Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Mark Kennedy
Member of the Minnesota State Senate from the 52nd District
In office January 7, 2003 – January 2, 2007
Preceded by	Satveer Chaudhary
Succeeded by	Ray Vandeveer
Member of the Minnesota State Senate from the 56th District
In office January 3, 2001 – January 7, 2003
Preceded by	Gary W. Laidig
Succeeded by	Brian LeClair
Personal details
Born	Michele Marie Amble
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Marcus Bachmann
Residence	Stillwater, Minnesota
Alma mater	Winona State University (B.A.) Oral Roberts University (J.D.) College of William & Mary Law School (L.L.M.)
Occupation	Attorney
Website	Congressional Web Page Campaign Website Facebook Page Twitter

Michele Marie Bachmann (née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is a member of the House of Representatives for Minnesota's 6th congressional district and a potential candidate for President in 2012. She previously served in the Minnesota State Senate. She is the third woman, and first Republican woman, to represent the state in Congress.

Bachmann is a supporter of the Tea Party movement and is founder of the House Tea Party Caucus.

Early life

Bachmann was born Michele Marie Amble in Waterloo, Iowa, to a family who moved from Iowa to Minnesota when she was young. After her parents divorced, Bachmann's father, David John Amble, moved to California, and Bachmann was raised by her mother, Jean (née Johnson), who worked at the First National Bank in Anoka, Minnesota. Bachmann grew up in Anoka, graduating from Anoka High School in 1974. After graduating from high school, Bachmann spent time working on a kibbutz in Israel. She graduated from Winona State University and later received her J.D. degree from Oral Roberts University and an LL.M. degree in tax law from the William & Mary Law School. She was a member of the final graduating class of Oral Roberts' law school, and was part of a group of faculty, staff, and students who moved the ORU law school to what is now Regent University.

Family life

She married Marcus Bachmann in 1981. They have five children (Lucas, Harrison, Elisa, Caroline, and Sophia), and have also provided foster care for 23 other children.

Bachmann and her husband own a Christian counseling clinic in Stillwater, Minnesota.

Bachmann also has an ownership stake in Waumandee, Wisconsin farm land. Since the death of her father-in-law, the farm and its buildings have been rented out to a neighboring farmer who maintains a dairy herd on the farm. From 1995 through 2006, the tenant-farmer received $251,973 in federal subsidies, chiefly for dairy and corn price supports.

Early political activism

Bachmann grew up in a Democratic family, but says she became a Republican during her senior year at Winona State. She told the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune that she was reading Gore Vidal's 1973 novel, Burr: "He was kind of mocking the Founding Fathers and I just thought, I just remember reading the book, putting it in my lap, looking out the window and thinking, 'You know what? I don't think I am a Democrat. I must be a Republican.'"

While she was still a Democrat, Bachmann and her then-fiance Marcus were inspired to join the Pro-life movement by Francis Schaeffer's 1976 Christian documentary film, How Should We Then Live?. They frequently prayed outside of clinics and served as sidewalk counselors. Bachmann was a supporter of Jimmy Carter in 1976 and she and her husband worked on his campaign. During Carter's presidency, Bachmann became disappointed with his liberal approach to public policy, support for legalized abortion and economic decisions that increased gas prices. In the 1980 presidential election, she voted for Ronald Reagan and worked for his campaign.

Bachmann's political activism gained media notice at a anti-abortion protest in 1991. She and approximately 30 other anti-abortion citizens went to a Ramsey County Board meeting where a $3 million appropriation was to go to build a morgue for the county at St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center (now called Regions Hospital). The Medical Center performed abortions and employed abortion rights pioneer Jane Hodgson. Bachmann attended the meeting to protest public tax dollars going to the hospital; speaking to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, she said that "in effect, since 1973, I have been a landlord of an abortion clinic, and I don’t like that distinction".

In 1993, Bachmann and other parents started a K-12 charter school in Stillwater, and she began speaking against a state-mandated set of educational standards, which propelled her into the world of politics.

Bachmann became a critic and opponent of Minnesota's School-to-Work policies. In a 1999 column, she wrote: "School-to-Work alters the basic mission and purpose of K-12 academic education away from traditional broad-based academic studies geared toward maximizing intellectual achievement of the individual. Instead, School-to-Work utilizes the school day to promote children's acquisition of workplace skills, viewing children as trainees for increased economic productivity."

Early career

From 1988 to 1993, Bachmann was an attorney representing the commissioner of the I.R.S.. She left her position with the IRS to become a full-time mother.

Minnesota Senate

In 2000, Bachmann defeated 18-year incumbent Gary Laidig to secure the GOP endorsement for State Senator for Minnesota District 56. She then defeated Ted Thompson of the DFL and Lyno Sullivan of the Independence party in the General Election and took her seat in the Minnesota State Senate. In 2002, after redistricting, Bachmann defeated a fellow incumbent State Senator Jane Krentz of the DFL for the newly drawn District 52.

On November 20, 2003, Bachmann and Representative Mary Liz Holberg proposed a constitutional amendment that would bar the state from legally recognizing same-sex marriage. In 2004, Bachmann and a coalition of religious leaders announced plans for what was billed as a "Minnesota for Marriage" rally. Bachmann’s efforts to get the same-sex marriage ban on a Minnesota referendum ballot in 2004 ultimately failed. She resurrected her proposal for a same-sex marriage ban amendment in March 2005 In April 2005, the State Senate rejected Bachmann’s proposed amendment again.

In November 2004, Republican Senate Minority Leader Dick Day appointed Bachmann as Assistant Minority Leader in charge of Policy for the Senate Republican Caucus. In July 2005, the Republican Caucus removed her from her leadership position. Bachmann cited "philosophical differences" with Day as the reason for her ouster.

U.S. House of Representatives

Since 2007, Bachmann has served Minnesota's 6th congressional district, which includes the northernmost and eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities and St. Cloud.

110th Congress

Bachman was first elected to Congress in 2006, and first served in the 110th Congress. Elected in 2006, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is the first Republican woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota.

Further information: [[:110th United States Congress]]

Iraq War troop surge

Bachmann called for a full hearing of President George W. Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq in January 2007. She said “The American people deserve to hear and understand the merits of increasing U.S. troop presence in Iraq. Increased troop presence is justifiable if that measure would bring a swift conclusion to a difficult conflict.” She "hesitated to give a firm endorsement, calling it instead 'a good first step in explaining to the American people the course toward victory in Iraq.'" When pressed by reporters, she said she had not come to any conclusion on the matter, saying she wanted more information. “I don't believe we have all of the information in front of us. As a member of Congress that's why I want to go to Iraq as quickly as I can. I want to get the best information in front of me.” When a resolution opposing the surge was voted on in the House of Representatives on February 16, 2007, the resolution was approved 246 to 182, with Bachmann voting "No".

Opposition to higher education finance bill

On July 11, 2007, Bachmann voted against a bill that would raise the maximum Pell grant for college students from $4,310 to $5,200 by 2011, lower interest rates over five years on subsidized student loans to 3.4 percent from 6.8 percent, and raise federal student loan limits to $30,500 from $7,500. Supporters of the bill said "it would allow more students to attend college." Bachmann said her opposition was because "it fails students and taxpayers with gimmicks, hidden costs and poorly targeted aid. It contains no serious reform of existing programs, and it favors the costly, government-run direct lending program over nonprofit and commercial lenders." The bill passed the House by a 273-149 vote. President Bush signed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 into law on Sept. 27, 2007, increasing the maximum Pell award from $4,310 to $5,400 by 2012.

Member of Congressional delegation

In early July 2007, Bachmann joined a Congressional delegation visiting Ireland, Germany, Pakistan, Kuwait, and Iraq. Because of security concerns Bachmann never met any Iraqis, left the Green Zone, or stayed in-country overnight. Upon her return she said she "was encouraged by reports of progress from Crocker, Gen. David Petraeus and other personnel in Iraq linked to the surge." She said the surge "hasn't had a chance to be in place long enough to offer a critique of how it's working. (Gen. Petraeus) said al-Qaida in Iraq is off its plan and we want to keep it that way. The surge has only been fully in place for a week or so."

Bachmann also spoke of the delegation's visit to Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at the same time as the siege of Islamic fundamentalists at the Lal Masjid mosque elsewhere in the city. She reported that "The group [of U.S. Legislators] had to travel in armored vehicles and was constantly accompanied by Pakistani military armed with machine guns....We were all able to see extremely up close and personal what it's like to be in a region where fighting is occurring. We constantly felt like we were in need of security." Bachmann told reporters upon her return that "the dangers posed by Islamic terrorism in Iraq, Britain and Pakistan justified the continued American military presence in Iraq." She said "We don't want to see al-Qaida get a presence in the United States. Al-Qaida doesn't seem to show any signs of letting up. We have to keep that in mind."

Incandescent light bulbs

Bachmann introduced the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act, to repeal the ban on conventional light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent light bulbs arguing, "Fluorescent bulbs are more polluting because of their mercury content." The National Electrical Manufacturers Association responded that the reduced energy consumption of fluorescent bulbs typically results in a significant overall reduction of overall mercury emissions due to the reduction in coal burning at power stations, as well as a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Class action lawsuits

On June 3, 2008, President George W. Bush signed The Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act (H.R. 4008) into law. The bipartisan bill, which Bachmann coauthored with Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), removes statutory damages to end "frivolous lawsuits" aimed at businesses.

Environment and energy issues

During the summer of 2008 as national gasoline prices rose to over $4 a gallon, Bachmann became a leading Congressional advocate for increased domestic oil and natural gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer Continental Shelf. She joined 10 other House Republicans and members of the media on a Congressional Energy Tour to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, and to Alaska. The trip was set up by Arctic Power, an Alaskan lobbying group that advocates for ANWR development. The purpose of the trip was to receive a first hand account of emerging renewable energy technologies and the prospects of increased domestic oil and natural gas production in Alaska, including ANWR.

Global warming

Bachmann has charged that global warming is a hoax and has been a vocal skeptic of global warming. She has asserted that since carbon dioxide is "a natural byproduct of nature", it is a beneficial gas required by plant life. She stated that because life requires CO₂ and it is part of the planet's life cycle, it cannot be harmful. In a statement she made on the House floor on Earth Day, April 22, 2009, Bachmann stated she was against the cap and trade climate legislation, stating: "Carbon dioxide is not a harmful gas, it is a harmless gas. Carbon dioxide is natural; it is not harmful.... We're being told we have to reduce this natural substance to create an arbitrary reduction in something that is naturally occurring in the earth."

Opposition to the bailout

Bachmann opposed both versions of the Wall Street bailout bill for America’s financial sector.

She voted against the first proposed $700 billion bailout of financial institutions, which failed to pass 205–228. She also advocated breaking up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and barring executives from excessive compensation or golden parachutes. However, she also advocated a plan that would suspend mark-to-market accounting rules and supported suspending the capital gains tax.

The "Big Three" automakers; Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors, approached Congress to ask for roughly $15 billion to keep them operational into 2009. Bachmann criticized that bill, fearing that the initial sum of money would be followed by subsequent ones without the companies making changes to revive their business. Bachmann supported an alternative bail-out for the Big Three and the rest of the auto industry rather than the plan that passed. According to Bachmann, her alternative would set benchmarks for reducing their debt and renegotiating labor deals and would set up the financial assistance as interim insurance instead of a taxpayer-financed bailout.

On anti-Americanism

On October 17, 2008, Bachmann gave an interview on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews in support of the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain that brought the Minnesota 6th Congressional District race national attention. During the interview she criticized Barack Obama for his association with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, saying "…usually we associate with people who have similar ideas to us, and it seems that it calls into question what Barack Obama's true beliefs, and values, and thoughts are...I am very concerned that he [Barack Obama] may have anti-American views." She also documented the terrorist bombings of Bill Ayers and his associations with Barack Obama, saying that "Bill Ayers is not someone the average American wants to see their president have an association with." Matthews responded with, "Why is it of concern? What is wrong with it? When asked by Matthews: "How many Congresspeople, members of Congress fit into that Anti-American crowd you describe", Bachmann stated "You'd have to ask them Chris, I'm focusing on Barack Obama and the people he's associated with". Matthews followed up by asking "But he's a Senator from the State of Illinois, he's one of the members of Congress you suspect of being anti-American. How many people in the Congress of the United States do you think are anti-American. You've already suspected Barack Obama, is he alone or are there others?" Bachmann answered, "What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look...I wish they would...I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out are they pro-America, or anti-America. I think people would love to see an expose like that."

The five Democratic members of Minnesota's congressional delegation — Tim Walz, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison, Collin Peterson and Jim Oberstar — issued a joint statement in which they questioned her ability to "work in a bipartisan way to put the interests of our country first in this time of crisis". Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Minnesota Governor Republican Arne Carlson said that her comments had influenced their decisions to endorse Obama for president.

Bachmann brought up the interview before business leaders and Republicans during a campaign stop in St. Cloud, Minnesota on October 21, 2008. She stated that she never intended to question Obama's patriotism. "I made a misstatement. I said a comment that I would take back. I did not, nor do I, question Barack Obama's patriotism.... I did not say that Barack Obama is anti-American nor do I believe that Barack Obama is anti-American... [But] I'm very concerned about Barack Obama's views. I don't believe that socialism is a good thing for America." However, in March 2010, Bachmann said, "I said I had very serious concerns that Barack Obama had anti-American views. And now I look like Nostradamus" while speaking at a fund-raiser for the Susan B. Anthony List. A year later, in March 2011, Bachmann was asked on Meet the Press if she still believed that Obama held un-American views. She responded "I believe that the actions of this government have, have been emblematic of ones that have not been based on true American values." Pressed for clarification,she said "Well, it, it—I've already answered that question before. I said I had very serious concerns about the president's views."

111th Congress

Further information: [[:111th United States Congress]]

Bachmann speaking in April 2010

Global currency

On March 26, Bachmann introduced legislation that would bar the dollar from being replaced by any foreign currency. Current law prohibits foreign currency from being recognized in the U.S., but Bachmann's legislation would address concerns relating to the President's power to make and interpret treaties. Earlier that month at a Financial Services Committee hearing, Bachmann asked both Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke if they would reject calls for the U.S. to move away from the U.S. dollar and they replied that they would reject such a call.

2010 Census

In a June 17, 2009, interview with The Washington Times, Bachmann expressed concern that the questions on the 2010 United States Census had become "very intricate, very personal" and that ACORN, a community organizing group that had come under fire the previous year, might be part of the Census Bureau's door-to-door information collection efforts. She stated, "I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home, we won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that." However, her statement was incorrect, as the nonpartisan Politifact watchdog group confirmed that the Constitution does require citizens to complete the census. Fellow Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry (N.C.), Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.) and John Mica (Fla.), members of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives, which oversees the census, subsequently asked Bachmann not to boycott the population count.

Along with Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02), Bachmann introduced the American Community Survey Act to limit the amount of personal information solicited by the US Census Bureau. She reiterated her belief that the census asks too many personal questions.

"Armed and dangerous" quote

In March 2009, Bachmann was interviewed by the Northern Alliance Radio Network and promoted two forums she was hosting the next month in St. Cloud and Woodbury regarding Obama's proposed cap and trade tax policy to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Bachmann said she wanted Minnesotans "armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back." Bachmann's office quickly clarified that she was speaking metaphorically, meaning "armed with knowledge." However, according to the Star Tribune, her quote went viral across the internet.

AmeriCorps

In 2009, Bachmann became a critic of what she characterized as proposals for mandatory public service. Speaking in reference to the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, an expansion to AmeriCorps (a federal community service organization), she said in April:

It’s under the guise of — quote — volunteerism. But it’s not volunteers at all. It’s paying people to do work on behalf of government.... I believe that there is a very strong chance that we will see that young people will be put into mandatory service. And the real concerns is that there are provisions for what I would call re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward and then they have to go to work in some of these politically correct forums.

The original bill called for an exploration of whether a mandatory public service program could be established, but that entire section on creating a "Congressional Commission on Civic Service" was stripped from the bill.

In August 2009, political opponents of Bachmann publicized in the local media and the blogosphere what they described as the "ironic" fact that her son, Harrison, joined Teach for America, which is a member of the AmeriCorps program.

Health care

Bachmann contributed to the "death panel" controversy when she read from a July 24 article written by Betsy McCaughey from the floor of the House. Sarah Palin said that her "death panel" remark was inspired by what she called the "Orwellian" opinions of Ezekiel Emanuel as described by Bachmann, who accused him of advocating health care rationing by age and disability. According to PolitiFact and Time magazine, Bachmann's euthanasia remarks distorted Emanuel's position on health care for the elderly and disabled. FactCheck.org stated, "We agree that Emanuel’s meaning is being twisted." When many doctors wanted to legalize euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, Emanuel opposed it.

On August 31, 2009, Bachmann spoke at an event in Colorado, saying of Democratic health care overhaul proposals that:

This cannot pass. What we have to do today is make a covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood brothers on this thing. This will not pass. We will do whatever it takes to make sure this doesn't pass.

She outlined ideas for changing the health care system, including: “Erase the boundaries around every single state when it comes to health care,” enabling consumers to purchase insurance across state lines; increase the use of health savings accounts and allow everyone to “take full deductibility of all medical expenses,” including insurance premiums; and tort reform.

Bachmann denounced the government-run health insurance public option, calling it a "government takeover of health care" that would "squeeze out private health insurance".

Critique of President Obama's Asian trip

In an interview with Anderson Cooper on November 3, 2010, when asked if she supported cuts in government spending for Medicare and Social Security as suggested by Congressman Paul Ryan, Bachmann answered with a criticism of President Obama’s upcoming trip to Asia, claiming that it "is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day. He's taking two thousand people with him. He'll be renting out over 870 rooms in India. And these are 5-star hotel rooms at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. This is the kind of over-the-top spending, it's a very small example, Anderson." Bachmann was apparently referring to information from "an Indian press account attributed to an anonymous state government source in India", information that was also published in US-based media such as The Drudge Report. In response to the news reports' claim that 34 warships are accompanying the President, Pentagon Press Spokesman Geoff Morrell dismissed the account as "comedy". Further, the White House declared that those were "wildly inflated" figures which have "no basis in reality". While stating that they could not give the actual projected figures for security reasons, staffers maintained costs were in line with the official travel costs of previous Presidents Bush and Clinton.

112th Congress

Bachmann in February 2011.

Leadership run

See also: List of Tea Party politicians

After the 2010 elections and the announcement from Rep. Mike Pence that he was stepping away from his leadership position in the House, Bachmann announced on her Facebook page her intention to seek the position of House Republican Conference Chair. As Bachmann is the founder of the House's Tea Party Caucus, her announcement caused some to see the leadership election as "an early test of how GOP leaders will treat the antiestablishment movement's winners". Many among the House's Republican leadership, including Eric Cantor and the retiring Mike Pence, were quick to endorse Rep. Jeb Hensarling for the position ; Speaker-to-be John Boehner remained neutral on the issue. Supporters of Bachmann’s run include Reps. Steve King, John Kline, Louie Gohmert, Chip Cravaack, Erik Paulsen, as well as media personality and political commentator Glenn Beck. Listing her qualifications for the position Bachmann noted "I’ve done an effective job speaking out at a national and local level, motivating people with our message, calling attention to deficits in Obama’s policy. I was instrumental in bringing tens of thousands of people to the US capitol to rally against Obama care and to attend our press conference." She noted her work to keep the Tea Party within the GOP rather than having it become a third party thereby helping the party capture the House, stating "I have been able to bring a voice and motivate people to, in effect, put that gavel in John Boehner’s hands, so that Republicans can lead going forward. …It’s important that leadership represents the choice of the people coming into our caucus….I think I have motivated a high number of people to get involved in this cycle who may have sat it out and that have made a difference on a number of these races. I gave a large amount of money to NRCC and individual candidates and started Michelle PAC, which raised $650,000 for members since July, so I was able to financially help about 50 people out."

Bachmann’s bid suffered a setback when she was passed over for the GOP’s transition team on which Hensarling was placed. Despite Bachmann’s leading all other Representatives in fund raising, a Republican aide stated some "members are getting resentful of Bachmann, who they say is making the argument that you're not really a Tea Party supporter unless you support her. That's gone through the formation of the Tea Party Caucus and the formation of this candidacy of hers. It's just not so." Sarah Palin, with whom Bachmann had campaigned earlier in the year, declined to endorse her leadership bid, while other Tea Party favorites Reps Adam Kinzinger and Tim Scott were placed on the transition team. According to some senior House staff members, the party leadership was concerned about some of Bachmann's high profile faux pas, the high rate of turnover amongst her staff, and how willing she would be to advance the party's messaging rather than her own.

On November 10, Bachmann released a statement ending her campaign for Conference Chair and giving her "enthusiastic" support to Hensarling.

Committee assignment

Bachmann was selected by House Speaker John Boehner for a position "on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, giving her a new role as overseer of the CIA, the National Security Agency and the rest of the U.S. intelligence community." Bachmann, who had "not served on any committee that deals with foreign policy issues" requested the position, "a move that has fueled speculation that she may be planning to carry the Tea Party banner into the GOP presidential primaries."

Repeal of Dodd-Frank reform

Soon after being sworn in to her third term Bachmann introduced legislation to repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. She stated "I'm pleased to offer a full repeal of the job-killing Dodd-Frank financial regulatory bill. Dodd-Frank grossly expanded the federal government beyond its jurisdictional boundaries. It gave Washington bureaucrats the power to interpret and enforce the legislation with little oversight. Real financial regulatory reform must deal with these lenders who were a leading cause of our economic recession. True reform must also end the bailout mind-set that was perpetuated by the last Congress." She also took issue with the law for not addressing the liabilities of the tax-payer funded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Bachmann's bill has been endorsed by such conservative groups as the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity, it has four other Republican co-sponsors including Rep Darrell Issa, who became the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee at the start of the 112th Congress. Bachmann's call for total repeal was seen as more drastic than the approach advocated by her fellow Republican Spencer Bachus who became the House Financial Services Committee Chairman with the change of majority in the House. Bachus "plans to provide 'vigorous' oversight of regulators efforts to reform banking and housing...reform Fannie and Freddie", and "dismantle pieces of [the] Dodd-Frank Act that he believes 'unnecessarily punish small businesses and community banks.'" In response to Bachmann's legislation Rep Barney Frank stated, "Michele Bachmann, the Club for Growth, and others in the right-wing coalition have now made their agenda for the financial sector very clear: they yearn to return to the thrilling days of yesteryear, so the loan arrangers can ride again – untrammeled by any rules restraining irresponsibility, excess, deception, and most of all, infinite leverage." The chances of Bachmann's legislation passing were viewed as unlikely, the Financial Times wrote that "Like the Republican move to repeal healthcare reform, Ms Bachmann’s bill could be passed by the House of Representatives but be blocked by the Senate or White House."

State of the Union response

Bachmann responded to President Obama's 2011 State of the Union speech for the Tea Party Express website; this speech was broadcast live by CNN. She insisted that her response was not intended to counter the official Republican party response by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. When asked if the speech was an indication of competition with Ryan and Speaker Boehner's leadership team, Bachmann dismissed such a view as "a fiction of the media", she had alerted Ryan and the leadership team that her response might go national and no objections were raised.

Repeal of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Bachmann has characterized the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as "ObamaCare", and has continually called for its repeal. She recalled to reporters that she called for debate to repeal the act "the morning after Obamacare passed". Joining with Rep. Steve King she introduced "the Bachmann-King repeal of health care bill" stating that it "is our intent in our heart to make sure that Obamacare is completely repealed." In light of a Democratic held Senate and Presidency that oppose repeal, Bachmann called on the Republican held House of Representatives to not provide any funds for the implementation of the act "But until we can see that [repeal] happen, we want to fully defund this bill so that, like, it would be akin to a helium balloon that gets no helium inside so that it can’t take off the ground, and that’s what we’re planning to do. I’m very, very grateful for nothing else; having a majority in the House of Representatives so that we have the ability of the power of the purse to not fund Obamacare, and this is exactly the right way to go."

On March 4, 2011 Bachmann (who was one of the six House Republicans to vote against the continuing resolution) expressed her unhappines with the move that gave a two-week reprieve to the fear of government shutdown, stating "I am vowing to vote 'no' on future Continuing Resolutions to fund the government unless there is specific language included to defund Obamacare and rescind the funding that has already been appropriated. Defunding Obamacare, along with defunding Planned Parenthood, must be non-negotiable planks in our budget negotiations."

In an appearance on Meet the Press on March 6, 2011 and during a March 7, 2011 interview with Sean Hannity Bachmann declared that the Obama administration and the Congressional Democrats had hidden $105 Billion dollars in spending in the overhaul of the American Health Care System. She portrayed the Democratic leadership as timing the release of the bill's text to avoid detection of the spending "We didn't get the bill until a literally couple of hours before we were supposed to vote on it." She also stated the spending was split up within different portions of the bill to mask its total cost. Bachmann was alerted of the situation by the conservative Heritage Foundation which read the tallies of the Congressional Research Service and Congressional Budget Office.

Reports listed a partial breakdown of the costs which include "about $40 billion would go to the Children's Health Insurance Program, $15 billion would go to Medicare and Medicaid innovation programs, and $9.5 billion would go to the Community Health Centers Fund." As the funds are designated mandatory spending (they are not controlled by the annual appropriations acts), the funds would remain even if the move to defund the reform law succeeded.

Bachmann stated that $16 billion of the money gives Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius a "slush fund...[to do] whatever she wants with this money." She called on the bills supporters to return the money, "I think this deception that the president and [former House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid put forward with appropriating over $105 billion needs to be given back to the people."

When asked during the Meet the Press interview if she would take back her previous comments that Obama held "anti-American views" and was running a "gangster government", Bachmann backed her statements, saying "I do believe that actions that have been taken by this White House -- I don't take back my statements on gangster government. I think that there have been actions taken by the government that are corrupt...I said I have very serious concerns about the president's views, and I think the president's actions in the last two years speak for themselves."

In response to Bachmann's charges Chief Deputy Democrat Whip Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who serves on the House health subcommittee, pointed out that the report Bachmann refers to is an update of a report that came out in October of 2010 and that the costs were spelled out in both the bill and the Congressional Budget Office's estimate of its cost, "Michele Bachmann obviously didn't read the bill, because there was absolutely nothing hidden in that legislation." Schakowsky held that the costs were not kept secret, citing the $40 billion for the Children's Health Insurance Program as an example "There was a robust debate about whether or not that should be included,etc. So this idea of somehow, now at the last minute, there was a secret addition to some kind of funding...is absolute nonsense."

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Political positions

Education policy

Bachmann supports the teaching of intelligent design in public school science classes. During a 2003 interview on the KKMS Christian radio program Talk The Walk, Bachmann said that evolution is a theory that has never been proven one way or the other. She co-authored a bill [that received no additional endorsement among her fellow legislators] that would require public schools to include alternative explanations for the origin of life as part of the state's public school science curricula. In October 2006, Bachmann told a debate audience in St. Cloud, Minnesota "there is a controversy among scientists about whether evolution is a fact or not.... There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design."

Fiscal policy

Bachmann addressing a Tea Party Express rally in Minneapolis

Bachmann opposes minimum wage increases. Bachmann supports increased domestic drilling of oil and natural gas, as well as pursuing renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar, and is a strong proponent of nuclear power.

In a 2001 flyer, Bachmann and Michael J. Chapman wrote that federal policies manage a centralized, state-controlled economy in the United States. She wrote that education laws passed by Congress in 2001, including "School To Work" and "Goals 2000", created a new national school curriculum that embraced "a socialist, globalist worldview; loyalty to all government and not America." In 2003, Bachmann said that the "Tax Free Zones" economic initiatives of Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty were based on the Marxist principle of "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." She also said that the administration was attempting to govern and run centrally planned economies through an organization called the Minnesota Economic Leadership Team (MELT), an advisory board on economic and workforce policy chaired by Pawlenty. She said that health care reform advocates "forg[et] what the Constitution says."

Prior to her election to the state senate, and again in 2005, Bachmann signed a "no new taxes" pledge sponsored by the Taxpayers League of Minnesota. As a state senator, Bachmann introduced two bills that would have severely limited state taxation. In 2003, she proposed amending the Minnesota state constitution to adopt the "Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights" (TABOR).

In 2005, Bachmann opposed Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s proposal for a state surcharge of 75 cents per pack on the wholesale cost of cigarettes. Bachmann said that she opposed the state surcharge "100 percent—it's a tax increase." She later came under fire from the Taxpayers' League for reversing her position and voting in favor of the cigarette surcharge.

Social Security and Medicare

Bachmann has called for phasing out of Social Security and Medicare:

[W]hat you have to do, is keep faith with the people that are already in the system, that don’t have any other options, we have to keep faith with them. But basically what we have to do is wean everybody else off.

Foreign policy

Bachmann says in dealing with Iran, diplomacy "is our option", but that other options, including a nuclear strike, shouldn't be taken off the table.

She has also said that she is "a long time supporter of Israel".

Global economy

During a discussion about the G-20 summit in Toronto, Bachmann stated during an interview with conservative radio host Scott Hennen that she does not want America to be part of the international global economy.

I don’t want the United States to be in a global economy where our economic future is bound to that of Zimbabwe, We can’t necessarily trust the decisions that are being made financially in other countries. I don’t like the decisions that are being made in our own country, but certainly I don’t want to trust the value of my currency and my future to that of like a Chavez down in Venezuela.

Social issues

Bachmann supports both a federal and state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and any legal equivalents. In support of a constitutional amendment she proposed to ban same-sex marriage, Bachmann said that the gay community was specifically targeting children and that "our children... are the prize for this community, they are specifically targeting our children". In 2004, the Star Tribune reported that Bachmann said of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, "We need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life and sexual identity disorders". Bachmann has praised the controversial Christian youth ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, appearing as a keynote speaker at their fundraisers.

In 2006, Bachmann stated that she would vote to permit abortion in cases of rape and incest. In the state senate, Bachmann introduced a bill proposing a constitutional amendment restricting state funds for abortion. The bill died in committee.

Political campaigns

Michele Bachmann Official Photo circa 2007

2006 congressional

Main article: Minnesota's 6th congressional district election, 2006

Bachmann won her Congressional seat in the 2006 election with 50 percent of the vote, as she defeated Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) candidate Patty Wetterling and the Independence Party's John Binkowski.

Mark Kennedy, the 6th District's congressman since 2001, announced in late 2005 that he would be running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mark Dayton of the DFL. Bachmann states she was called by God to run for the seat, and that she and her husband fasted for three days to be sure.

According to Bloomberg.com news, evangelical conservative leader James Dobson put the resources of his organization behind her 2006 campaign. Dobson's Focus on the Family planned to distribute 250,000 voter guides in Minnesota churches to reach social conservatives, according to Tom Prichard, president of the Minnesota Family Council, a local affiliate of Dobson's group. In addition to Minnesota, Dobson’s group also organized turnout drives in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey and Montana.

During a debate televised by WCCO on October 28, 2006, news reporter Pat Kessler quoted a story that appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and asked Bachmann whether it was true that the church she belonged to taught that the Pope is the Anti-Christ. Bachmann stated that her church "does not believe that the Pope is the Anti-Christ, that's absolutely false... I'm very grateful that my pastor has come out and been very clear on this matter, and I think it's patently absurd and it's a false statement."

Bachmann received support from a fundraising visit in early July 2006 from Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. On July 21, 2006, Karl Rove visited Minnesota to raise funds for her election. In August, President George W. Bush was the keynote speaker at her congressional fundraiser, which raised about $500,000. Bachmann also received fundraising support from Vice President Dick Cheney. The National Republican Congressional Committee put nearly $3 million into the race, for electronic and direct-mail ads against DFLer Wetterling. The amount was significantly more than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent on behalf of Wetterling. On November 7, 2006, Bachmann defeated opponents Patty Wetterling and John Binkowski, taking 50 percent of the vote to Wetterling's 42 percent and Binkowski's eight percent.

2008 congressional

Michele Bachmann Official Photo circa 2009

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2008 § District 6

In 2008, Bachmann won re-election over her Democratic and Independence Party endorsed opponent Elwyn Tinklenberg. With all precincts reported, Bachmann won, 46.41% to 43.43%. Because Tinklenberg was running as a DFLer in the Democratic primary this allowed candidate Bob Anderson to run in the Independence Party primary unopposed despite not having the Independence endorsement. Anderson received 10% of the vote.

In the 2007-2008 election cycle, Bachmann's campaign raised over $3.49 million for her re-election. Roughly 70% of her contributions came from individual contributions, and of those, 28% were from small individual contributions and 42% were from large individual contributions.

2010 congressional

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2010 § District 6

Bachmann was challenged in 2010 by Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee Tarryl Clark and Independent Candidate Bob Anderson. With more than $8.5 million, Bachmann spent more than any other House of Representative candidate, although her opponent, Tarryl Clark, was able to raise $4 million, one of the largest fundraising efforts in the nation for a U.S. House challenger. On November 2, 2010, Bachmann defeated Tarryl Clark by 52% to 40% of the vote.

In the 2009-2010 election cycle, Bachmann's campaign raised over $13.4 million for her re-election; the average House member raised about $1 million over the same election cycle. Roughly 96% of her contributions came from individual contributors, and of those, 56% were from small individual contributions and 40% were from large individual contributions. Additionally, 3% came from PAC contributions and less than 1% from other sources.

Possible 2012 presidential campaign

In early 2011, the media speculated about a Bachmann bid for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2012. The New Republic called her "a serious contender for 2012." Her visit planned for January 21 to the state of Iowa, which holds the first caucuses of the season, raised suspicions after several aides let slip her intentions to make a bid for the White House.

Speech to Iowans for Tax Relief

In the midst of much speculation that she would make a run for the presidency in 2012, Bachmann visited Iowa on Friday January 21, 2011 to address the conservative group Iowans for Tax Relief. Bachmann declared "There's been no decision about candidacy, but I want to be a part of the conversation." She stated that one of the questions she wants candidates to address is "Will we remain a nation of sovereign citizens where we make our own decisions or will we be ruled by self-appointed, bureaucratic elites?" Bachmann, born in Iowa and close friend to Rep Steve King, declared her happiness that Iowans would be the first to weigh in on the candidates "I'm so excited. Because I feel like I know you. Because I was born here. I was raised here. These are my values. I feel like we understand each other and I trust you to make that decision. But I also charge you with that decision today." Gov. Terry Branstad stated he was impressed by Bachmann's speech and stated that even if she didn't run he felt "she'll certainly have an influence on the debate." Steve Scheffler an RNC member and head of the Iowa "Faith and Freedom Coalition" said of a possible Bachmann run that "she could take a serious look at it. She certainly would bring a lot of enthusiasm to the base." Dave Funk, a tea-party sponsored candidate in the 2010 election, liked Bachmann's talk of American exceptionalism, "It was almost like 'a new day in America' speech, like Reagan. Everybody else is talking policy, issues, ideas - she's talking about motivating the people to get out and do something."

Bachmann had a strong turnout for her speech which led the Des Moines Register to declare that if she "is considering a run, this first trip to Iowa has to be considered a success", but they went on to note that "She'd still have work to do to turn favorable interest and curiosity into support." In addition to the speech, Bachmann visited the governor, Iowa's legislative leaders, and the state's GOP headquarters. Reflecting on the trip Bachmann stated "I am very encouraged by what I heard and the level of support that I saw today." Bachmann is set to return to the state "to participate in a series of lectures for presidential candidate prospects held in Iowa in April."

Also in her Iowa speech, Bachmann said "...our ancestors had different cultures, different backgrounds, different traditions. How unique in all of the world, that one nation that was the resting point from people groups all across the world ... it didn't matter the color of their skin, it didn't matter their language, it didn't matter their economic status ... once you got here, we were all the same. Isn't that remarkable?"

She also noted that slavery was a "scourge" on American history, but added that "we also know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States ... I think it is high time that we recognize the contribution of our forebearers who worked tirelessly – men like John Quincy Adams, who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country." John Quincy Adams was the sixth&nbps;President of the United States and an opponent of slavery but it was his father John Adams who is considered a Founding Fathers of the United States as a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. These statements created commentary from observers who questioned Bachmann's understanding of American history.

New Hampshire Straw Poll

In the New Hampshire GOP 2012 Straw Poll, taken January 22, 2011, Bachmann placed fifth with 5% of the vote tying Jim DeMint and following Mitt Romney (35%), Ron Paul (11%), fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty (8%), and Sarah Palin (7%). The poll listed 20 individuals and an option for other (which received 2%). Among the notables she outpolled were Rick Santorum (3%), Newt Gingrich (3%), Mike Pence (3%), and Rudy Giuliani (2%).

Exploratory committee report

CNN reported on March 24, 2011, that Bachmann was planning to launch an exploratory committee before June 2011. Bachmann later confirmed this report on her Facebook page, but has not yet filed with the FEC to form an official exploratory committee.

External links

• Congresswoman Michele Bachmann official U.S. House website
• Minnesota's Congresswoman Michele Bachmann official campaign website
• Michele Bachmann at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Campaign 2008: Michele M. Bachmann at Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)
• Profile at SourceWatch
• The Chosen One, G.R. Anderson Jr., CityPages, October 4, 2006