Michele Bachmann's Swiss citizenship: The best jokes

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), the former presidential candidate and conservative darling, is officially a Swiss citizen. Bachmann's husband Marcus has long been eligible for dual citizenship due to his parents' Swiss origins, and he went through with it in March, automatically making his wife and three of their young children dual citizens as well. Bachmann is even eligible to run for office in the Swiss "canton," or district, of Thurgau. The improbable development was sure to strike the funny bones of bloggers everywhere, given that Bachmann has suggested that President Obama holds "anti-American views" and often rails against government-run, European-style health care systems. Here, some of the best jokes:

Just nuts

"Congratulations, Switzerland!" says Ilya Gerner at Indecision Forever. "Elaborate clocks are no longer the only kind of cuckoos your scenic confederacy will be known for."

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A blow to freedom lovers

Don't tell Bachmann, but "all Swiss citizens are required to purchase basic health insurance" under the the country's tyrannical health care system, says Noah Kristula-Green at The Daily Beast. Worse still, the system "has transparent costs, it is consumer driven, and it provides near universal coverage."

Ulterior motives

"This is part of a transparent ploy to qualify Bachmann for the position of IRS Commissioner in a Mitt Romney administration," says Gerner. "What better way to learn the ropes of promoting tax avoidance than to visit Romney's money?"

Good riddance

"With her fancy new dual citizenship, she's now eligible to run for office in Switzerland," says Cassie Murdoch at Jezebel. "Let's hope she goes for it ASAP."

History lesson

I can't wait to hear the factually-challenged congresswoman's version of Swiss history, says Noreen Malone at New York, "in which, we assume, the founding battle of Thurgau was fought by the Von Trapp family, aided by General Swiss Miss."

Update: Bachmann has renounced her Swiss citizenship