Campaign2012

Michele Bachmann

The Latest

With Michele Bachmann’s surge comes fresh scrutiny
The Washington Post 2011-06-27
Bachmann launches campaign in Iowa birthplace
The Washington Post 2011-06-27
Michele Bachmann steals the show at GOP debate
The Washington Post 2011-06-14

20 Facts Checked

During the 2008 presidential campaign, liberals who griped about Sarah Palin’s conservative values got an introduction to another rising female GOP star: Bachmann, the first-ever Republican congresswomen from Minnesota.

Many cable viewers got to know the GOP firebrand when, in an October 2008 interview on MSNBC's Hardball, Bachmann raised the specter of Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-Wis.) in expressing her belief that Barack Obama and many members of the federal government were “anti-American” and calling for Congress to investigate.

Bachmann arrived in Washington in 2006 after six years as one of the most socially-conservative members of the Minnesota Senate. Known for her strong Christian faith, Bachmann said that God had “called her” to run for the House, and that she and her husband fasted and prayed for three days before making the decision. A self-proclaimed “fool for Christ,” Bachmann and her husband own a Christian counseling center, where he currently works. She is expected to announce her presidential candidacy in June.

Key Campaign Moments for Bachmann

August 13, 2011

Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll

August 13, 2011
Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll

Proving that she has organizational muscle to go with her charismatic campaign style, the Minnesota House member placed first in the Ames Straw Poll, shooting her into the top-tier of GOP candidates in the 2012 presidential race.
June 27, 2011

Bachmann launches campaign in Iowa birthplace

June 27, 2011
Bachmann launches campaign in Iowa birthplace

Bachmann announces her 2012 presidential bid in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa.
May 30, 2011

Bachmann strongly hints during N.H. visit that she will run for president

May 30, 2011
Bachmann strongly hints during N.H. visit that she will run for president

Bachmann takes a step closer to a presidential announcement during a trip to the key state of New Hampshire.
January 24, 2011

Rep. Bachmann brings tea party message to Iowa

January 24, 2011
Rep. Bachmann brings tea party message to Iowa

In her first appearance since reports surfaced of interest in a 2012 bid, Bachmann energized conservatives in a speech on her Iowa roots and the federal debt.

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Bachmann on Issues

Economic policy

Opposed TARP and all "permanent" government bailouts, including that of the auto industry. Fought raising the debt ceiling, arguing that Treasury...

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Michele Bachmann on Economic policy
Opposed TARP and all "permanent" government bailouts, including that of the auto industry. Fought raising the debt ceiling, arguing that Treasury should be able to rearrange its payments to avoid default. Wants to make permanent Bush tax cuts and eliminate estate tax.
- Video: Bachmann: More Government Bailouts Are Not the Answer
In His Own Words

What's next, Starbucks, too big to fail?
Michele Bachmann, September 19, 2008
Energy policy

Called June 2009 House cap-and-trade bill national "energy tax" and opposed it. Proposed that new drilling areas be opened in Alaska and Gulf...

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Michele Bachmann on Energy policy
Called June 2009 House cap-and-trade bill national "energy tax" and opposed it. Proposed that new drilling areas be opened in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico to help offset cost of 2008 Wall Street bailout, which she opposed.
- Video: Bachmann On Climate-Change Bill: "We Choose Liberty, Or We Choose Tyranny"
- Article: Bachmann oil drilling plan draws skepticism
In His Own Words

It is time to stand up and say, we get to choose. We choose liberty, or we choose tyranny. The underlying bill represents the tyranny of the federal government.
Michele Bachmann, June 26, 2009
Foreign Policy

After Obama's December 2009 speech announcing an Afghan war surge, questioned whether Obama was "truly committed" to victory. Opposes concrete...

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Michele Bachmann on Foreign Policy
After Obama's December 2009 speech announcing an Afghan war surge, questioned whether Obama was "truly committed" to victory. Opposes concrete timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops and says U.S. must be "in it to win it." Says U.S. shouldn't have intervened in Libya.
- Video: Bachmann Slams Obama's Libya Strategy
- Video: Bachmann Reaction to President Obama's Speech on Afghanistan
In His Own Words

I never once heard the word win. I never once heard the word victory. Is this a war?
Michele Bachmann, June 7, 2011
Health Care

Bachmann has fiercely opposed the national health-care reform program, introducing legislation to repeal it the day before it became law. She said during...

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Michele Bachmann on Health Care
Bachmann has fiercely opposed the national health-care reform program, introducing legislation to repeal it the day before it became law. She said during her 2012 campaign that her top priority as president would be to repeal the program. Bachmann introduced a one-page bill to repeal Obama’s health-care plan before the plan had officially become law, and she has supported court rulings that undermined the law. She has promised to abolish the program if she becomes president, saying: “I will not rest until I repeal Obamacare. It's a promise. Take it to the bank, cash the check. I'll make sure that that happens.” Bachmann has said she would reform health care by expanding health savings accounts, permitting the purchase of insurance across state lines, allowing small businesses to band together to purchase coverage plans at lower rates, and tort reform. The Minnesota congresswoman has sponsored a bill that would have allowed tax deductions for 100 percent of medical expenses, but the measure stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee.
- Article: Bachmann: ‘There Needs To Be an Insurrection’ Against GOP Leaders
In His Own Words

ObamaCare cannot be fixed, and collaboration for the hope of improving it should not be an option. It must be dismantled, defunded, and disposed of now, before it becomes the massive crown jewel of socialism that it was intended to be by President Obama.
Michele Bachmann, March 28, 2011
Medicare Reform

As a House member, voted for the Ryan Medicare plan, but said there was an "asterik" beside her vote because she would make changes to it. Wants...

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Michele Bachmann on Medicare Reform
As a House member, voted for the Ryan Medicare plan, but said there was an "asterik" beside her vote because she would make changes to it. Wants to focus on "humanity" of situation and worried about shifting costs of health care to struggling seniors
- Article: Bachmann Says There's a Failure in Messaging on Medicare
- Blog post: You Can Spend Your Own Income Better Than Washington
In His Own Words

Our challenge is to reduce the soaring amounts that government spends on health care, without burdening those who are most vulnerable.
Michele Bachmann, April 28, 2011
Social Issues

A born-again Christian and former foster mother of 23, Bachman is anti-abortion rights (except in the cases of rape and incest) and has been endorsed by...

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Michele Bachmann on Social Issues
A born-again Christian and former foster mother of 23, Bachman is anti-abortion rights (except in the cases of rape and incest) and has been endorsed by anti-abortion rights groups in her congressional bids. Opposes federal funding for abortions and recognition of any kind of legal rights for same-sex couples, pushing federal and state constitutional bans on gay marriage and legal rights for couples.
- Video: Bachmann Facebook video
- Link: Center for American Progress Action Fund, Fact Sheet on LGBT Issues
In His Own Words

In 5,000 years of recorded human history... neither in the east or in the west... has any society ever defined marriage as anything other than between men and women.
Michele Bachmann, April 11, 2011

Bachmann Coverage

I think the Republican leaders have gotten the message, and if they haven’t, I have not been afraid to be vocal in the past and I won’t be afraid to be vocal going forward. I’ve been willing to take on my own party, my own leadership, my own president before, so I would be willing to do that again, if I felt there’s a principled reason to do so.
The New York TimesNovember 20, 2011
You’ve got to be willing to take on our party, the other party and then explain it to the people. I know I can make the case to the American people and win them over to our side.
The Washington PostMay 30, 2011

I don’t believe that any two candidates are interchangeable. I think each one of us bring our own unique skill sets into this race. I’m looking forward to letting people know who I am, the fact that I’m a former United States federal tax litigation attorney, the fact that my husband and I are successful business owners, we’ve started and created jobs, I have a background in education reform.
The New York TimesMay 27, 2011