U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (MN-6) spoke earlier this morning in Chesapeake Room at a town hall styled event hosted by The Tea Party News Network.
Congresswoman Bachmann received quite the enthusiastic welcome from the crowd and asked them if they were enjoying “the best party of the year”. She went on to express her deep gratitude for all the bloggers in the room. Bachmann’s priority was clear from the beginning as she immediately went into the future of her kids, referencing the efforts of her children and their strive for independence. Bachmann encouraged the next generation to “grow up, assume responsibility, it’s fun!” Maybe we should extend that same message to some of our current elected officials?
Congresswoman Bachmann ran for the Republican nomination in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Bachmann won the Ames Straw Poll in August 2011, but dropped out after the Iowa caucuses in January 2012. Representative Bachmann is a strong voice for conservatism and is known for her controversial stances on many issues including gay marriage and abortion.
The former presidential candidate has very strong ties to the Tea Party and is the founder of the House Tea Party Caucus. Congresswoman Bachmann was also the first Republican woman to represent the state in Congress.
Bachmann reinforced the Tea Party beliefs, that the “Constitution is where it’s at. Don’t spend more than you’re taking in, and don’t spend beyond your means because we’re Taxed Enough Already.” She reminded us this country is where you “have the opportunity to come and have enough for yourself and a little bit more to help others.”
“Progressives are so wedded to ideas of the past that don’t work. Conservatives, we’re not cursed by darkness, we light a candle”, she said, as the crowd applauded. She further went on to remind us the money that could be saved by curing a disease instead of mounting expenses to care for those inflicted by it, and used the example of the polio vaccine. To her Democratic counterparts in Congress, she admonished, “enough with false boasting of compassion and caring. It’s false, if we don’t pour it info human capital.” As many speakers this week have mentioned this being the iPad era, Bachmann also referenced the likes of Steve Jobs, saying that the “innovators of the world didn’t get a government grant”, they went out with their new ideas and did it.
Bachmann expressed her excitement about the future where you can be the “next greatest generation because of what’s available via technology”, not the progressive future “tying you to ideas that failed several years ago.” She again thanked all the bloggers in the room and concluded by telling “kids” to “get a job and move out!”
