Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, a member of the most extreme elements of the conservative movement (and a Grade-A bigot to boot) has taken to smearing the reputation of Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. In a manner reminiscent of the anti-communist witch hunts of former Republican U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy.

Ms. Bachmann’s letter, signed by four other Republican congressmen, asserts that Ms. Abedin’s father (who died when she was a teenager), mother and brother are “connected” to the Muslim Brotherhood. It calls on the State Department’s inspector general to investigate the organization’s supposed influence in the U.S. government. In a separate letter, Ms. Bachmann asks how Ms. Abedin, who is Ms. Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, received her security clearance.

Ms. Bachmann’s accusations are tissue-thin garbage of the someone-said-something variety — or, as Mr. McCain put it, “nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”

Much to my delight, the maverick version of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona took to the floor of the Senate to come to Abedin’s defense.

The kinds of attack Michele Bachmann is leveling against Huma Abedin- an attack that seems motivated by nothing more than Abedin’s religion – defies the very principle of religious freedom that our nation was founded on. As a nation, we should be better than this, and I’m beyond disgusted that Bachmann’s vile and bigoted comments haven’t met with universal condemnation from anyone who has a soul and values the principles our nation was founded on.