Mick I of course agree with your overview.

Congresswoman Bachmann was not asked if she knew what HUAC was or who Joseph McCarthy was or what he did or what happened as a result of the HUAC investigations.

If Mathews had asked those questions I am sure she would not have known the answer to any of them. Chris probably knew that so he pressed for an expansion of her opinions of possibly accusing more people than just Barack Obama in Congress of anti Americanism.

Note Chris did not try to make her expand her 'opinion' to include working everyday citizens. Now THAT would have been a game changer.
Bringing the republican anti freedom purge down on everyday people would have opened up a lot of glazed eyes of the general public.