Michele Bachmann Takes Presidential Tone With Crowd; Mum on White House Bid
WASHINGTON - Michele Bachmann affirmed her strong support of social conservative issues at Friday's Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, but remained mum on whether she will enter the 2012 race for the White House.
Rep. Bachmann (R-Minn.), one of the earlier potential presidential candidates to take the stage, wasted no time affirming her strong stance as a traditional marriage, pro-life advocate that steadfastly supports Israel.
Bachmann took credit for last Saturday's passage of the Minnesota marriage amendment bill that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
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The amendment, she told audience members, began during her time as a state senator. The Massachusetts legislature, Bachmann recalled, was determined to redefine marriage laws in 2003.
"I had heard of that [from] Minnesota and knew that was going to come our way as well," she shared.
The marriage measure met resistance during her tenure in the state Senate and took eight additional years to be approved by both branches of the state legislature. However, she credited her fight with making Minnesota among the first states to put a traditional marriage amendment on the 2012 ballot.
She also affirmed her pro-life stance, stating that she is determined to cut federal funding from Planned Parenthood, especially if that means repealing Barack Obama's health care plan.
"I am committed. I will not rest until they repeal Obama care," Bachmann proclaimed to the cheering conservative crowd. "Take it to the bank, cash the check; ... it will not stand."
Israel also has Bachmann's support. She rallied the crowd with a description of Obama's recent speech about the Israeli-Palestinian border.
"Our president made a shocking display of betraying our friend and ally Israel when he said to Israel, 'you need to give up more land, shrink to your '67 borders, as a matter of fact, cut your nation in two so you're separated from each other to indefensible borders and give that land away to the Palestinians who, by the way, don't even recognize that Israel exists or has a right to defend its self,'" she said to a crowd that responded by booing Obama.
Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Jewish former chief-of-staff, defended him last month saying, "President Obama, like every student of the Middle East, understands that the shifting sands of demography in that volatile region are working against the two-state solution needed to end generations of bloodshed. The fragile stasis that exists today cannot hold."
However, Bachmann stated that every American president since Harry Truman has supported Israel, and she plans to do the same.
"I stand with Israel," she said to applause.
Bachmann took a presidential tone with the crowd. However, she made no mention on whether or not she has decided to enter the presidential race and evaded reporters' questions on the subject.
Last week, Bachmann told The Des Moines Register that she is holding out to ensure she and her husband have time to properly plan.
"We want to make sure that what we are doing is deliberate and focused. We want to be prudent and responsible in the decisions that we are making," she informed the paper.
The exact date at which she will announce her decision is unclear.
