"This kind of bizzaro behavior," Matthews continued. "When you come off as Moonie-like, if you will."

Hypnosis, zombie-like, Manchurian candidate, bizzaro, Moonie-like. Maybe some day Matthews will tell us how he really feels about Bachmann.

Once again people, I'm forced to ask the obvious question: what the hell is going on here? Have we crossed over into the bizarro world? Is up now down? Has black become white? Did Lou Dobbs just announce that he's leaving CNN to take over the host chair of G4's Attack of the Show?

The other day, Jon Stewart called out Sean Hannity and his self titled show for what appeared to be doctored footage of Michelle Bachmann's recent health care rally dubbed the "Super Bowl of Freedom" (does that have anything to do with the Tostidos Fiesta Bowl of Human Rights?) spliced together with images from Glenn Beck's "9/12 Rally" to make the crowd look bigger.